Quality of life among cervical cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.

INTRODUCTION: There has been an increasing rate of the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in Ghana. Cancer and the treatment's side effects have adverse effects on the patients and this affects patient's well-being and lifestyle during and after radiotherapy. The study sought to assess the impact of demographic and clinical characteristics on Quality of Life (QoL) among cervical cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy in Ghana. METHODS: A cross sectional quantitative study design was carried out on 120 cervical cancer patients who were conveniently sampled from the study site. The data was collected between the months of December, 2017 and February, 2018. QoL was measured using the FACT-G questionnaire. The mean scores of QoL were determined, whiles the chi-square test was used to determine the impact of socio-demographic and clinical characteristics on the QoL of the patients. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 56.8 years. Majority of the patients reported stable QoL. The social well-being of the older patients was more affected than other patients. The unmarried, widows and patients who underwent surgery with radiotherapy were emotionally affected. Majority (56%) of the participants had stable QoL whiles 22% each had poor and good QoL. Significant association was found among 35-39 age group with physical well-being and overall QoL (p=0.017 and 0.029) respectively. CONCLUSION: There is a need to embrace a QoL assessment instrument in the study site so as to help the oncology team in the identification and addressing of specific indicators that affect the QoL of cervical cancer patients.

Sexual and reproductive health of adolescents in schools for people with disabilities.

INTRODUCTION: Persons with disabilities have the same sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs as the abled people but they often face barriers to SRH information and services which are necessary for healthy and safe relationships, protection from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This study sought to access the SRH services among adolescents with disabilities in four Special Needs Schools in Ghana. METHODS: The study adopted a cross-sectional study design with a quantitative approach to data collection between the months of January to March, 2018. A structured and pretested questionnaire was used to collect data from adolescents with disabilities from selected schools in Ghana. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Majority of participants had hearing disability (52.1%). The average age at menarche among females was 13 years whiles the age at which puberty was attained among boys was 14 years. School teachers were the major source of information on SRH for the respondents (63.7%) followed by parents (12.2%). A majority (67.1%) of respondents had good knowledge of SRH. Factors which were significantly associated with knowledge level were age (p=0.026), religion (p=0.034), sources of information (p<0.001), guardians (p=0.049). CONCLUSION: The majority of participants had good knowledge of SRH, although their knowledge of contraceptive and access were poor. Only condoms were mostly known. There is the need for increased awareness on the availability of other contraceptives methods and the removal of barriers to contraceptive methods.

Sexual and reproductive health of adolescents in schools for people with disabilities

Introduction: persons with disabilities have the same sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs as the abled people but they often face barriers to SRH information and services which are necessary for healthy and safe relationships, protection from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This study sought to access the SRH services among adolescents with disabilities in four Special Needs Schools in Ghana. Methods: the study adopted a cross-sectional study design with a quantitative approach to data collection between the months of January to March, 2018. A structured and pretested questionnaire was used to collect data from adolescents with disabilities from selected schools in Ghana. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression.Results: majority of participants had hearing disability (52.1%). The average age at menarche among females was 13 years whiles the age at which puberty was attained among boys was 14 years. School teachers were the major source of information on SRH for the respondents (63.7%) followed by parents (12.2%). A majority (67.1%) of respondents had good knowledge of SRH. Factors which were significantly associated with knowledge level were age (p=0.026), religion (p=0.034), sources of information (p<0.001), guardians (p=0.049).Conclusion: the majority of participants had good knowledge of SRH, although their knowledge of contraceptive and access were poor. Only condoms were mostly known. There is the need for increased awareness on the availability of other contraceptives methods and the removal of barriers to contraceptive methods