Background and purpose:Despite HIV testing and counselling(HTC)being recognized as important elements of any effective prevention,detection,care,and management programmes across many societies as part of their primary...Background and purpose:Despite HIV testing and counselling(HTC)being recognized as important elements of any effective prevention,detection,care,and management programmes across many societies as part of their primary health care package,it is surprising that research evidence on related issues,especially in developing countries like Ghana is sparse.This study examined the extent of knowledge,attitudes and utilisation of HIV testing,and counselling services among trainee nurses of the public nursing and midwifery training colleges in the Central Region of Ghana.Methods and results:A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed to collect data from 375 nursing and midwifery students using multistage sampling procedures.Findings showed that students’HTC knowledge was high(85%)whereas attitudes toward HTC were rated positive(95%).However,HTC utilisation was low(47%).Further results revealed a statistically significant difference between class level and HTC utilisation(χ2[1,N=375]=14.263,p=0.000).In contrast,no statistically significant differences in student nurses’class level and HTC knowledge(χ2[1,N=375]=0.624,p=0.475)as well as class level and attitudes toward HTC services(χ2[1,N=375]=2.334,p=0.158)were realized.Conclusion:The low HTC utilisation among the student nurses may potentially lead to missing opportunities for early diagnoses,care,treatment,and support services for primary,secondary or tertiary prevention modes.Organisation of programmes by college authorities on the importance of HTC and the need for student nurses to utilise these services is crucial.展开更多
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of students’ nurses in the nurses training colleges towards clinical environment. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey approach was used. Nursing ...Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of students’ nurses in the nurses training colleges towards clinical environment. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey approach was used. Nursing and Midwifery trainees at Cape Coast were the respondents. Simple random sampling was used to select 605 respondents for the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyze the data. Results: The majority of the respondents were female, Christians, singled and attended Cape Coast Nursing and Midwifery Training College (CCNMTC). The staff were helpful, friendly and considerate. There were repetition of student’s tasks in every shift but new and different ways of teaching were used. The students had positive perception of clinical learning environment. There were statistically significant differences in perception towards clinical learning environment among students based on academic class (levels). Conclusion: It was recommended that the staff nurses should assign students with varied task depending on their level.展开更多
Background: The majority of injuries reported in female basketball players are ankle sprains and mechanisms leading to injury have been debated. Investigations into muscular imbalances in barefoot versus shod conditi...Background: The majority of injuries reported in female basketball players are ankle sprains and mechanisms leading to injury have been debated. Investigations into muscular imbalances in barefoot versus shod conditions and their relationship with injury severity have not been performed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of wearing athletic shoes on muscular strength and its relationship to lower extremity injuries, specifically female basketball players due to the high incidence of ankle injuries in this population. Methods: During pre-season, 11 female collegiate basketball players underwent inversion and eversion muscle strength testing using an iso- kinetic dynamometer in both a barefoot and shod conditions. The difference between conditions was calculated for inversion and eversion peak torque, time to peak torque as well as eversion-to-inversion peak torque percent strength ratio for both conditions. Lower extremity injuries were documented and ranked in severity. The ranked difference between barefoot and shod conditions for peak torque and time to peak torque as well as percent strength ratio was correlated with injury ranking using a Spearman rho correlation (p) with an a level of 0.05. Results: The ranked differences in barefoot and shod for peak eversion and inversion torque at 120°/s were correlated with their injury ranking. Ranking of the athletes based on the severity of injuries that were sustained during the season was found to have a strong, positive relationship with the difference in peak eversion torque between barefoot and shod (p = 0.78; p = 0.02). Conclusion: It is possible that a large discrepancy between strength in barefoot and shod conditions can predispose an athlete to injury. Nar- rowing the difference in peak eversion torque between barefoot and shod could decrease propensity to injury. Future work should investigate the effect of restoration of muscular strength during barefoot and shod exercise on injury rates.展开更多
文摘Background and purpose:Despite HIV testing and counselling(HTC)being recognized as important elements of any effective prevention,detection,care,and management programmes across many societies as part of their primary health care package,it is surprising that research evidence on related issues,especially in developing countries like Ghana is sparse.This study examined the extent of knowledge,attitudes and utilisation of HIV testing,and counselling services among trainee nurses of the public nursing and midwifery training colleges in the Central Region of Ghana.Methods and results:A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed to collect data from 375 nursing and midwifery students using multistage sampling procedures.Findings showed that students’HTC knowledge was high(85%)whereas attitudes toward HTC were rated positive(95%).However,HTC utilisation was low(47%).Further results revealed a statistically significant difference between class level and HTC utilisation(χ2[1,N=375]=14.263,p=0.000).In contrast,no statistically significant differences in student nurses’class level and HTC knowledge(χ2[1,N=375]=0.624,p=0.475)as well as class level and attitudes toward HTC services(χ2[1,N=375]=2.334,p=0.158)were realized.Conclusion:The low HTC utilisation among the student nurses may potentially lead to missing opportunities for early diagnoses,care,treatment,and support services for primary,secondary or tertiary prevention modes.Organisation of programmes by college authorities on the importance of HTC and the need for student nurses to utilise these services is crucial.
文摘Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of students’ nurses in the nurses training colleges towards clinical environment. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey approach was used. Nursing and Midwifery trainees at Cape Coast were the respondents. Simple random sampling was used to select 605 respondents for the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyze the data. Results: The majority of the respondents were female, Christians, singled and attended Cape Coast Nursing and Midwifery Training College (CCNMTC). The staff were helpful, friendly and considerate. There were repetition of student’s tasks in every shift but new and different ways of teaching were used. The students had positive perception of clinical learning environment. There were statistically significant differences in perception towards clinical learning environment among students based on academic class (levels). Conclusion: It was recommended that the staff nurses should assign students with varied task depending on their level.
文摘Background: The majority of injuries reported in female basketball players are ankle sprains and mechanisms leading to injury have been debated. Investigations into muscular imbalances in barefoot versus shod conditions and their relationship with injury severity have not been performed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of wearing athletic shoes on muscular strength and its relationship to lower extremity injuries, specifically female basketball players due to the high incidence of ankle injuries in this population. Methods: During pre-season, 11 female collegiate basketball players underwent inversion and eversion muscle strength testing using an iso- kinetic dynamometer in both a barefoot and shod conditions. The difference between conditions was calculated for inversion and eversion peak torque, time to peak torque as well as eversion-to-inversion peak torque percent strength ratio for both conditions. Lower extremity injuries were documented and ranked in severity. The ranked difference between barefoot and shod conditions for peak torque and time to peak torque as well as percent strength ratio was correlated with injury ranking using a Spearman rho correlation (p) with an a level of 0.05. Results: The ranked differences in barefoot and shod for peak eversion and inversion torque at 120°/s were correlated with their injury ranking. Ranking of the athletes based on the severity of injuries that were sustained during the season was found to have a strong, positive relationship with the difference in peak eversion torque between barefoot and shod (p = 0.78; p = 0.02). Conclusion: It is possible that a large discrepancy between strength in barefoot and shod conditions can predispose an athlete to injury. Nar- rowing the difference in peak eversion torque between barefoot and shod could decrease propensity to injury. Future work should investigate the effect of restoration of muscular strength during barefoot and shod exercise on injury rates.