Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a common but serious complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). The factors distressing the worth of diabetic foot care (DFC) are knowledge and practice. Foot ulcers are the main cause of amputation and death in people suffering from DM. This study assessed the knowledge and practice of DFC and the prevalence of DFUs and its associated factors among diabetic patients of selected hospitals in the Volta Region, Ghana. A multihospital‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted among 473 patients with DM who were recruited using the systematic sampling method. Data were collected using a validated, pretested, and structured questionnaire, while medical variables were obtained from patient folders and analysed using SPSS version 23. All statistically significant parameters in bivariate analysis were incorporated in the multivariate logistic regression analysis. The results showed that 63% of diabetic patients had good knowledge of DFC, while 49% competently practiced it. A negative correlation was found between knowledge and practice levels of DFC (r = −0.15, P = <.01). The prevalence of DFUs was 8.7% among the studied diabetic patients. Male diabetic patients were 3.4 times more likely to develop DFUs than female diabetic patients (crude odd ratio [cOR] = 3.35; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.75‐6.43; P = <.001). Type 1 diabetic patients were five times more likely to develop DFUs than those who had type 2 diabetes (cOR = 5.00; 95% CI = 2.50‐10.00; P = <.001). Diabetic patients who had a family history of diabetes were 4.7 times more likely to develop DFUs than those without family history (adjusted odd ratio [aOR] = 4.66; 95% CI = 1.55‐13.89; P = .006). Those who had diabetes for 5 to 10 years were 3.3 times more likely to develop DFUs than those who had diabetes for less than 5 years (aOR = 3.28; 95% CI = 1.40‐7.67; P = .006). Diabetic patients who had comorbidity were 3.4 times more likely to develop DFUs than those without comorbidity (cOR = 3.35; 95% CI = 1.74‐6.45; P = <.001). The study found that there was good knowledge but poor practices of DFC among patients. Health care providers are expected to better educate patients and emphasise self‐care practices to patients. Health care providers should also give more attention to patients with associated risk factors to avoid further complications and reduce the occurrence of DFUs.

Background: Over half of global deaths among children under five years of age occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Prompt and consistent access to and utilisation of child healthcare services improves child health outcomes. However, socio-cultural barriers impede the utilisation of child healthcare services among rural dwellers in Ghana. There is a paucity of studies that explore the experiences of nurses and caregivers regarding the socio-cultural barriers to the delivery and utilisation of child healthcare services in rural areas in Ghana such as the Nkwanta South Municipality. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of nurses and caregivers regarding the socio-cultural barriers that impede the delivery and utilisation of child healthcare services by caregivers for their children in the Nkwanta South Municipality, Ghana. Methods: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with a purposive sample of ten nurses and nine caregivers of children under five years of age who utilised the available child healthcare services in a rural setting. The consent of all participants was sought and given before interviews were conducted. Data analysis entailed coding and the generation of themes the codes. Results: The exploration of experiences of nurses and caregivers of children under-five years of age revealed that certain socio-cultural beliefs and practices, language barriers and reliance of caregivers on self-medication were the main socio-cultural barriers that impeded the delivery and utilisation of child healthcare services in the Nkwanta South Municipality. Conclusion: Nurses and caregivers experienced several socio-cultural barriers which either delayed care seeking by caregivers for their sick children or interfered with the smooth and prompt delivery of needed child healthcare services by nurses. Some of the barriers negatively affected the interaction between nurses and caregivers with the tendency to affect subsequent child healthcare service utilisation. It is recommended that healthcare managers and nurses should foster close collaboration with caregivers and community leaders to address these socio-cultural barriers and facilitate prompt and consistent utilisation of child healthcare service in rural areas.

Introduction: The nursing profession in the 21st century requires service delivery in a highly specialized nursing environment with a high degree of professionalism and optimum patient outcome. Evidence-Based Nursing Practice (EBP) may provide a great opportunity for moving nursing care to a level that may involve clinical reasoning to meet demand in the 21st century and beyond, improve patient outcome and cost containment. Objective: To investigate evidence-based nursing practice among nurses in Ghana. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional survey and data was collected among clinical nurses and nurse educators from both private and public institutions across Ghana. Nurses were included if they have full-time or part-time appointment; were in active service and have a valid Personal Identification Number (PIN) from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana. Results: About half of the nurses disagreed or were neutral regarding formulation of answerable research questions and 40% do not critically track relevant scientific evidence. Also, more than 30% of the nurses disagreed or were neutral regarding the integration of scientific evidence into practice. Clinical nurses were about 2.1 times more likely to have difficulty determining the applicability of research findings in service delivery compared to nurse educators. Conclusion: The findings suggest EBP uptake and integration is suboptimal in Ghana.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, studies related to the COVID-19 pandemic have been published widely. However, there are limited qualitative studies in Ghana that explored and shed light on frontline nurses’ experiences and challenges in caring for patients diagnosed with COVID-19. This study aimed to explore frontline nurses’ experiences and challenges of providing care for COVID-19 patients in the Volta Region of Ghana. This study adopted a descriptive qualitative research design to collect data. We conducted the study among frontline nurses who provided nursing care for COVID-19 patients in the Treatment Centre for COVID-19 cases in the Volta Region of Ghana. A purposive sampling method was used to select fifteen (15) participants for this study. We collected data through individual in-depth interviews facilitated by a semi-structured interview guide. The content analysis approach was used to analyse the data. The results showed: frontline nurses received inadequate information and training during the initial stages of the pandemic; stress and burnout because of inadequate staffing; logistical challenges; stigmatisation by family members and friends; frontline nurses displeased with the decision to exclude other nurses as frontline workers; participants made some recommendations towards supporting frontline nurses for effective management of patients during pandemics. This study revealed an in-depth understanding of the experiences of frontline nurses who provided nursing care to COVID-19 patients during the pandemic. Our study concludes that the frontline nurses experienced both physical and psychological problems while caring for COVID-19 patients at the treatment centre. Some challenges frontline nurses encountered were inadequate information on COVID-19 prevention and management in the early stages of the pandemic, logistical inadequacies, and stigmatisation in providing care for COVID-19 patients during the pandemic, all of which affected the quality of nursing care, work productivity, and efficiency. Therefore, nurse managers need to provide support to frontline nurses providing care for patients with COVID-19.

Introduction: Timely access to available, and affordable essential child healthcare services is important to ensure the well-being of children under five years. However, healthcare systems in low- and middle-income countries like Ghana struggle to realise this goal because of the accessibility challenges that confront the system. Aim: To explore the experiences of nurses and caregivers about the physical and financial challenges to accessing child healthcare services in a rural district in Ghana. Methods: The study employed a qualitative approach using an exploratory descriptive design to collect data from nurses and caregivers of children under five years of age in the Nkwanta South Municipality, Ghana. Data collected through semi-structured interviews were analysed using qualitative techniques and the results presented in themes and sub-themes. Results: The financial challenges to seeking child healthcare were the high costs of child healthcare services and challenges with health insurance ownership. Limited operational hours, long distances, and transportation difficulties to health facilities were the main health facility and physical access challenges to seeking child healthcare. Conclusions: The physical and financial access challenges that confronted caregivers of children under-five years of age contributed to delays and non-utilisation of child healthcare services in various of ways. This situation largely contributed to the inadequate child health services utilisation experienced in rural areas. Addressing these challenges could enhance child healthcare access and improve the state of child health.

Aim To explore the challenges facing hospital nurse managers (HNMs) in selected hospitals in the Volta region of Ghana. Method The study, which had an exploratory qualitative design, involved the recruitment of 12 HNMs from six public hospitals in the Volta region of Ghana. Purposive sampling was used and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The conventional content analysis approach was adopted for data analysis. Findings The study revealed several managerial challenges of being HNMs in performing their roles. These include: a lack of managerial preparedness, clear job descriptions and support; interference by other managers; and inadequate nursing staff and material resources. All these compromised the quality of nursing care. Participants found their role tedious and stressful, but also regard it as an opportunity to learn new ideas. Conclusion HNMs face several challenges that negatively affect their performance. There is a need for succession planning, career development and mentoring programmes to strengthen HNMs’ leadership and management skills to help them provide high-quality nursing care.