Abena Tannor - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Abena Tannor

Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences

It is estimated that about 50% of people in low- and middle- income countries who require rehabil... more It is estimated that about 50% of people in low- and middle- income countries who require rehabilitation do not get it. Multidisciplinary rehabilitation services led by Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) physicians have been shown to improve functioning, independence and the quality of life of persons with reduced functioning or disability. However, there is a dearth of PRM physicians in low to middle income countries (LMICs), particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. One potential solution to this lack of specialists is the establishment of PRM training programs, which are currently lacking. The International Rehabilitation Forum (IRF) developed and implemented a fellowship program to train physicians in rehabilitation medicine and has been successful in Ghana, Ethiopia and Cameroon, all LMICs in sub-Saharan Africa. However, ongoing challenges include inadequate PRM trainers, availability of logistics and services for hands on experience, and funding. The fellowship program has a...

African Journal of Current Medical Research, 2022

Background The Paediatric Neurology Clinic at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) was establish... more Background The Paediatric Neurology Clinic at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) was established in 2002 and run twice weekly. It offers management for children with non-surgical neurological and neuro-developmental disorders and has an average attendance of 20 patients (including 5 new cases) a day. In 2019, there were 2050 visits. Following the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, measures were instituted to prevent over-crowding at the clinic including a booking system where new patients were given appointment dates. Currently, there is no data on the referral patterns seen at the clinic and how the appointment system has impacted new patients’ attendance. Aim To determine the patterns of referrals and time lapse between referrals and first visit for new patients seen at the clinic in 2020. Method: A retrospective review of referral notes received at the clinic from January to December 2020 was done to extract data on the age, sex, referring facility, region, referring diagnos...

African Journal of Current Medical Research, 2022

Background According to the Ghana Multiple Indicator cluster survey 2011, 1 in 4 Ghanaian childre... more Background According to the Ghana Multiple Indicator cluster survey 2011, 1 in 4 Ghanaian children aged 36-59 months is estimated to have a delay in their development (cognitive, learning, socioemotional and physical). Although the exact prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the country is unknown, these children are a particularly under-served population in Ghana, suffering from late identification and poor access to evaluation and treatment.Aim: To establish standard care pathways in the public health sector for the management of ASD in the Ashanti Region of Ghana by August 2021. Method A multidisciplinary guiding coalition was established to conduct a fish-bone root cause analysis via one-on-one interviews and focused group discussions with major stakeholders to understand the primary cause of the problem. A simple referral process map was then designed by the group. After an extensive literature search using google scholar and PubMed, the 23Q screening tool, originally...

Background Hyponatraemia is the most common electrolyte abnormality in hospital admissions. It oc... more Background Hyponatraemia is the most common electrolyte abnormality in hospital admissions. It occurs in a quarter of medical admissions in Ghana and its associated with high mortality. Mortality has been suggested to be due to the underlying medical condition and not necessarily the hyponatraemia. We set out to compare the outcomes of patients with documented hyponatraemia as compared to those with normonatraemia in terms of mortality and length of hospital stay.Methods We conducted a case control study of patients with hyponatraemia as compared to those with normonatraemia on the medical ward at the Komfo Anokye Teaching hospital between May 2018 to December 2018. The medical diagnoses, demographics and laboratory data of the patients were recorded. Participants’ age and gender were matched. Student t test was used to test for differences in continuous variables when parametric and Wilcoxon Signed Rank test for non-parametric variables. Multiple logistic regression was used to ide...

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America, 2019

In Africa, rehabilitation services are insufficient and marred with inadequate political commitme... more In Africa, rehabilitation services are insufficient and marred with inadequate political commitments and collaborations of stakeholders. Infrastructures and expertise for rehabilitation are scarce and poorly coordinated. Community-based rehabilitation programs are fragmented and fractured and lack working partnership with rehabilitation services in health care systems. Locally responsive policy frameworks, service delivery models, and health governance practices are prerequisites for meeting rehabilitation needs of the ever-increasing number of persons with chronic disabling conditions. Concerted global efforts are required for equitable and accessible coordinated continuum of rehabilitation care at various levels of health services and the community in most Sub-Saharan African countries.

The Journal of the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 2019

IntroductIon According to the WHO, 15% of the world’s population has a disability, and this inclu... more IntroductIon According to the WHO, 15% of the world’s population has a disability, and this includes Africa where the majority of the population are poor and live in rural areas without good roads to access health care in urban centers. The rise in noncommunicable diseases coupled with their disabling consequences partly due to the culture of inadequate health screening; the high rate of road traffic accidents due to badly constructed roads and its complications as a result of poor emergency services all point to the fact that physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM) is badly needed in Africa.

Ghana Medical Journal, 2017

Background: Low back pain (LBP) has a prevalence of 84% in Africa. The commonest form of imaging ... more Background: Low back pain (LBP) has a prevalence of 84% in Africa. The commonest form of imaging is plain lumbar spine x-ray. It gives a radiation dose equivalent to 65 times a chest x-ray dose and sends one of the highest doses to the human reproductive organs. The commonest cause of LBP in Africa is degenerative disease. X-ray findings do not change mode of treatment yet most physicians still routinely request for x-rays. Methods: This is a systematic review of databases including The Cochrane, CINAHL plus, AMED, and MEDLINE. Key evidence was clinical guidelines on x-ray use for low back pain. Key search terms included low back pain, xrays, guidelines, Ghana. Results: Four clinical guidelines on LBP emerged from two Systematic Reviews rated excellent and four good Randomized Controlled Trials: The European guidelines for acute and sub-acute non-specific Low Back Pain, The American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society guideline for diagnostic imaging for Low Back Pain, The NICE guidelines for persistent non-specific Low Back Pain and the Ghana Standard Treatment Guidelines (GSTG). All the guidelines agree that a good history and clinical examination for all LBP patients helps in diagnosing. Only GSTG recommends routine plain spinal x-rays. Conclusion: There is strong evidence indicating very little benefit from routine lumbar spine x-rays for all LBP. The GSTG needs to be revised considering the increased risks of radiation exposure and the x-ray costs.

International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, 2013

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America, 2019

An estimated increase in population and chronic conditions leading to disability required increas... more An estimated increase in population and chronic conditions leading to disability required increasing emphasis on rehabilitation and fundamental health intervention. Unlike developed nations, the poorer countries do not usually have the full rehabilitation workforce needed to promote societal inclusion and participation while improving quality of life. In general, roles/job scope of rehabilitation workforce was not clearly defined and often resorted to task shifting, thus leading to more barriers and facilitators in capacity building. Barriers were poor availability of human resources and insufficient training program/supports for their professional development. Facilitators were local government support and international non-governmental organizations collaboration. Recommendations for capacity building effort are to work together with the developed nations to encourage funding, training, education, and sharing of resources.

Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences

It is estimated that about 50% of people in low- and middle- income countries who require rehabil... more It is estimated that about 50% of people in low- and middle- income countries who require rehabilitation do not get it. Multidisciplinary rehabilitation services led by Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) physicians have been shown to improve functioning, independence and the quality of life of persons with reduced functioning or disability. However, there is a dearth of PRM physicians in low to middle income countries (LMICs), particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. One potential solution to this lack of specialists is the establishment of PRM training programs, which are currently lacking. The International Rehabilitation Forum (IRF) developed and implemented a fellowship program to train physicians in rehabilitation medicine and has been successful in Ghana, Ethiopia and Cameroon, all LMICs in sub-Saharan Africa. However, ongoing challenges include inadequate PRM trainers, availability of logistics and services for hands on experience, and funding. The fellowship program has a...

African Journal of Current Medical Research, 2022

Background The Paediatric Neurology Clinic at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) was establish... more Background The Paediatric Neurology Clinic at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) was established in 2002 and run twice weekly. It offers management for children with non-surgical neurological and neuro-developmental disorders and has an average attendance of 20 patients (including 5 new cases) a day. In 2019, there were 2050 visits. Following the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, measures were instituted to prevent over-crowding at the clinic including a booking system where new patients were given appointment dates. Currently, there is no data on the referral patterns seen at the clinic and how the appointment system has impacted new patients’ attendance. Aim To determine the patterns of referrals and time lapse between referrals and first visit for new patients seen at the clinic in 2020. Method: A retrospective review of referral notes received at the clinic from January to December 2020 was done to extract data on the age, sex, referring facility, region, referring diagnos...

African Journal of Current Medical Research, 2022

Background According to the Ghana Multiple Indicator cluster survey 2011, 1 in 4 Ghanaian childre... more Background According to the Ghana Multiple Indicator cluster survey 2011, 1 in 4 Ghanaian children aged 36-59 months is estimated to have a delay in their development (cognitive, learning, socioemotional and physical). Although the exact prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the country is unknown, these children are a particularly under-served population in Ghana, suffering from late identification and poor access to evaluation and treatment.Aim: To establish standard care pathways in the public health sector for the management of ASD in the Ashanti Region of Ghana by August 2021. Method A multidisciplinary guiding coalition was established to conduct a fish-bone root cause analysis via one-on-one interviews and focused group discussions with major stakeholders to understand the primary cause of the problem. A simple referral process map was then designed by the group. After an extensive literature search using google scholar and PubMed, the 23Q screening tool, originally...

Background Hyponatraemia is the most common electrolyte abnormality in hospital admissions. It oc... more Background Hyponatraemia is the most common electrolyte abnormality in hospital admissions. It occurs in a quarter of medical admissions in Ghana and its associated with high mortality. Mortality has been suggested to be due to the underlying medical condition and not necessarily the hyponatraemia. We set out to compare the outcomes of patients with documented hyponatraemia as compared to those with normonatraemia in terms of mortality and length of hospital stay.Methods We conducted a case control study of patients with hyponatraemia as compared to those with normonatraemia on the medical ward at the Komfo Anokye Teaching hospital between May 2018 to December 2018. The medical diagnoses, demographics and laboratory data of the patients were recorded. Participants’ age and gender were matched. Student t test was used to test for differences in continuous variables when parametric and Wilcoxon Signed Rank test for non-parametric variables. Multiple logistic regression was used to ide...

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America, 2019

In Africa, rehabilitation services are insufficient and marred with inadequate political commitme... more In Africa, rehabilitation services are insufficient and marred with inadequate political commitments and collaborations of stakeholders. Infrastructures and expertise for rehabilitation are scarce and poorly coordinated. Community-based rehabilitation programs are fragmented and fractured and lack working partnership with rehabilitation services in health care systems. Locally responsive policy frameworks, service delivery models, and health governance practices are prerequisites for meeting rehabilitation needs of the ever-increasing number of persons with chronic disabling conditions. Concerted global efforts are required for equitable and accessible coordinated continuum of rehabilitation care at various levels of health services and the community in most Sub-Saharan African countries.

The Journal of the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 2019

IntroductIon According to the WHO, 15% of the world’s population has a disability, and this inclu... more IntroductIon According to the WHO, 15% of the world’s population has a disability, and this includes Africa where the majority of the population are poor and live in rural areas without good roads to access health care in urban centers. The rise in noncommunicable diseases coupled with their disabling consequences partly due to the culture of inadequate health screening; the high rate of road traffic accidents due to badly constructed roads and its complications as a result of poor emergency services all point to the fact that physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM) is badly needed in Africa.

Ghana Medical Journal, 2017

Background: Low back pain (LBP) has a prevalence of 84% in Africa. The commonest form of imaging ... more Background: Low back pain (LBP) has a prevalence of 84% in Africa. The commonest form of imaging is plain lumbar spine x-ray. It gives a radiation dose equivalent to 65 times a chest x-ray dose and sends one of the highest doses to the human reproductive organs. The commonest cause of LBP in Africa is degenerative disease. X-ray findings do not change mode of treatment yet most physicians still routinely request for x-rays. Methods: This is a systematic review of databases including The Cochrane, CINAHL plus, AMED, and MEDLINE. Key evidence was clinical guidelines on x-ray use for low back pain. Key search terms included low back pain, xrays, guidelines, Ghana. Results: Four clinical guidelines on LBP emerged from two Systematic Reviews rated excellent and four good Randomized Controlled Trials: The European guidelines for acute and sub-acute non-specific Low Back Pain, The American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society guideline for diagnostic imaging for Low Back Pain, The NICE guidelines for persistent non-specific Low Back Pain and the Ghana Standard Treatment Guidelines (GSTG). All the guidelines agree that a good history and clinical examination for all LBP patients helps in diagnosing. Only GSTG recommends routine plain spinal x-rays. Conclusion: There is strong evidence indicating very little benefit from routine lumbar spine x-rays for all LBP. The GSTG needs to be revised considering the increased risks of radiation exposure and the x-ray costs.

International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, 2013

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America, 2019

An estimated increase in population and chronic conditions leading to disability required increas... more An estimated increase in population and chronic conditions leading to disability required increasing emphasis on rehabilitation and fundamental health intervention. Unlike developed nations, the poorer countries do not usually have the full rehabilitation workforce needed to promote societal inclusion and participation while improving quality of life. In general, roles/job scope of rehabilitation workforce was not clearly defined and often resorted to task shifting, thus leading to more barriers and facilitators in capacity building. Barriers were poor availability of human resources and insufficient training program/supports for their professional development. Facilitators were local government support and international non-governmental organizations collaboration. Recommendations for capacity building effort are to work together with the developed nations to encourage funding, training, education, and sharing of resources.