Assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practices towards inguinal hernia among adult-male in the East Mamprusi District

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2015-03-03
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Globally, inguinal hernia is the most common type of hernia, comprising of approximately 75% of all abdominal wall hernias. It is one of the most common general surgical operations worldwide accounting for 10 to 15% of all surgical procedures. There is paucity of published data on the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards inguinal hernia in our environment as there is no local study which has been done in the East Mamprusi District. This study was a community-based cross-sectional study with the aim of assessing the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards inguinal hernia in the East Mamprusi District among adult-males. A sample of 216 respondents was selected through a multi stage sampling technique. It was revealed that the knowledge about inguinal hernia was inadequate, even though majority (61.6%) attributed the cause of inguinal hernia to hereditary factors, with more than half (52.7%) reporting food/drink to be the cause. Majority (34.5%) indicated they would prefer to see a medical doctor upon suspicion of inguinal hernia, with 1.4% reporting that they would rather inform a priest/pastor about the medical condition in question. The predominant attitude towards the treatment of inguinal hernia was found to be fear of surgery (28.8%), followed by adverse effects of surgery (25.4%) and high hospital cost (24.5%). About one-fifth believed inguinal hernia is as a result of ancestral curse. Eighty percent of the respondents reported to have ever engaged in heavy lifting, with almost an equal proportion (84.1%) reporting the frequency of lifting to be occasional. xii The study indicates inadequate knowledge about inguinal hernia among adult-males in the East Mamprusi District. Intervention programmes by stakeholders particularly the East Mamprusi District Health Directorate could, therefore, address the issue of inadequate knowledge about the condition by intensifying IEC programmes in the communities.
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A thesis submitted to the Department Of Community Health, Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science And Technology, Kumasi in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters Of Public Health (MPH) in Health Education And Promotion
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