The Team – 14 Members of various backgrounds
- 1 Medical Doctor
- 4 Nurse Practitioners
- 4 Nurses
- 1 Physical Therapist
- 1 Licensed Social Worker
- 1 Translator
- 2 Audio Visual Technicians
Tamale GN Staff
Heritage Hotel Screening – 125 participants
Common complaints: blood pressure, visual acuity and lower back pain
- We educated and treated most patients for hypertension and “waist pain”. It appears that most staff who were on hypertension medications were not being managed. Most only seek medical attention when they are sick.
- “Waist pain” common complaint due to improper bending and lifting.
Recommendations:
- Health Education Handout, Posters, Workshops on health promotion on topics such as hypertension and ergonomics.
Tamale – Bamvim – 400 participants
Common complaints: blood pressure, visual acuity and lower back pain
Coconut Grove – 150 participants
Common complaints: blood pressure, stress and lower back pain.
-Most participants in this group are being managed regulary by a Doctor. Common complaints related to stress and blood pressure. Many struggled with identifying ways in which they could reduce stress and anxiety as it related to work and family problems.
-Ergonomics a common problem is many people do not bend and stretch properly.
Accra Coconut Grove – 200 participants
Common complaints: blood pressure, stress and lower back pain.
-Most participants in this group are being managed regulary by a Doctor. Common complaints related to stress and blood pressure. Many struggled with identifying ways in which they could reduce stress and anxiety as it related to work and family problems.
-Ergonomics a common problem is many people do not bend and stretch properly.
Summary
- 90% of participants that came to screenings were able to be seen (1,500 participants).
- Moving from the North to South, education played an enormous role in health outcomes of participants. The acuity of participants from Tamale were higher than those of Accra
- GN staff in all areas shared high levels of stress which attributed to elevated blood pressures. Many were concerned about meeting targets and goals which overall impacted their health outcomes.
- GN staff and community members alike complained about lower back pain. Proper bending and lifting techniques need to be incorporated into general teaching practices to prevent injuries.
Recommendations
-GN Health Group needs to identify 3 core areas in which GHI’s services are meaningful and purposeful.
-Health Screenings an integral tool in allowing access to people who would normally not receive medical treatment but with no follow up mechanisms in place it’s a short term solution for a much bigger problem.
-Partnering with GN Health group to create liasons that can follow up with treatment protocols in Group as well as community.