Application of a Community Diagnosis Survey Approach to the Assessment of Adolescent Health at Korle Worko, Accra, Ghana

Background: Adolescent health has assumed greater significance globally since adolescents bear a considerable proportion of the global disease and injury burden. Thus investing in their health can yield substantial benefit. Community surveys are useful tools for identifying the needs of adolescents and promoting their health.

Objective: This study was part of a medical education programme with the objective of identifying health and social problems of adolescents living in Korle Worko, a suburb of Accra, Ghana.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015 using structured questionnaires which were administered to 729 heads of households and 228 adolescents. Weight and height measurements were performed on the adolescents, while key informant interviews were also conducted among community elders and adolescents. Community mapping and pair-wise matrix construction were done. The data was summarized using SPSS and Geographic Information Systems.

Results: The most commonly reported health complaints of adolescents were stomach ache, common cold, skin rashes, sadness or crying a lot, lack of concentration and hearing problems or earache. Asthma was the most common chronic diseases reported. Whereas 22.7% of the females were either overweight or obese, 7.4% of the males were overweight or obese and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.002). The spatial pattern of alcohol use correlates with drug abuse, suggesting that adolescent risky behaviour may be influenced by antisocial behaviour in the community at large.

Conclusion: Over-nutrition, under-nutrition, abdominal, respiratory and mental health problems were prominent findings in this study. Therefore, adolescent health services should target these diseases. Additionally, efforts at preventing lifestyle related risk factors should also target the areas of influence within the community.