Trends in Non-Communicable Disease Mortality at the Bono Regional Hospital, Sunyani-Ghana

Abstract

Cardiovascular disorders (such as heart attacks and strokes), cancer, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma), and diabetes are the most common non-communicable diseases in the world. Projecting mortality patterns can offer policymakers and planners with useful information. This study employed a retrospective approach which involved taking secondary data from events that have already occurred and making inferences and projections about the future. A trend line was used to forecast the death rate. The cause specific mortality rates of the four main NCDs (cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes) were extracted from DHIMs (District Health Information Management System). The information gathered was entered into Microsoft Excel 2016. The mortality rates were then categorized into their respective groups and a time- series graph was used to graphically present the trend of NCD mortality from 2013 to 2021. The projection for the upcoming years was done by fitting a ‘trend line’ into the time series graph that was already generated. The findings showed that cancer had a mortality rate of 0 for the seven-year period, CVDs had a mortality rate of 3.4% for the same period, CRDs had a mortality rate of 1.4% and diabetes had a mortality rate of 0.8% for the same period. The findings further showed that males had higher mortality rates than females for most years during the seven-year period. The mortality rates for three categories of non-communicable diseases will continue to increase (CVDs: 3.4% to 3.7%, CRDs: 1.4% in 2013 to 1.9% in 2020, diabetes 0.8% in 2013 to 1.2% in 2025). At Bono regional Hospital, by 2025, mortality rates from non-communicable diseases are expected to rise. This could be due to the fact that the country is still developing, and as a result, people are picking up unhealthy habits from the developed countries.