Browsing by Author "Abuosi, A."
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Item Correlates of Contraceptive use among Ghanaian women of Reproductive Age (15-49 Years)(Brown Walker Press, USA/Women’s Health and Action Research, Nigeria, 2012) Nketiah-Amponsah, E.; Arthur, E.; Abuosi, A.Though fertility in Ghana has declined from an average of 8 children per woman over the past three decades to 4 per woman in recent times, the current rate of population growth is still unmatched by the requisite economic growth. Recent evidence suggests that the use of contraceptives have increased marginally despite the considerable decline in fertility rate. This paper revisits the determinants of contraceptive use among Ghanaian women, aged 15-49 using the 2008 GDHS. Empirically, the logistic and multinomial logistic regressions are used. Our results indicate that wealth status, level of education, ownership of health insurance, number of surviving children, marital status, location and geographical area of residence, religion and women autonomy are significant correlates of contraceptive use in Ghana. The finding reveals that, women who take health decisions jointly with their partners are more likely to use modern contraceptives as compared to women who take health decisions alone.Item Correlates of Contraceptive use among Ghanaian women of Reproductive Age-Recent Evidence.(2012) Nketiah-Amponsah, E.; Arthur, E.; Abuosi, A.Though fertility in Ghana has declined from an average of 8 children per woman over the past three decades to 4 per woman in recent times, the current rate of population growth is still unmatched by the requisite economic growth. Recent evidence suggests that the use of contraceptives have increased marginally despite the considerable decline in fertility rate. This paper revisits the determinants of contraceptive use among Ghanaian women, aged 15-49 using the 2008 GDHS. Empirically, the logistic and multinomial logistic regressions are used. Our results indicate that wealth status, level of education, ownership of health insurance, number of surviving children, marital status, location and geographical area of residence, religion and women autonomy are significant correlates of contraceptive use in Ghana. The finding reveals that, women who take health decisions jointly with their partners are more likely to use modern contraceptives as compared to women who take health decisions alone.Item Educational status and beliefs regarding non-communicable diseases among children in Ghana(BioMed Central, 2016) Badasu, D.M.; Atobra, D.; Adzei, F.; Abuosi, A.; Yawson, A.; Anarfi, J.Background: Increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has been observed in Ghana as in other developing countries. Past research focused on NCDs among adults. Recent researches, however, provide evidence on NCDs among children in many countries, including Ghana. Beliefs about the cause of NCDs among children may be determined by the socioeconomic status of parents and care givers. This paper examines the relationship between educational status of parents and/or care givers of children with NCDs on admission and their beliefs regarding NCDs among children. Methods: A total of 225 parents and/or care givers of children with NCDS hospitalized in seven hospitals in three regions (Greater Accra, Ashanti and Volta) were selected for the study. Statistical techniques, including the chi-square and multinomial logistic regression, were used for the data analysis. Results: Educational status is a predictor of care giver’s belief about whether enemies can cause NCDs among children or not. This is the only belief with which all the educational categories have significant relationship. Also, post-secondary/polytechnic (p-value =0.029) and university (p-value = 0.009) levels of education are both predictors of care givers being undecided about the belief that NCDs among children can be caused by enemies, when background characteristics are controlled for. Significant relationship is found between only some educational categories regarding the other types of beliefs and NCDs among children. For example, those with Middle/Juniour Secondary School (JSS)/Juniour High School (JHS) education are significantly undecided about the belief that the sin of parents can cause NCDs among children. Conclusions: Education is more of a predictor of the belief that enemies can cause NCDs among children than the other types of beliefs. Some categories of ethnicity, residential status and age have significant relationship with the beliefs when background characteristics of the parents and/or care givers were controlled for.Item Effects of perceived workplace politics in hospitals on nurses' behavioural intentions in Ghana(Journal of Nursing Management, 2014) Atinga, R.A.; Domfeh, K.A.; Kayi, E.; Abuosi, A.; Dzansi, G.To examine the effects of perceived workplace politics in hospitals on nurses' job satisfaction, commitment, exit intention, job neglect, absenteeism and performance. Background: One of the factors contributing to nurses' poor advancement in clinical practice is the existence of petty politics, which has given rise to competing self-interest. However, little evidence exists to inform policy direction on the implication of politics on nurses' behaviour. Method: A total of 610 nurses comprising associate and nursing professionals completed a structured questionnaire modelled on workplace politics and its outcome variables. Descriptive statistics and mean comparisons were used to analyse data. A multivariate regression model was computed to examine association between perceived politics and nurses' behavioural intentions. Result: Perceived politics potentially leads to decline in job satisfaction, commitment and work performance. However, perceived workplace politics is associated with high intention to leave, negligent behaviour and absenteeism. Conclusion: Measures aimed at improving nursing management and health-care delivery should be directed at minimising the use of politics to promote self-interest. Implication for nursing management: Evidence-based best practices in nursing management centred on the creation of an enabling environment for nurses to participate in decision-making should be given critical attention. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Item Effects of perceived workplace politics in hospitals on nurses’ behavioural intentions in Ghana.(2014) Atinga, R.A.; Domfeh, K.A.; Kayi, E.; Abuosi, A.; Dzansi, G.AIM: To examine the effects of perceived workplace politics in hospitals on nurses' job satisfaction, commitment, exit intention, job neglect, absenteeism and performance. BACKGROUND: One of the factors contributing to nurses' poor advancement in clinical practice is the existence of petty politics, which has given rise to competing self-interest. However, little evidence exists to inform policy direction on the implication of politics on nurses' behaviour. METHOD: A total of 610 nurses comprising associate and nursing professionals completed a structured questionnaire modelled on workplace politics and its outcome variables. Descriptive statistics and mean comparisons were used to analyse data. A multivariate regression model was computed to examine association between perceived politics and nurses' behavioural intentions. RESULT: Perceived politics potentially leads to decline in job satisfaction, commitment and work performance. However, perceived workplace politics is associated with high intention to leave, negligent behaviour and absenteeism. CONCLUSION: Measures aimed at improving nursing management and health-care delivery should be directed at minimising the use of politics to promote self-interest. IMPLICATION FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Evidence-based best practices in nursing management centred on the creation of an enabling environment for nurses to participate in decision-making should be given critical attention.Item Improving emergency obstetric referral systems in low and middle income countries: a qualitative study in a tertiary health facility in Ghana(BMC Health Services Research, 2020-01-10) Daniels, A.A.; Abuosi, A.Background: Timely access to emergency obstetric care is crucial in preventing mortalities associated with pregnancy and childbirth. The referral of patients from lower levels of care to higher levels has been identified as an integral component of the health care delivery system in Ghana. To this effect, in 2012, the National Referral Policy and Guidelines was developed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to help improve standard procedures and reduce delays which affect access to emergency care. Nonetheless, ensuring timely access to care during referral of obstetric emergencies has been problematic. The study aimed to identify barriers associated with the referral of emergency obstetric cases to the leading national referral centre. It specifically examines the lived experiences of patients, healthcare providers and relatives of patients on the referral system. Methods: Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra was used as a case study in 2016.The qualitative method was used and in-depth interviews were conducted with 89 respondents: healthcare providers [n = 34];patients [n = 31] and relatives of patients [n = 24] using semi-structured interview guides. Purposive sampling techniques were used in selecting healthcare providers and patients and convenience sampling techniques were used in selecting relatives of patients. Results: The study identified a range of barriers encountered in the referral process and broadly fall under the major themes: referral transportation system, referrer-receiver communication barriers, inadequate infrastructure and supplies and insufficient health personnel. Some highlights of the problem included inadequate use of ambulance services, poor management of patients during transit, lack of professional escort, unannounced emergency referrals, lack of adequate information and feedback and limited supply of beds, drugs and blood. These findings have implications on type II and III of the three delays model. Conclusions: Initiatives to improve the transportation system for the referral of obstetric emergencies are vital in ensuring patients’ safety during transfer. Communication between referring and receiving facilities should be enhanced. A strong collaboration is needed between teaching hospitals and other stakeholders in the referral chain to foster good referral practices and healthcare delivery. Concurrently, supply side barriers at referred facilities including ensuring sufficient provision for bed, blood, drugs, and personnel must be addressed.Item Instruments used to assess quality of life of older adults in African countries: a scoping review(BMC Geriatrics, 2021) Attafuah, P.Y.A.; Everink, I.H.J.; Halfens, R.J.G.; Lohrmann, C.; Abuosi, A.; Schols, J.M.G.ABackground: Over 60% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa, live in informal settlements (slums) with little or no resources. To be prepared to meet the needs of older people living in slums, it is necessary to know more about their quality of life (QoL). The objective of this review is to identify instruments, which can be used by researchers to assess the QoL of older adults living in African countries, especially those dwelling in slums. Methods: A scoping review was performed using the databases Scopus, PubMed, and ISI Web of Science to retrieve studies published from January 2008 – September 2020. Studies were included if they reported generic QoL instruments, focused on adults with a mean age ≥ 50 and were conducted in African countries. Results: In total, 18 studies were included using 7 unique instruments to measure QoL (EUROHIS-QOL-8, SWLS, WHOQOL-OLD, the WHOQOL-BREF, SF-36, SF-12 and RAND-38). All instruments could be interviewer-administered and had 5–36 items. However, little is known about their psychometric properties (validity and reliability), timeinvestment and cultural sensitivity of the domains included in the instruments. Conclusions: Even though this review retrieved instruments used to assess QoL of older adults in African countries, there is a need for further research on adjustment and validation of currently existing QoL instruments. In addition, the development and validation of a new instrument which can be used in (illiterate) older populations, living in slums in Africa should be considered.Item Investigation on children with acute non-communicable diseases and their caregivers in developing countries(Elsevier, 2016) Abuosi, A.; Badasu, D.M.; Adzei, F.A.; Atobrah, D.; Yawson, A.Objective To investigate children with acute non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their caregivers in developing countries. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in three out of the ten regions of Ghana. A total of 1 540 caregivers/parents of children with NCDs were interviewed. Data was analysed with the aid of IBM SPSS version 20. Statistical techniques used in the analysis included frequencies, means, SD and factor analysis. Findings were analysed according to the major themes of the study. Results Caregivers indicated that the incidence of NCDs among children is on the increase. They also believed that enemies can cause diseases in children. Caregivers tend to seek treatment in hospitals/clinics rather than from traditional or herbal medicine. However, they complement biomedical treatment with prayers for healing/deliverance. It was also found that NCDs have a negative effect on the physical and mental development of children as well as their school performance; and caring for children with NCDs also poses material, emotional and financial burden to caregivers. Conclusions Serious attention needs to be given to the development and implementation of policies to better the lot of children with NCDs. Conscious efforts need to be made to encourage and assist the caregivers with necessary resources to cater for their children's educational and health needs in particular.Item Maternal Socio-economic Status and Childhood Birth weight: A Health Survey in Ghana(Intech, Croatia, 2012) Nketiah-Amponsah, E.; Abuosi, A.; Arthur, E.This paper discusses the socio-economic determinants of Low Birth weight (LBW) in Ghana using the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey.Item Residential Status and Perceived Attitude towards Children with Non-Communicable Diseases in Ghana(2016) Anarfi, J.; Yawson, A.; Abuosi, A.; Adzei, F.; Atobra, D.; Badasu, D.M.Background: Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) have become quite prevalent worldwide. In Ghana as in other developing countries, NCDs are major public health concern. Even though modern health services have been sought by patients suffering from NCDs, poor attitude to those suffering from them exist in Ghanaian society because of traditional beliefs about the causes of such diseases. This paper examines parents and care givers’ perceived attitudes of Ghanaians towards NCDs among children. Methods: The study was conducted among 700 participants in three regions (Greater Accra, Ashanti and Volta) of Ghana in both rural and urban areas, using a quantitative research instrument. All the major ethnic groups of Ghana- Akan, Ewe, Ga-Dagme and Mole-Dagbani- were captured in the three regions. The dependent variables are: 1) perceived embarrassment of having a child with non-communicable disease, 2) discrimination from close associates and 3) difficulty of taking a child with non-communicable to social gatherings. The independent variable is residential status (rural and urban) and the control variables are socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents. Results: The findings indicate that the association between the background characteristics with perception of discrimination against families with children who have NCDs are significant according to the results of the Chi-Square test place of residence ( =10.678; p=0.005); level of education ( =19.389; p=0.036), and ethnic background ( =35.267; p=0.000). The results of the multinomial regression model show that those in rural areas have higher likelihood (92.0%) of perceiving that the family of a child with NCD will experience difficulty in going to social functions with the child compared with those in urban areas. Again, the rural dwellers are almost twice as likely (1.82%) to perceive that the family of a child with NCDs will feel embarrassed. Conclusion: Perceived attitude of society towards children with NCDs is generally poor in the study population. Perceived discrimination against families of such children suggests that the children may not be availed for treatment even as it is indicated that the parents/care givers will have difficulty in taking them out to public places. Rural residents have higher likelihood of such attitudes Health policies need to address such attitudes in Ghanaian society and must target rural residents while not neglecting urban dwellers.Item Residential Status and Perceived Attitude towards Children with Non-Communicable Diseases in Ghana(SM Journal of Pediatrics, 2016) Badasu, D.M.; Atobra, D.; Adzei, F.; Abuosi, A.; Yawson, A.; Anarfi, J.Background: Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) have become quite prevalent worldwide. In Ghana as in other developing countries, NCDs are major public health concern. Even though modern health services have been sought by patients suffering from NCDs, poor attitude to those suffering from them exist in Ghanaian society because of traditional beliefs about the causes of such diseases. This paper examines parents and care givers’ perceived attitudes of Ghanaians towards NCDs among children. Methods: The study was conducted among 700 participants in three regions (Greater Accra, Ashanti and Volta) of Ghana in both rural and urban areas, using a quantitative research instrument. All the major ethnic groups of Ghana- Akan, Ewe, Ga-Dagme and Mole-Dagbani- were captured in the three regions. The dependent variables are: 1) perceived embarrassment of having a child with non-communicable disease, 2) discrimination from close associates and 3) difficulty of taking a child with non-communicable to social gatherings. The independent variable is residential status (rural and urban) and the control variables are socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents. Results: The findings indicate that the association between the background characteristics with perception of discrimination against families with children who have NCDs are significant according to the results of the Chi-Square test place of residence ( =10.678; p=0.005); level of education ( =19.389; p=0.036), and ethnic background ( =35.267; p=0.000). The results of the multinomial regression model show that those in rural areas have higher likelihood (92.0%) of perceiving that the family of a child with NCD will experience difficulty in going to social functions with the child compared with those in urban areas. Again, the rural dwellers are almost twice as likely (1.82%) to perceive that the family of a child with NCDs will feel embarrassed. Conclusion: Perceived attitude of society towards children with NCDs is generally poor in the study population. Perceived discrimination against families of such children suggests that the children may not be availed for treatment even as it is indicated that the parents/care givers will have difficulty in taking them out to public places. Rural residents have higher likelihood of such attitudes Health policies need to address such attitudes in Ghanaian society and must target rural residents while not neglecting urban dwellersItem Service Quality in Health Care Institutions: Establishing the gaps for policy action(2013) Abuosi, A.; Atinga, R.AAbstract PURPOSE: The authors seek to examine two key issues: to assess patients' hospital service quality perceptions and expectation using SERVQUAL; and to outline the distinct concepts used to assess patient perceptions. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Questionnaires were administered to 250 patients on admission and follow-up visits. The 22 paired SERVQUAL expectation and perception items were adopted. Repeated t-measures and factor analysis with Varimax rotation were used to analyse data. FINDINGS: Results showed that patient expectations were not being met during medical treatment. Perceived service quality was rated lower than expectations for all variables. The mean difference between perceptions and expectations was statistically significant. Contrary to the SERVQUAL five-factor model, four service-quality factors were identified in the study. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Findings have practical implications for hospital managers who should consider stepping up staffing levels backed by client-centred training programmes to help clinicians deliver care to patients' expectations. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Limited studies are tailored towards patients' service-quality perception and expectation in Ghanaian hospitals. The findings therefore provide valuable information for policy and practice.Item Standardizing a developing country health information system through proprietary software Ghana’s experience(2013) Effah, J.; Abuosi, A.This study aims to understand a developing country’s experience with health information system (HIS) based on standard proprietary software compared with that based on free and open source software (FOSS) as documented in the literature. The developing country HIS literature has focused more on experiences with manual systems or FOSS. Less is therefore known about the development and use of HIS based on standard proprietary software. Using qualitative, interpretive case study methodology, this study investigates Ghana’s experience with the development and use of proprietary software to standardize HIS across the national, regional, district and hospital levels. The paper highlights the inflexible nature of the standardized proprietary approach to HIS under top-down development in developing countries and the resultant challenges and recommends FOSS based on bottom-up participatory development as a better alternative.Item Standardizing district health information systems through proprietary software: Ghana’s Experience.(2013) Effah, J.; Abuosi, A.This study aims to understand a developing country’s experience with health information system (HIS) based on standard proprietary software compared with that based on free and open source software (FOSS) as documented in the literature. The developing country HIS literature has focused more on experiences with manual systems or FOSS. Less is therefore known about the development and use of HIS based on standard proprietary software. Using qualitative, interpretive case study methodology, this study investigates Ghana’s experience with the development and use of proprietary software to standardize HIS across the national, regional, district and hospital levels. The paper highlights the inflexible nature of the standardized proprietary approach to HIS under top-down development in developing countries and the resultant challenges and recommends FOSS based on bottom-up participatory development as a better alternative.Item Subscribers' perception of quality of services provided by Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme - What are the correlates?(BMC Health Services Research, 2019-03) Nketiah-Amponsah, E.; Alhassan, R.K.; Ampaw, S.; Abuosi, A.Background Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has witnessed an upsurge in enrollment since its inception in 2003, with over 40% of the Ghanaian population actively enrolled in the scheme. While the scheme strives to achieve universal health coverage, this quest is derailed by negative perceptions of the quality of services rendered to NHIS subscribers. This paper presents an analysis on perceptions of service quality provided to subscribers of Ghana’s NHIS with emphasis on rural and urban scheme policy holders, using a nationally representative data. Methods The study used data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. Ordered logistic regressions were estimated to identify the correlates of perceived quality of care of services rendered by the NHIS. Also, chi-square statistics were performed to test for significant differences in the proportions of subscribers in the two subsamples (rural and urban). Results Rural subscribers of the NHIS were found to identify more with better perception of quality of services provided by the NHIS than urban subscribers. Results from the chi-square statistics further indicated that rural subscribers are significantly different from urban subscribers in terms of the selected socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. In the full sample; age, out-of-pocket payment for healthcare and region of residence proved significant in explaining perceived quality of services rendered by the NHIS. Age, out-of-pocket payment for healthcare, region of residence, wealth status, and access to media were found to be significant predictors of perceived quality of services provided to both rural and urban subscribers of the NHIS. The significance of these variables varied among men and women in rural and urban areas. Conclusion Different factors affect the perception of quality of services provided to rural and urban subscribers of Ghana’s NHIS. Health financing policies geared toward improving the NHIS-related services in rural and urban areas should be varied.