Browsing by Author "Amoako, E.K."
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Item Detection of Leishmania DNA in Phlebotomine Sand Flies in Tsatee, a Community in the Volta Region, Ghana(BioMed Research International, 2023) Addo, S.O.; Amoako, E.K.; Bentil, R.E.Leishmania parasites, which are spread by infected female sand flies, are the cause of the disease leishmaniasis. Although cutaneous leishmaniasis has been found to occur in the Volta Region, there is limited data on vector species and reservoirs. This study focused on the Tsatee community, in the South Dayi District of the Volta Region, and is aimed at identifying the sand fly fauna and detecting the presence of Leishmania DNA by the use of primers that target the conserved region of Leishmania spp. minicircle DNA of the parasite kinetoplast. The miniature light traps and hand aspirators provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were used to collect outdoor and indoor sand flies for five months in a guinea woodland and semideciduous forest area. From the collections, 4,580 phlebotomine sand flies were obtained and identified, and females were examined for Leishmania DNA using PCR. The male flies were 1,202 (26.24%), non-blood-fed females were 3,321 (72.51%), and 57 (1.25%) were blood-fed females. It was observed that Sergentomyia species constituted 99.91% of the total collected sand flies with S. africana (76.77%) as the predominant species. Phlebotomus rodhaini (0.09%) was the only Phlebotomus species identified from the study area. From 283 non-blood-fed sand fly pools and 57 individual blood-fed species screened, Leishmania DNA was detected in 12 (4.24%) pools and 8 (14.04%) individuals, respectively. It was observed that Leishmania DNA was detected in all the sand fly species identified except S. collarti. This study reports the first detection of Leishmania DNA in P. rodhaini in Ghana, with an infection rate of 33.33% (95% CI, 1.23-88.32). The findings suggest that the role of Phlebotomus in disease transmission in the study area cannot be discounted. Future studies should include continuous surveillance, blood meal preferences, and vector competence of the various infected phlebotomine sand flies to create effective control measures.Item Employee empowerment and organizational commitment among employees of star-rated hotels in Ghana: does perceived supervisor support matter?(Journal of Work-Applied Management, 2023) Kyei-Frimpong, M.; Amoako, E.K.; Akwetey-Siaw, B.; et al.Purpose – The current study aimed to examine the moderating role of perceived supervisor support in the nexus between employee empowerment and organizational commitment in the Ghanaian hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative research design was adopted, and data were collected from 274 frontline workers from 4-star and 5-star hotels at two different waves within a 7-month interval. The data received were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS V. 23.0) and SmartPLS (V.4.0), respectively. Findings – As hypothesized in the study, employee empowerment was significantly related to organizational commitment. Furthermore, the results revealed that perceived supervisor support moderated the nexus between employee empowerment and affective and continuance commitment but did not moderate the nexus between employee empowerment and normative commitment. Originality/value – Arguably, support from supervisors has been theoretically identified as a key construct in enhancing subordinates’ commitment to an organization. However, less is known in the literature about the moderating role of perceived supervisory support in the nexus between employee empowerment and organizational commitment, especially in the Ghanaian hospitality industryItem The Impact Of Mental Health On Mineworkers’ Safety Behaviours: The Moderating Role Of Safety Climate(University Of Ghana, 2021-10) Amoako, E.K.Despite the heavy investment in health and safety, the Ghanaian mining industry continues to record a high number of accidents and workplace injuries. The cost of accident compensations coupled with the loss of productive work hours as well as work-related diseases emanating from accidents and injuries at the workplace are excruciating. Mine workers compliance with safety rules and regulations and the active participation in safety initiatives and activities which could be improved through a good safety climate and enhancing mine workers mental health will contribute to reducing workplace accidents and injuries. To this end, the current study investigates the impact of mental health (anxiety and depression) on employee safety behaviours (compliance and participation) whiles examining whether safety climate moderates the relationship between mental health and safety behaviours. Grounded in the social exchange theory, the study adopted a quantitative research approach with an explanatory cross-sectional survey research design. A total of two-hundred and seventy-four (274) mine workers purposively selected participated in the study. Responses were obtained from participants through a structured questionnaire which was analyzed using the partial least square structural equation modelling with smart PLS (v.3). The study found that anxiety had a significant negative effect on safety compliance but not participation. Depression was found to have a significant negative effect on mine workers safety compliance and participation behaviours. The findings of the study also show that safety climate moderates the relationships between the dimensions of mental health and mine workers safety behaviour except for the relationship between anxiety and mine workers safety participation behaviour. The study recommends the need for mining companies to develop industry-specific policies on mental health and employee’s assistance programs in mental health that will seek to identify and address mental health challenges among mine workers.Item Mining safely: examining the moderating role of safety climate on mineworkers’ mental health and safety behavior nexus(Kybernetes © Emerald Publishing Limited 0368-492X, 2023) Amoako, E.K.; Nubuor, S.A.; Suleman, A-R.; Bawa, A.A.; Akwetey-Siaw, B.Purpose – The study aims to investigate the impact of anxiety and depression (dimensions of mental health) on mineworkers’ safety behaviors (safety compliance and safety participation) while examining the moderating role of safety climate on these relationships. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative research approach with an explanatory cross-sectional survey research design was adopted. A total of 274 purposively selected mineworkers participated in the study. Responses were obtained from participants through a structured questionnaire which was analyzed using the partial least square structural equation modeling. Findings – Anxiety had a significant negative effect on safety compliance but not participation. However, depression was found to have a significant negative effect on both mineworkers’ safety compliance and participation behaviors. The findings of the study also show that safety climate moderates the relationships between the dimensions of mental health and mineworkers’ safety behavior except for the relationship between anxiety and mineworkers’ safety participation behavior. Originality/value – The study offers an account of the negative effect of mental health on mineworkers’ safety behavior whiles highlighting that safety climate is an important construct to mitigate the negative effects of mental illness on the safety behaviors of mineworkers.