Research Articles
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://197.255.125.131:4000/handle/123456789/22010
A research article reports the results of original research, assesses its contribution to the body of knowledge in a given area, and is published in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal. The faculty publications through published and on-going articles/researches are captured in this community
Browse
875 results
Search Results
Item From Aspiration To Achievements: Exploring The Motivational Drives Behind Female Graduate Nursing Students' Pursuit Of Higher Education In Ghana.(Elsevier Inc., 2025-01-20) Poku, C.A.Background: The nursing and midwifery professions are predominantly female. In Sub-saharan Africa, especially in Ghana, females have traditionally been perceived as homemakers who do not require higher education to play their roles. This phenomenon perpetuates gender inequality, underutilises talents, and denies women opportu nities for personal and professional growth. Aim: This study explored the motivational factors influencing the uptake of higher nurse education among female nurses in a resource-constrained setting. Methods: An exploratory, descriptive qualitative approach was adopted with purposive sampling method to re cruit 20 nurses pursuing a postgraduate programme in nursing from October to November 2022. Inductive thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data. Result: Two main themes and six subthemes were developed from the data. Female graduate students believe the reasons to pursue higher nursing education are attributed to one's workplace, friends and family's demands. Participants pursuing higher education think it will earn them higher-paying jobs. Their primary motivation to pursue higher education was to earn titles like ‘doctor’, ‘the degree nurse’, and ‘the specialist nurse’. Other motivations for some participants include the impact of their higher education, which ranges from workplace promotion to family prestige. Conclusion: Ghanaian female graduate nursing students' motivation to pursue higher nursing education is threefold: personal gains, corporate gains, and family fame. Educational institutions need to assist these nurses with the requisite knowledge to excel in their areas of work, get the maximum benefit they expect from schooling, and make their families and communities proud as expected.Item An Exploratory Methodological Approach To Enhancing Public Health Policy In Ghana’s Mining Operations.(Elsevier Inc., 2025-01-18) Adongo, P.B.Industrial mining significantly contributes to the economies and public revenues of numerous low- and lower middle-income nations, with its importance set to grow due to the increasing demand for critical minerals in the energy transition. Concurrently, the negative externalities associated with large-scale mining are set to escalate if not rigorously managed. Among these adverse impacts, the negative effects on public health have long been disregarded in the governance of large-scale mining projects. This study examines the regulatory and policy landscape governing public health within impact assessment practices in large-scale mining operations, high lighting the inadequacy of current regulatory approaches, particularly the limited attention given to public health within Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). Focusing on mineral-rich Ghana, we investigate stakeholder perceptions regarding the adequacy of current EIA policy frameworks in safeguarding public health. Applying Q-methodology, we explore diverse perspectives on policy action, priorities, and the involvement of relevant actors in shaping progressive public health regulation within the mining sector. Our findings offer valuable insights into the policy space and potential strategies for strengthening public health in mining activ ities, with implications for EIA environmental management practices. Moreover, our findings suggest that the divergent policy preferences uncovered in Ghana highlight key obstacles to greater public health consideration through the inclusion of Health Impacts Assessment (HIA), especially in contexts with limited administrative resources. Our study reveals how roles, responsibilities, and authority over impact assessment and mine licensing processes can significantly shape stakeholder policy preferences toward HIA.Item Comprehensive Health Risk Assessment Of Urban Ambient Air Pollution (PM2.5, NO2 And O3) In Ghana.(Elsevier Inc., 2025-01-07) Ababio, B.A.; Boapea, M.S.; Ashong, G.W.; et al.Urbanization and industrialization have drastically increased ambient air pollution in urban areas globally from vehicle emissions, solid fuel combustion and industrial activities leading to some of the worst air quality con ditions. Air pollution in Ghana causes approximately 28,000 premature deaths and disabilities annually, ranking as a leading cause of mortality and disability-adjusted life years. This study evaluated the annual concentrations of PM2.5, NO2 and O3 in the ambient air of 57 cities in Ghana for two decades using historical and forecasted data from satellite measurements. The study assessed urban air quality and evaluated both carcinogenic and non carcinogenic health risks associated with human exposure to ambient air pollutants. Alarmingly, our findings revealed the yearly median PM2.5 concentrations (50.79–67.97 µg m− 3 ) to be significantly higher than the WHO recommendation of 5 µg m− 3 . Tropospheric ozone concentrations (72.21–92.58 µg m− 3 ) also exceeded the WHO annual standard of 60 µg m− 3 . Furthermore, NO2 concentrations (3.65–12.15 µg m− 3 ) surpassed the WHO threshold of 10 µg/m³ in multiple cities. Hazard indices indicated that PM2.5 and O3 pose significant non carcinogenic health risks for younger age groups for a daily exposure duration of three hours and beyond. Ac cording to the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) in our study, exposure to PM2.5 shortens life expectancy by 4.5–6.2 years. The ambient air of the majority (98 %) of the cities was unhealthy for sensitive groups. This study reveals the urgent need for comprehensive air quality policies in Ghanaian cities. It emphasizes the significance of robust real-time monitoring of air pollutants and the investigation of seasonal dust storm effects, to fill data gaps in Ghana and West Africa, facilitating evidence-based interventions that improve urban air quality and public health outcomes.Item Caregiver Acceptability Of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention In Two Districts In The Upper West Region, Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Study.(Springer Nature, 2025-01-14) Diarra, Y.; Bonful, H. A.; et alAbstract Background Acceptability of malaria chemoprevention interventions by caregivers is crucial for overall programme success. This study assessed coverage and acceptability of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) in selected com munities in the Northern part of Ghana. Methods An analytical cross-sectional design was conducted from“July 23rd to August 4th, 2020—a 12-day period that covered 5 days of the frst SMC implementation cycle and 7 days post-implementation. Using a stratifed multi stage sampling technique, a total of 495 caregivers providing care for 569 eligible children aged 3–59 months from randomly selected households in the study communities were enrolled into the study. Acceptability of SMC was assessed on a set of 19 questionnaire items-8 of the items measured caregivers’ perceptions and 11 items meas ured children’s reaction to administered medicines. Univariable and stepwise multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the predictors of acceptability of SMC at a 95% confdence interval and a p-value of 0.05. Results SMC coverage was 95.1% (541/569). Caregivers had a good level of knowledge of SMC (n=475; 96.0%; 95% CI 94.2—97.7%) and a good perception of SMC (n=471; 95.2%; 95% CI 93.3–97.0). Seven out of ten caregivers (70.9%; 95% CI 66.9–74.9%) had good acceptability of SMC. For 7 out of 28 children who did not receive the SMC interven tion, their caregivers intentionally refused them the intervention. Of those that received the treatment, 17.2% (n=85; 95%CI 13.8–20.5%) of caregivers had at least one leftover amodiaquine tablet after the third day of treatment. Caregiv ers who practice Christianity or Islam had better acceptability than caregivers who practice African traditional religion (p<0.001). Conclusion Health authorities and stakeholders can work towards bridging the gap between knowledge and SMC treatment practices of caregivers through continuous education, adherence counseling, and efective monitoring of SMC practices in malaria-endemic countries. Keywords SMC, Caregivers, Malaria, Acceptability, Ghana, Upper West region, Amodiaquine–sulfadoxine– pyrimethamineItem Towards a Greater Understanding of the Prevalence of Immigrant Entrepreneurship in the Informal Economy of Ghana: An Institutional Theory Perspective(Journal of African Business, 2023) Adom, K.; Ackom, B.This study aims to explore the prevalence of immigrant entrepreneurship in Ghana's informal economy through institutional theory. Specifically, the study sought to understand how the elements of the institutional theory (norms, culture, and regulations, which form formal and informal institutions) support or discourage immigrant entrepreneurship in the Sub-Saharan African context, with insights from Ghana. It is qualitative research that involves an in-depth face-to-face interview with 30 respondents. Analyzing the data from the interviews, the key findings are immigrants' inability to find paid jobs, failure to gather sufficient funds to operate in the formal sector, and the willingness to use innate ability. The Ghanaian culture of hospitality and the government's inability to implement trade regulations have been an enabler to the prevalence of immigrant entrepreneurship in Ghana. The legal frameworks that prevent immigrants from participating in retailing, especially in the informal economy of Ghana are well known by immigrant entrepreneurs, albeit it has yet to adhere. Therefore, there is a call for policy measures to address the weak institutional framework, which encourages disregard for the country's laws. Immigrant entrepreneurs who wish to remain in business in Ghana must obey the rules or suffer the punishment thereof.Item ‘This place becomes a place’: Artists and placemaking on the margins(Geoforum, 2024) Gough, K.V.; Bobie, A.O.; Darkwa, A.K.; Langevang, T.Culture and creativity are active but often overlooked processes in contemporary urbanisation. This paper contributes to scholarship on the cultural and creative industries, as well as urban placemaking on the margins, by adopting a placemaking approach in which artists are positioned at the centre of the analysis. The focus is on why artists choose to be located away from national cultural hubs, how this shapes their work, and how their work in turn shapes the city. Qualitative research was conducted in the northern Ghanaian city of Tamale with artists based in three creative and cultural industries: film, music and visual arts. The paper makes three important contributions to the literature: first, sense of place, attachment to place and feeling at home are shown to be key to artists’ decisions to be based in peripheral locations; second, the material and cultural attributes of place and associated access to resources influence the work artists produce when located far from cultural urban hubs; and third, artists are changing the perceived marginality of their home cities by shaping urban infra structure and projecting new geographical imaginariesItem What influences cancer treatment service access in Ghana? A critical interpretive synthesis(BMJ Open, 2022) Tuck, C.Z.; Aryeetey, R.N.O.; Akparibo, R.; et al.Objectives Multiple social-cultural and contextual factors influence access to and acceptance of cancer treatment in Ghana. This research aimed to assess the existing literature on how these factors interplay and could be susceptible to local and national policy changes. Design This study uses a critical interpretive synthesis approach to review qualitative and quantitative evidence about access to adult cancer treatment services in Ghana, applying the socioecological model and candidacy framework. Results Our findings highlighted barriers to accessing cancer services within each level of the socioecological model (intrapersonal, interpersonal community, organizational and policy levels), which are dynamic and interacting, for example, community-level factors influenced individual perceptions and how they managed financial barriers. Evidence was lacking about determinants of treatment non-acceptance across all cancers and in the most vulnerable societal groups due to methodological limitations. Conclusions Future policy should prioritize multilevel approaches, for example, improving the quality and affordability of medical care while also providing collaboration with traditional and complementary care systems to refer patients. Research should seek to overcome methodological limitations to understand the determinants of accessing treatment in the most vulnerable populations.Item Land Governance and Conflict in West Africa through Interdisciplinary Empirical Lenses(Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA), 2024-09) Narh, P.; Doumbia, L.; Tounkara, A.; Ablo, A.D.This working paper addresses the following central questions: (i) How does the commodification of land challenge distinctions between rural and urban spaces? (ii) What new forms of differentiation emerge from commodification, for example the alienation of land markets from land governance regimes? (iii) How does commodification help our understanding of the resilience of custom and egalitarianism? (iv) How useful are property rights frameworks, whether customary, statutory or new forms of tenure, for land management and sustainability? Four authors, members of the MIASA Interdisciplinary Fellow Group (IFG 6) on Land Governance, applied ethnographic and cross-sectional research methods to examine case studies in Ghana, Mali and Senegal. This research contributes to an understanding of the perceptions, discourses and practices relating to land commodification and conflicts, as well as the way in which endogenous perceptions of access to land in West Africa are expressed and adapt to changing circumstances.Item Urban physical food environments drive dietary behaviours in Ghana and Kenya: A photovoice study(Health and Place, 2021) Pradeilles, R.; Laar, A.; Irache, A.; et al.We identified factors in the physical food environment that influence dietary behaviours among low-income dwellers in three African cities (Nairobi, Accra, Ho). We used Photovoice with 142 males/females (≥13 years). In the neighbourhood environment, poor hygiene, environmental sanitation, food contamination and adulteration were key concerns. Economic access was perceived as a major barrier to accessing nutritionally safe and healthy foods. Home gardening supplemented household nutritional needs, particularly in Nairobi. Policies to enhance food safety in neighbourhood environments are required. Home gardening, food pricing policies and social protection schemes could reduce financial barriers to safe and healthy diets.Item Situational assessment and epidemiology of HIV, HBV and HCV among people who use and inject drugs in Ghana(PLOS ONE, 2024) Guure, C.; Dery, S.; da Silva, C.B.; et al.Introduction People who inject drugs (PWID) and people who use drugs (PWUD) are an important popu lation group that remain under-served in Ghana. Though PWID and PWUD are among the key populations most-at-risk to acquire sexually transmitted or blood-borne diseases, they are among those with the least access to human immunodeficiency (HIV), hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) viruses’ prevention, care and treatment services in Ghana due to lack of data on them. We provide a rapid assessment of the PWUD and PWID situation in Ghana. Methods This rapid cross-sectional design undertook consultative meetings between the study team and relevant stakeholders, including Civil Society Organizations (CSO) working with PWUD/PWID. The assessment considered a representative sample of PWID and PWUD. It was conducted in four (4) selected regions of Ghana (Greater Accra, Ashanti, Western, and Northern). Overall, 323 participants were interviewed using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) approach. Information obtained from participants were demographics, HIV risk behaviors, human immunodeficiency (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections (STI)-related knowledge HIV/HCV/HBV screening, attitude, and practices among others. Analyses were conducted using Stata version 17 and RDSAT version 7.1.46 software. Findings Drug use was found to be more prevalent among the youth with a median age of 37 years. Majority of the respondents were males (86%). About 28% of the female respondents identi fied themselves as sex workers, while about 74% have been involved in transactional sex. The median age at which respondents started using and injecting drugs was 20 and 22 years respectively. Majority (68%) of the respondents consume drugs through smoking, with 20% through snorting, inhaling or swallowing and 12% through injection. The drug mostly used among the respondents was heroin (52%). The most commonly injected drug was cocaine (55%). About 64.7% of respondents reported mixing two or more drugs. HIV prevalence among respondents was 2.5%, 12.3% among women and 17.7% among women engaged in sex work, highlighting the overlap vulnerability. The prevalence of hepa titis C was 6.0%, and Hepatitis B was 4.5%. Access to care is limited, with 63% of the respondents never been tested for HIV. Conclusion These rapid assessment findings reveal the challenging conditions for people who use and inject drugs coupled with a relatively high prevalence of HIV and Hepatitis C compared to the general population. However, it also reveals that Ghana has a window of opportunity to prevent an exponential spread of HIV and Hepatitis in this population. Therefore, there is the need to implement prevention and treatment programs for HIV and hepatitis among people who use and inject drugs including essential strategies for an enabling environment in Ghana.