Research Articles
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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
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Item Strangers in a strange land: Mapping household and neighbourhood associations with improved wellbeing outcomes in Accra, Ghana(Cities, 2023) Cavanaugh, A.C.; Baumgartner, J.C.; Agyei-Mensah, S.; et al.Urban poverty is not limited to informal settlements, rather it extends throughout cities, with the poor and affluent often living in close proximity. Using a novel dataset derived from the full Ghanaian Census, we investigate how neighbourhood versus household socio-economic status (SES) relates to a set of household development outcomes (related to housing quality, energy, water and sanitation, and information technology) in Accra, Ghana. We then assess “stranger” households' outcomes within neighbourhoods: do poor households fare better in affluent neighbourhoods, and are affluent households negatively impacted by being in poor neigh bourhoods? Through a simple generalized linear model we estimate the variance components associated with household and neighbourhood status for our outcome measures. Household SES is more closely associated with 13 of the 16 outcomes assessed compared to the neighbourhood average SES. For 9 outcomes poor households in affluent areas fair better, and the affluent in poor areas are worse off. For two outcomes, poor households have worse outcomes in affluent areas, and the affluent have better outcomes in poor areas, on average. For three outcomes “stranger” households do worse in strange neighbourhoods. We discuss implications for mixed development and how to direct resources through households versus location-based targets.Item Chemical composition and sources of particle pollution in affluent and poor neighborhoods of Accra, Ghana(Environmental Research Letters, 2013-12) Zhou, Z.; Dionisio, K.L.; Verissimo, T.G.; Kerr, A.S.; Coull, B.; Arku, R.E.; Koutrakis, P.; Spengler, J.D.; Hughes, A.F.; Vallarino, J.; Agyei-Mensah, S.; Ezzati, M.The highest levels of air pollution in the world now occur in developing country cities, where air pollution sources differ from high-income countries. We analyzed particulate matter (PM) chemical composition and estimated the contributions of various sources to particle pollution in poor and affluent neighborhoods of Accra, Ghana. Elements from earth's crust were most abundant during the seasonal Harmattan period between late December and late January when Saharan dust is carried to coastal West Africa. During Harmattan, crustal particles accounted for 55 μg m-3 (37%) of fine particle (PM 2.5) mass and 128 μg m-3 (42%) of PM10 mass. Outside Harmattan, biomass combustion, which was associated with higher black carbon, potassium, and sulfur, accounted for between 10.6 and 21.3 μg m -3 of fine particle mass in different neighborhoods, with its contribution largest in the poorest neighborhood. Other sources were sea salt, vehicle emissions, tire and brake wear, road dust, and solid waste burning. Reducing air pollution in African cities requires policies related to energy, transportation and urban planning, and forestry and agriculture, with explicit attention to impacts of each strategy in poor communities. Such cross-sectoral integration requires emphasis on urban environment and urban poverty in the post-2015 Development Agenda. © 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd.Item Personal particulate matter exposures and locations of students in four neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana.(NCBI, 2015) Arku, R.E.; Dionisio, K.L.; Hughes, A.F.; Vallarino, J.; Spengler, J.D.; Castro, M.C.; Agyei-Mensah, S.; Ezzati, M.Air pollution exposure and places where the exposures occur may differ in cities in the developing world compared with high-income countries. Our aim was to measure personal fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure of students in neighborhoods of varying socioeconomic status in Accra, Ghana, and to quantify the main predictors of exposure. We measured 24-hour PM2.5 exposure of 56 students from eight schools in four neighborhoods. PM2.5 was measured both gravimetrically and continuously, with time-matched global positioning system coordinates. We collected data on determinants of exposure, such as distances of homes and schools from main roads and fuel used for cooking at their home or in the area of residence/school. The association of PM2.5 exposure with sources was estimated using linear mixed-effects models. Personal PM2.5 exposures ranged from less than 10 μg/m(3) to more than 150 μg/m(3) (mean 56 μg/m(3)). Girls had higher exposure than boys (67 vs 44 μg/m(3); P-value=0.001). Exposure was inversely associated with distance of home or school to main roads, but the associations were not statistically significant in the multivariate model. Use of biomass fuels in the area where the school was located was also associated with higher exposure, as was household's own biomass use. Paved schoolyard surface was associated with lower exposure. School locations in relation to major roads, materials of school ground surfaces, and biomass use in the area around schools may be important determinants of air pollution exposure.Item Urban health in Africa: Looking beyond the MDGs(International Development Planning Review, 2015-01) Agyei-Mensah, S.; Owusu, G.; Wrigley-Asante, C.Achieving development and eliminating poverty are dependent on improving the health of populations, which are increasingly urban based. In this short paper we highlight the importance of context for understanding urban health in Africa, drawing in particular on the case of Ghana, and sketch out the implications of this new context in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The rise of non-communicable diseases in an African context, including those related to obesity, work environments and mental health, and how these are gendered is given particular prominence. It is essential that the SDGs reflect the changes that have taken place over the past 15 years in the location of populations and the associated configuration of health challenges, including their gendered nature. © 2015, Liverpool University Press. All rights reserved.Item Household and community poverty, biomass use, and air pollution in Accra, Ghana(National Academy of Science of the Unites States of America, 2011-06) Zhoua, Z.; Dionisio, K.L.; Arku, R.E.; Quaye, A.; Hughes, A.F.; Vallarino, J.; Spengler, J.D.; Hill, A.; Agyei-Mensah, S.; Ezzati, M.Many urban households in developing countries use biomass fuels for cooking. The proportion of household biomass use varies among neighborhoods, and is generally higher in low socioeconomic status (SES) communities. Little is known of how household air pollution varies by SES and how it is affected by biomass fuels and traffic sources in developing country cities. In four neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana, we collected and analyzed geo-referenced data on household and community particulate matter (PM) pollution, SES, fuel use for domestic and small-commercial cooking, housing characteristics, and distance to major roads. Cooking area PM was lowest in the high-SES neighborhood, with geometric means of 25 (95% confidence interval, 21–29) and 28 (23–33) μg/m3 for fine and coarse PM (PM2.5 and PM2.5–10), respectively; it was highest in two low-SES slums, with geometric means reaching 71 (62–80) and 131 (114–150) μg/m3 for fine and coarse PM. After adjustment for other factors, living in a community where all households use biomass fuels would be associated with 1.5- to 2.7-times PM levels in models with and without adjustment for ambient PM. Community biomass use had a stronger association with household PM than household’s own fuel choice in crude and adjusted estimates. Lack of regular physical access to clean fuels is an obstacle to fuel switching in low-income neighborhoods and should be addressed through equitable energy infrastructure.Item Household and community poverty, biomass use, and air pollution in Accra, Ghana(Proceedings of the National Academy of the United States of America, 2011-07) Zhoua, Z.; Dionisio, K.L.; Arku, R.E.; Quaye, A.; Hughes, A.F.; Vallarino, J.; Spengler, J.D.; Hill, A.; Agyei-Mensah, S.; Ezzati, M.Many urban households in developing countries use biomass fuels for cooking. The proportion of household biomass use varies among neighborhoods, and is generally higher in low socioeconomic status (SES) communities. Little is known of how household air pollution varies by SES and how it is affected by biomass fuels and traffic sources in developing country cities. In four neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana, we collected and analyzed geo-referenced data on household and community particulate matter (PM) pollution, SES, fuel use for domestic and small-commercial cooking, housing characteristics, and distance to major roads. Cooking area PM was lowest in the high-SES neighborhood, with geometric means of 25 (95% confidence interval, 21–29) and 28 (23–33) μg/m3 for fine and coarse PM (PM2.5 and PM2.5–10), respectively; it was highest in two low-SES slums, with geometric means reaching 71 (62–80) and 131 (114–150) μg/m3 for fine and coarse PM. After adjustment for other factors, living in a community where all households use biomass fuels would be associated with 1.5- to 2.7-times PM levels in models with and without adjustment for ambient PM. Community biomass use had a stronger association with household PM than household’s own fuel choice in crude and adjusted estimates. Lack of regular physical access to clean fuels is an obstacle to fuel switching in low-income neighborhoods and should be addressed through equitable energy infrastructure.Item Spatial and temporal patterns of particulate matter sources and pollution in four communities in Accra, Ghana(Elsevier, 2012) Rooney, M.S.; Arku, R.E.; Dionisio, K.L.; Paciorek, C.; Friedman, A.B.; Carmichael, H.; Zhoua, Z.; Hughes, A.F.; Vallarino, J.; Agyei-Mensah, S.; Spengler, J.D.; Ezzati, M.Sources of air pollution in developing country cities include transportation and industrial pollution, biomass fuel use, and re-suspended dust from unpaved roads. We examined the spatial patterns of particulate matter (PM) and its sources in four neighborhoods of varying socioeconomic status (SES) in Accra. PM data were from 1 week of morning and afternoon mobile and stationary air pollution measurements in each of the study neighborhoods. PM2.5 and PM10 were measured continuously, with matched GPS coordinates. Data on biomass fuel use were from the Ghana 2000 population and housing census and from a census of wood and charcoal stoves along the mobile monitoring paths. We analyzed the associations of PM with sources using a mixed-effects regression model accounting for temporal and spatial autocorrelation. After adjusting for other factors, the density of wood stoves, fish smoking, and trash burning along the mobile monitoring path as well as road capacity and surface were associated with higher PM2.5. Road capacity and road surface variables were also associated with PM10, but the association with biomass sources was weak or absent. While wood stoves and fish smoking were significant sources of air pollution, addressing them would require financial and physical access to alternative fuels for low-income households and communities.Item A Comparative Study of Ethnic Residential Segregation in Ghana’s Two Largest Cities, Accra and Kumasi(Springer, 2011-06) Owusu, G.; Agyei-Mensah, S.The rate of urbanization is far more rapid in sub-Saharan Africa than in any other major region of the world. However, little is known about patterns of ethnic residential segregation in rapidly urbanizing African cities. This paper is crafted to make an important contribution through its focus on Ghana's two largest cities: Accra and Kumasi. Making use of the most recent population and housing census data of 2000 to generate a Location Quotient index, the analyses explore the cities' degree of ethnic diversity and concentration for comparative purposes. In relative terms, the study reveals that the level of residential ethnic segregation is fairly balanced in Accra compared to Kumasi. However, there are important differences between the findings of this Ghanaian case study and findings from research in the West, where the residential segregation is heavily determined by cultural/racial factors in addition to socio-economic factors. In the absence of institutional and ethnic discrimination, the most fundamental underlying cause of segregation in the Ghanaian case appears to be the socio-economic circumstance of ethnic groups present in the cities. The paper concludes by exploring the implications of the study for urban and national development in Ghana as well as the future patterns of ethnic clustering likely to emerge in Accra and Kumasi.