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UGSpace is the institutional repository of the University of Ghana. UGSpace is an open access electronic archive for the collection, preservation and distribution of digital materials.

facilitate the deposit of digital content of a scholarly or heritage nature
and ultimately share, preserve and promote the intellectual output of the University in a managed environment.

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Book Chapters
Review books or articles provide a critical and constructive analysis of existing published literature in a field, through summary, analysis, and comparison, often identifying specific gaps or problems and providing recommendations for future research. These are considered as secondary literature since they generally do not present new data from the author's experimental work. Review articles can be of three types, broadly speaking: literature reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. It also the researcher to stay abreast of new literature in the field.
Conference Proceedings and Papers
Grey Literature
Grey literature consists of research and information produced outside conventional publishing channels, such as reports, policy briefs, working papers, and conference materials. It offers valuable insights and data that complement peer-reviewed sources, supporting research, policy, and practice.
Heritage Materials
Institute of African Studies (IAS) J. H. Kwabena Nketia Archives
The J. H. Kwabena Nketia Archives preserve Ghanaian and African cultural heritage through music, oral traditions, photographs, and audiovisual collections. Guided by Professor Nketia’s vision that African traditional arts must be collected, preserved, practiced, and continually inspire creative expression, the Archives serve as a living resource for scholarship, teaching, and innovation

Recent Submissions

A Study of African Neo-Pentecostalism as Space for Entrepreneurship in Ghana
(University of Ghana, 2023) Adjornor, S.
In contemporary times, neo-Pentecostalism, noted for itsNotwithstanding renewal focus, has engaged and facilitated entrepreneurship and its ethos within the neo-Pentecostal space. Notwithstanding, scholarship that highlights the potential role of African neo-Pentecostal/ Charismatic churches in entrepreneurship promotion and development, the motivation and dynamics of African neo-Pentecostal entrepreneurs’ engagement with entrepreneurship has hardly been extensive and adequate. This study, therefore, examines the motivation and dynamics of African neo-Pentecostal entrepreneurs’ engagement with entrepreneurship. The study is qualitative in nature and, thus, adopts the phenomenological approach to data gathering and analysis. Spiritual capital is employed as an analytical framework for the study. The research instrument used is the semi-structured interview guide. Data for the study were gathered mainly through personal interviews, with relevant personnel such as neo-Pentecostal church leaders and entrepreneurs. Findings of the study show evidence of the influence of neo-Pentecostal beliefs and practices on the motivation and dynamics of Ghanaian neo-Pentecostal entrepreneurs’ engagement with entrepreneurship. This study exhibits the subjective experiences of neo-Pentecostal entrepreneurs and the influence of the religious dimension on the business lives of individuals within the neo-Pentecostal space. Taking into consideration the wide influence of religious bodies on the Ghanaian populace, the study recommends that governmental and non-governmental organisations, policy makers, educators and religious institutions involved in entrepreneurship development explore possible ways of collaborating with one another in order to learn best practices that effectively contribute to equipping individuals who are already into entrepreneurship or those who have the desire to venture into the field.
A Comparative analysis of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture and Ghana’s Peace Architecture under the Fourth Republican Constitution
(University of Ghana, 2021) Agbelengor, S.C.
Following the United Nations (UN) declaration of An Agenda for Peace in 1992, a notable description of ‘Peacebuilding’ by the UN included the concept of ‘Structures’: “action to identify and support ‘structures’ which will tend to strengthen and solidify peace in order to avoid a relapse into conflict”. Similarly, academic contributions introduced the notion of ‘Architecture’ in the peacebuilding lexicon and another related metaphoric concept of ‘Infrastructures for Peace’ (I4P) as a fair representation of external and internal peacebuilding institutions. Yet, a comprehensive comparative approach is often missing in existing analysis. This study employed a global I4P approach within the UN's intergovernmental system and a national equivalent within Ghana's sovereign state system to examine the strengths, limitations, and remedies in peacebuilding processes in Ghana. Relying on an interpretive philosophy, a qualitative inquiry strategy, and a comparative peacebuilding theory, key findings came to light. A nationally-mandated eminent-led institution defines the strength of Ghana’s I4P. This provides a proactive approach to peacebuilding. However, this differs from the global I4P approach within the UN system, which has applications in post conflict African projects, such as deepening the avoidance of a relapse into national civil war, armed national conflict, and mass civil violence. Conversely, based on the dynamics of different conflict cases in Ghana, overarching peacebuilding mechanisms have been facilitated through national and local I4P platforms, including limited peace education, inter-communal dialogues, trauma healing, chieftaincy succession plan, pre-election peace accords, during-election observation, and post-election dialogue towards the eradication of political vigilantism. Nonetheless, the proactive work of eminent peace architects in Ghana is largely defined by relationship building among social and political conflict parties in the country. This defines a limited low-level dimension when compared to the UN’s liberal dimension on achieving a broader and sustainable post-conflict peacebuilding project in Africa relative to addressing democracy, security, and development deficits. As a sustainable remedy, Ghana’s I4P processes can be strengthened when local peacebuilding efforts are facilitated through a conscious hybrid partnership that addresses structural and developmental challenges. That will mean, collaboration with a broad set of developmental stakeholders at both local and international levels, including government, private, and business organisations, to channel development-oriented resources into areas that through empirical research have been deemed to serve as an easy and potential mobilising factor towards violence. Further research can concentrate on the crossing points between national I4P and other equivalent sub-regional and regional structures in Africa.
Child Feeding Behaviours, Nutritional Status and Energy Intake Regulation among Urban Ghanaian Children
(University of Ghana, 2023)
Background: The recent Ghana Demographic Health Survey indicates that infant malnutrition still perpetuates in Ghana. Energy regulation, which is the “internal driving force for search, choice, and ingestion of food”, plays a critical role in the causation, prevention, and treatment of malnutrition. Children have an inherent ability to self-regulate energy intake (EI). Successful energy regulation is essential in maintaining a healthy body weight and overall wellness. It is not clear whether undernourished children regulate energy intake similarly to healthy children. This information is important, especially in settings where many children are undernourished. There is also a modicum of knowledge of how energy regulation develops in children and its effect on their nutritional status. Aim: This study aimed to describe the extent to which undernourished children (with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) and/or stunted) living in urban Ghana are able to regulate their energy intake and to determine whether genetic, behavioural and environmental factors predict this outcome. Methodology: This was a two-phase study: a cross sectional study (n=262) and an experimental study (n=41) carried out among child-caregiver dyads (child 1-3 years old) at the Ashiedu Keteke Municipal district in Greater Accra Region-Ghana. The cross-sectional study carried out at selected child welfare clinics involved parental/ caregiver rating of children’s dietary intake and eating behaviour using the International Complementary Feeding Evaluation Tool (ICFET). The questionnaire also assessed child’s illness, household hunger and socioeconomic factors such housing characteristics, water and sanitation facilities. Saliva samples were collected from children for genetic testing for polymorphisms in genes associated with energy regulation. Nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPS) were genotyped, and a polygenic risk score (PGRS) was generated. The experimental study was a within-subject crossover preload experiment conducted at the homes of randomly selected children from phase 1 of the study. A standardized satiation methodology was employed to assess the ability to compensate for a drink taken before a meal. For the experiment, caregiver-child dyads were visited twice in their homes. Children were randomly assigned to two conditions: high energy preload drink supplying 10% of daily energy requirements or a low energy drink supplying 9kcal/100ml, after at least 2 hours fast. They were served identical ad libitum lunches 30 minutes after consuming the preload. Calories consumed from preload were calculated and calories from lunch meals were analysed using bomb calorimetry. The proportion of the preload compensated (COMPX) was calculated. The weight and height/recumbent length of all the children in both studies, were measured following standard protocols and converted to Z-scores using WHO Anthro and Anthro Plus software. Data was entered and analysed using SPSS software version 22. Chi square test was used to test associations between categorical variables. T-test and one-way ANOVA were used to compare means across groups. Linear regression and multinomial regression were used to test predictive associations of energy regulation and nutritional status. A p-value <0.05 at a 95% confidence level was considered as threshold for statistical significance. Results: A total of 262 child-caregiver pairs (average age of child 19.25 ± 6.65 months) participated in the cross-sectional study, of which 75 were wasted (MAM), 53 were stunted, and 134 were classified as having normal anthropometry. There was a significant negative correlation between appetite and food refusal (r= -0.746, p<0.001), forced-feeding (r = -0.382, p<0.001) and caregiver feeding anxiety (r = -0.698, p<0.001). A positive correlation was seen between food refusal and forced-feeding (r= 0.351, p<0.001), food refusal and caregiver feeding anxiety (r= 0.624, p <0.001), as well as forced-feeding and caregiver feeding anxiety (r= 0.297, p<0.001). Wasted children had a significantly lower appetite z-score (-0.27 ± 1.1), a higher z-score for food refusal (0.22 ± 1.1) and a higher z-score for caregiver feeding anxiety (0.49 ± 1.0) compared to both stunted and healthy children (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in feeding behaviour between the stunted and normal groups. Feeding anxiety was a consistently significant predictor of nutritional status after adjusting for confounders (p<0.001). The SNP rs2274333, situated near the CA6 gene, exhibited a higher frequency of homozygosity for the effect allele, AA, in children with wasting compared to their healthy counterparts. There was a significant association between PGRS and appetite (p=0.046). There was no significant association between PGRS and nutritional status. There were 41 children (17 MAM, 12 stunted and 12 healthy) in the experimental study. The overall average compensation was 62.43%. More wasted children had either minimal or no compensation (41.2%) or over-compensation (35.3%), and the majority (66.7%) of the stunted children had minimal or no compensation, and none over-compensated: this difference was statistically significant (p=0.023). Conclusion: This study has given insight into the complex interaction between genetics, environmental factors, and nutrition among children. Although a longitudinal study would be more suitable for ascertaining causal directions, the findings from this study have implications for research, practice, and policy, especially regarding appetite, feeding behaviour and attitudes of caregivers. Efforts to prevent or treat undernutrition in children might benefit from focusing on modifiable factors such as dietary factors and feeding behaviours of both children and their caregivers. This also holds promise for precision nutrition as future and larger studies accentuate the genetics of undernutrition.
Antimicrobial Resistance Of Bacterial Pathogens Isolated From Cancer Patients A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis
(BMC Infectious Diseases, 2025-01-09) Donkor, E.S.; Osman, A.H.; Awere-Duodu, A.; Ntim, O.K.; et al.
Background Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to global public health, limiting treatment options for infections. AMR is particularly life-threatening for cancer patients, who are at increased risk of antibiotic-resistant infections. This review presents the first comprehensive data on the prevalence of AMR in major bacterial pathogens isolated from cancer patients. Method An extensive search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, focusing on studies published in English from 2000 to 2024. A single-group meta-analysis was performed to determine the resistance prevalence of major bacterial species. Results One hundred thirty-two full-text articles were included in the systematic review, and studies on haematological cancer patients were the most common (36.4%). The major bacterial pathogens reported were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecium, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Enterobacter spp. For E. coli, resistance prevalence was highest for penicillins (81.84%), followed by cotrimoxazole (65.79%) and monobactams (61.61%). For K. pneumoniae, the highest prevalence of resistance was observed for penicillins (98.99%), followed by cotrimoxazole (70.92%). Acinetobacter baumannii had high resistance prevalence to multiple antimicrobial classes, including third-generation cephalosporins (84.10%), fourth-generation cephalosporins (80.75%), carbapenems (82.58%), fluoroquinolones (80.37%), beta-lactam-beta-lactamase inhibitors (79.15%), cotrimoxazole (75.77%), and aminoglycosides (64.05%). Enterobacter spp. and Enterococcus faecium showed high resistance prevalence to penicillins at 91.77% and 90.64% respectively. P. aeruginosa had a high prevalence of resistance to third-generation cephalosporins (49.41%) while S. aureus showed high prevalence to macrolides (55.63%) and methicillin (45.29%). Conclusion This review indicated a high prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in bacterial pathogens isolated from cancer patients worldwide. The pronounced resistance prevalence observed, especially among ESKAPE pathogens, underscores the urgent need to improve infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship in cancer care globally.
Livelihood Diversification and Food Security of Youth Headed Households in Coastal Fishing Communities in Ghana
(University of Ghana, 2023) Eshun, E.A.
There is mounting evidence of the significance of gender equality and women's empowerment in obtaining positive livelihood outcomes in fisheries. The contribution of fisheries to GDP of the Ghanaian economy keeps declining due to many factors. Some of these factors are open access nature of the sea, overexploitation, ambiguous policies and climate change. Additionally, the yearly “closed season” have exacerbated the negative effect of reduced income of the youth who depend on fisheries as a source of livelihoods, further impacting their food security. Livelihood diversification is linked to food security which is very important for every household. Communities, households and individuals employ different means to serve as “safety nets” to diversify their income, improve well-being and increase food security. There is however little gendered research on small-scale fisheries and related livelihood enhancement projects. The study assesses the factors that determine the choice of livelihood diversification strategies of youth headed households. It also estimates the impact of livelihood diversification on the food security of these youth headed households. A mixed methods approach was employed to analyze fisheries and livelihood diversification in coastal fishing communities from a gendered perspective. A multistage sampling technique was used to collect primary data from 424 households in 14 coastal communities across the Greater Accra and Central Regions. A probit model was employed to estimate the determinants of livelihood diversification. Except primary education which influence diversification positively, HH characteristics are not significant, implying similar traits of YHH. Ownership of assets are significant and influence diversification positively except TV. Social grouping (group membership) and institutional characteristics (training in current livelihood activities) positively influence diversification. To estimate the food security status, household dietary diversity score (HDDS) and household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS) measure were employed. The inverse probability weighting regression adjustment (IPWRA) estimation procedure is used for the food security estimate. Increased income has a positive correlation to livelihood diversification, which further has a direct correlation to food security for YHH. Results using the content analysis showed a very gendered fisheries supply chain with different roles played by men, women and the youth and their ability to diversify. Men, women and youth experience negative impact of the decline in fisheries on their livelihoods and further their food security status. Skills development programmes targeting YHH to enable effective livelihood diversification should be implemented. Socioeconomic and institutional support systems such as access to education, group membership, etc. to aid YHH to make informed choices about livelihood strategies should be strengthened. Livelihood diversification as a pathway to food security for YHH in coastal fishing communities in Ghana should be encouraged. Finally, livelihood diversification activities must be implemented with a gendered lens in terms of access to the different assets for men and women to achieve equal and greater impact in coastal fishing communities.