ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Recommendations for cervical cancer prevention and control in Ghana: public education and human papillomavirus vaccination

Globally, cervical cancer is a major public health issue causing increasing morbidity and mortality especially in lowand middle-income countries where preventive and control measures are lacking. In Ghana, it is the most common cancer among women. Approaches to reduce the incidence and mortality of the disease in Ghana have had little success due to lack of accurate data on the disease among other factors, to inform policies on prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, the lack of clear commitment, policy direction and resources has hindered the scale-up of some of the initiatives implemented to curb the cervical cancer situation in Ghana. In this paper, we make recommendations on cervical cancer education and human papillomavirus vaccination. A collaborative approach is needed involving both private and government organizations, health professionals and the general public. Public education on cervical cancer and HPV vaccination needs to be delivered through a mixture of systems including both healthcare facilities and outreach programs, involving teachers, youth groups, community members and professional bodies. The vaccination of adolescents aged 10-14 years using the nonavalent HPV vaccine will be important in reducing the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in Ghana. The integration of public education on cervical cancer prevention, HPV vaccination and screening programs into both medical and public health services is critical in achieving high coverage of these programs.

Source: UG
Recommendations for cervical cancer prevention and control in Ghana: public education and human papillomavirus vaccination

Globally, cervical cancer is a major public health issue causing increasing morbidity and mortality especially in low- and middle-income countries where preventive and control measures are lacking. In Ghana, it is the most common cancer among women. Approaches to reduce the incidence and mortality of the disease in Ghana have had little success due to lack of accurate data on the disease among other factors, to inform policies on prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, the lack of clear commitment, policy direction and resources has hindered the scale-up of some of the initiatives implemented to curb the cervical cancer situation in Ghana. In this paper, we make recommendations on cervical cancer education and human papillomavirus vaccination. A collaborative approach is needed involving both private and government organizations, health professionals and the general public. Public education on cervical cancer and HPV vaccination needs to be delivered through a mixture of systems including both healthcare facilities and outreach programs, involving teachers, youth groups, community members and professional bodies. The vaccination of adolescents aged 10-14 years using the nonavalent HPV vaccine will be important in reducing the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in Ghana. The integration of public education on cervical cancer prevention, HPV vaccination and screening programs into both medical and public health services is critical in achieving high coverage of these programs.None.

Source: UG
Reconceptualising Preceptorship in Clinical Nursing Education in Ghana

Clinical teaching in nursing education is a worldwide challenge that needs to be context specific (Vitale, 2014) in relation to local health needs, current and potential nursing roles within the health system, and availability of human, fiscal, and clinical resources. Resource constraints, however, pose greater challenges in low and middle-income countries. In 2016, we engaged in a four-cycle community-based participatory action research (CBPR) study to examine current issues in clinical nursing education in one school of nursing in Ghana and worked collaboratively with stakeholders in visioning possibilities for improvement. Congruent with the CBPR approach (Caine & Mill, 2016), a four-member Collaborative Research Team from the School of Nursing engaged in the study consulted in the development of the research as it progressed, collaborated in data analysis, determined priorities for action, and participated in devising and implementing recommendations.

Source: UG
A Reconceptualization of Entrepreneurial Orientation in an Emerging Market Insurance Company

The authors examine how entrepreneurial firms gain competitive advantage and hence entrepreneurial success by optimizing their dynamic capabilities. Using a single case design, incorporating in-depth interviews with key informants within an insurance company in Ghana, the authors attempt to highlight the limitations of an existing model. Their key proposition is that the growth and profitability exhibited in the case study are largely attributable to its ability to leverage its entrepreneurial orientation. They argue, therefore, that despite the ability of the resource-based view to translate into competitive advantage at the firm level, it falls short of longer-term competitive advantages and entrepreneurial success-especially in the financial services sector with homogeneous product offerings. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Source: UG
Reconciling safe planetary targets and planetary justice

As human activity threatens to make the planet unsafe for humanity and other life forms, scholars are identifying planetary targets set at a safe distance from biophysical thresholds beyond which critical Earth systems may collapse. Yet despite the profound implications that both meeting and transgressing such targets may have for human wellbeing, including the potential for negative trade-offs, there is limited social science analysis that systematically considers the justice dimensions of such targets. Here we assess a range of views on planetary justice and present three arguments associated with why social scientists should engage with the scholarship on safe targets. We argue that complementing safe targets with just targets offers a fruitful approach for considering synergies and trade-offs between environmental and social aspirations and can inform inclusive deliberation on these important issues.

Source: UG
Reconstructing family doctors’ psychological well-being and motivation for effective performance in China: the intervening role of psychological capital

Background: Family practice and family doctors are critical part of China’s primary healthcare delivery in a constantly evolving society. As the first point of contact with the medical system, family practices require physically and psychologically sound and a well-motivated family doctors at all times. This is because an error can lead to loss of lives as gatekeepers of the medical system. Our study explored the extent to which positive psychological capital promotes higher performance among family doctors. Methods: A questionnaire was used to collect data from family doctors in Shanghai, Nanjing, and Beijing. We applied a structural equation analysis to analyze the causal relationship among the variables. Results: We found out that psychological well-being and job involvement significantly influences the performance of family doctors in China. The study also noted that psychological capital moderates the relationship between psychological well-being attainment, job involvement, and performance. Conclusions: Studies have shown that these pressures affect their well-being considerably. For this reason, a healthcare professional who experiences positive emotions affects the total behavior which culminates into performance.

Source: UG
Reconstruction of femoral length from fragmentary femora

Clinical Anatomy, Clinical Pathology, Medicine, Surgery, Theriogenology, Epidemiology and Disease Prevention, Food (Meat and Milk Hygiene and Inspection, Zoonoses and Environmental Health, Obstetrics, Mastitis and Udder Management, Veterinary Economics and Business Management, Veterinary Ethics, Jurisprudence and Extension, Clinics and Student Project. Long Vacations

Source: UG
Record keeping on early childhood diseases in two decades, at the health centre level in Uganda. Biritwum RB.

This study provides the age specific prevalence rates of diseases using data from 1152 infants by reviewing clinic records, which have been maintained from 1963 till 1984 (grouped according to households) at Kasangati Health Centre near Kampala, Uganda. On the average, each child reported 3 disease episodes per year. The conditions that brought a child to clinic for the first time were: respiratory infection 46.2%; clinical malaria 14.4%; skin infections 9.8%; diarrhoeal diseases 8.5% and, others 21.1%. The prevalence of diseases in infants at the age of less than one month old were, respiratory tract infection 78/1000, skin conditions 29/1000, clinical malaria/fever 18/1000, eye infection 15/1000, diarrhoea 5/1000 and others 67/1000. At the age of one month till the age of 18 months, four conditions consistently topped the disease prevalence list: respiratory tract infection with a range of 175/1000 to 29/1000, being higher in early childhood; clinical malaria/fever with a range of 79/1000 to 23/1000; diarrhoeal diseases with a range of 55/1000 to 10/1000 and skin conditions with a range of 42/1000 to 10/1000. Other disease conditions including urinary tract infection, burns/accidents, eye infections, ear infections, measles and tetanus had age specific prevalence of less than 10/1000 at each age. Most of the diseases showed decreasing level of prevalence as the age increased. Relatively more people used the clinic and at a higher rate in the 1970s compared to the 1960s, mirroring the general economic and political situation of the two periods. There were no sex specific differences in either the frequency of utilization of the clinic or in the prevalence of disease over time.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Source: UG
Recordkeeping and disaster management in public sector institutions in Ghana

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the disaster management procedures and measures adopted by public institutions in managing their information resources with a view to identifying possible problems and making recommendations for their resolution. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaires, interviews and observation were used to collect data from 65 respondents from 19 ministries and five respondents from the Public Records and Archives Administration Department (PRAAD) and the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO). Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyze the data collected for the study. Findings In the 19 ministries surveyed, the findings revealed high levels of unpreparedness to manage disasters concerning public records. The study also revealed the exposure of the ministries to various kinds of risks in their operations, and the lack of coordination between the heads of public sector institutions, NADMO and PRAAD. Also, inadequate budgetary allocation for the records department of the ministries and PRAAD was identified. Research limitations/implications The study concentrated on the headquarters (HQ) of the ministries because they are the administrative headquarters of public sector institutions and they make policies that are complied with by all the Regional and District branches as well as the Departments and Agencies in executing their tasks. The major limitation of the study was the inability of the researcher to cover all the ministries. Practical implications The recommendations made included cooperation among heads of the ministries, PRAAD and NADMO to develop a national information disaster management plan for the effective management of public records and information and a comprehensive program in public institutions to orientate staff on information disaster management. Social implications The study set the tone for public sector institutions and other institutions in the same area of operation to review the processes and procedures with regard to recordkeeping. Also, the study is anticipated to draw the attention of policy-makers (management of the ministries) and regulatory bodies in the field of records and disaster management (PRAAD and NADMO) to review their plans and policies to make provision for information disaster management. Originality/value The study is a research paper and critically looks at the disaster preparedness of public sector institutions in managing their records/information. It also examines whether there are any collaboration and coordination among public sector institutions in Ghana in having disaster preparedness and management plan to safeguard public records/information.

Source: UG
Records Management and Football Administration in Ghana

This study seeks to evaluate the nature and scale of the Ghana Premier League Board's records management practices, and propose recommendations based on findings. The study was qualitative. Data used for analysis were drawn from twelve (12) respondents with the use of face-to-face interviews and personal observations. The major finding of the study was that there was lack of appreciation of the function of reliable and authentic records in institutional development. This finding obviates serious gaps and weaknesses in the records management programme of the Ghana Premier League Board. In particular, this study has established the essence of an effective records management system for the administration of football in Ghana. Recommendations based on findings include the need for a corporate records management policy, training of records staff , staff motivations, among others.

Source: UG
Records management and preservation in government ministries and departments in Ghana

There is the erroneous notion among records managers in the public sector and the business setting that preservation of records is an activity reserved for the conservator late in the life of the document. In order to find out the care and handling of records in Government ministries and departments, 69 registries were surveyed. A questionnaire was designed to collect information from the surveyed ministries. Fort- four or (64%) responses were received. The analysis reveals that the degradation of records begin in registries in which most records spend their active life. Also, a majority of records which end up in the archives are at various stages of deterioration before reaching their destinations. The article concludes that preservation is an activity that runs through the total life of records must form an integral part records management. (African Journal of Library, Archives and Information Science: 2002 12 (2): 155-166)

Source: UG
Records management practices in ecumenical tertiary institutions: the Trinity Theological Seminary in focus

The study aimed at examining the records management practices at the Trinity Theological Seminary in Ghana and was underpinned by the life cycle concept. The researchers drew qualitative inferences from interviews, complementing personal observations, with 25 purposively sampled staff. The study revealed the creation, maintenance and use of records to support administrative and decision-making processes. Problems hampering effective records management included non-existent records management policy, inadequate staff training and erratic power supply. Among the recommendations proposed to overcome these setbacks were: formulating a written policy statement for managing records, providing staff with formal training and installing a standby generator.

Source: UG
Records of Captain Clapperton's Last Expedition Africa VOL. II.

THE Character Plutarch gives of the Athenians is strictly applicable to the people of Africa in general, in times of peace:-" They are easily provoked to anger, and as easily induced to resume sentiments of benevolence and compassion." This we found to be true in numberless instances; particularly amongst the gentler sex, whose apprehensions are quicker and livelier, and whose finer feelings more easily excited than those of their male companions. We not unfrequently observed persons quarrelling and fighting in one moment, with all the bitterness of angry and elevated passions, and in the next as gentle as lambs, and the most cordial friends in the universe; forgetting their previous noisy dispute in the performance of reciprocal acts of kindness and good nature.

Source: UG
Records of Captain Clapperton's Last Expedition to Africa

On my return from Africa in the summer of 1828, I was so ill with fever and debility, that I had neither spirit nor inclination to devote much time to the compilation and arrangement of my notes, and of the short sketches of character taken by stealth in the heart of that continent. My duty and sole design, in laying my Journal before the British Government, were to satisfy Ministers with regard to my conduct after the decease of Captain Clapperton, my lamented master; and to make them acquainted with the •manner in which the property left in my charge at Soccatoo bad been disposed of, ill my hazardous journey back to the sea- coast. Besides.

Source: UG
Records of Fraser’s dolphin (Lagenadelphis hosei Fraser, 1956) from Gulf of Guinea and Angola

Although Fraser’s dolphins Lagenodelphis hosei are considered to inhabit deep tropical waters worldwide, their occurrence in the Tropical Eastern Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Guinea southwards to Angola is only represented by two specimen records from Ghana. During cetacean surveys carried out concurrently with geophysical seismic surveys off Nigeria in 2004 and off Angola in 2007 and 2008, a pod of 150 probable Fraser’s dolphins videoed 130 km South of Nigeria and schools of 120 and 60 animals were photographed 170 km and 140 km respectively off the coast of Angola. All records occurred in deep water (>1000 m). Catacean by catch was monitored at six artisanal Ghanaian fishing ports between 1998 and 2000. Four Fraser’s dolphin specimens comprising one adult, one juvenile and two calves were photographed at two ports. Drift gillnets were identified as the probable cause of mortality for at lest two specimens. Two sightings of Fraser’s dolphins off Angola provide the first at-sea records for the Gulf of Guinea region and, together with bycaught specimens, confirm new southern and eastern distribution limits for the species within the Atlantic Ocean. Further information is required on the status of Fraser’s dolphins and the potential impact of fisheries bycatch on this species within the Gulf of Guinea.

Source: UG
Recovered but Constrained: Narratives of Ghanaian COVID-19 Survivors Experiences and Coping Pathways of Stigma, Discrimination, Social Exclusion and Their Sequels

Background: Research about the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), its epidemiology and socio-economic impact on populations worldwide has gained attention. However, there is dearth of empirical knowledge in low- and middle-income settings about the pandemic’s impact on survivors, particularly the tension of their everyday life arising from the experiences and consequences of stigma, discrimination and social exclusion, and how they cope with these behavioral adversities. Methods: Realist qualitative approach drawing data from people clinically diagnosed positive of COVID-19, admitted into therapy in a designated treatment facility, and subsequently recovered and discharged for or without follow-up domiciliary care. In-depth interviews were conducted by maintaining a code book for identifying and documenting. thematic categories in a progression leading to thematic saturation with 45 participants. data were transcribed and coded deductively for broad themes at the start before systematically nesting emerging themes into the broad ones with the aid of NVivo 12 software. Results: Everyday lived experiences of the participants were disrupted with acts of indirect stigmatization (against relatives and family members), direct stigmatization (labeling, prejudices and stereotyping), barriers to realizing full social life and discriminatory behaviors across socio-ecological structures (workplace, community, family, and social institutions). These behavioral adversities were associated with self-reported poor health, anxiety and psychological disorders and frustrations, among others. Consequently, supplicatory prayers, societal and organizational withdrawal, aggressive behaviors, supportive counseling, and self-assertive behaviors were adopted to cope and modify the adverse behaviors driven by misinformation and fearful perceptions of COVID-19 and its contagious proportions. Conclusion: In the face of the analysis, social campaigns and dissemination of toolkits that can trigger behavior change and responsible behaviors toward COVID-19 survivors are proposed to be implemented by health stakeholders, policy and decision makers in partnership with social influencers, the media, and telecoms.

Source: UG
Recovery Of Clinically Relevant Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella Pneumoniae Lineages From Wastewater In Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana.

The Department of Parasitology conducts research into parasitic diseases of public health importance with the overall goal of reducing their transmission and the heavy disease burden that they impose on affected populations. The Department maintains focus on parasitic diseases in general. These include major diseases such as malaria, and others listed under the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) control initiative such as, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis.

Source: UG
Recovery of gold via adsorption-incineration techniques using banana peel and its derivatives: Selectivity and mechanisms

In this study, banana peel (BP) and its derivatives after sequential extraction of biochemical components were evaluated for selective recovery of gold. In-depth instrumental characterizations including XPS, FTIR, XRD and HR-TEM were performed to understand the adsorption mechanisms. The biomass after lipid extraction, BP-L, demonstrated very good affinity and selectivity towards gold. In multi-metal systems containing 100 mg/L of Pt(IV), Au(III), Pd(II), Zn(II), Co(II), Ni(II) and Li(I), the selectivity coefficient increased from 978.45 in BP to 2034.70 in BP-L. Moreover, the equilibrium gold uptake was improved and reached 475.48 ± 3.08 mg/g owing to reduction-coupled adsorption mechanisms. The BP-L also showed improved gold nanoparticle formation properties that were pH-dependent. In a strategic adsorptioncombined incineration process, metallic gold reaching 99.96% in purity was obtained. The BP and its derivative, BP-L have thus shown potentials for multiple applications in the areas of precious metal recovery and nanoscience.

Source: UG