ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Determinants of induced abortion among women of reproductive age: evidence from the 2013 and 2019 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Surve

Background Worldwide, pregnancy termination due to unintended pregnancy is crucial in maternal health, par ticularly in settings where abortion laws are restrictive. Presently, there is a paucity of literature on determinants of induced abortion among women of reproductive age in Sierra Leone. The study fndings could be used to improve the country’s maternal mortality indices and inform health programs and reproductive health policies geared toward tackling induced abortion. Methods We analyzed secondary data from the 2013 and 2019 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Surveys. The surveys were nationally representative, with weighted samples comprising 16,658 (2013) and 15,574 (2019) women of reproductive age. Descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages, were computed, while Chi-square and Binomial Logistics Regression were employed to identify correlates of induced abortion. Results The results showed that a minority (9%) of the participants had induced abortion in both surveys. Abor tion was signifcantly associated with age, marital status, employment status, education, parity, and frequency of listening to the radio and watching television (p<0.05). For instance, women aged 45–49 years (AOR=7.91; 95% CI: 5.76–10.87), married women (AOR=2.52; 95% CI: 1.95–3.26), and working women (AOR=1.65; 95% CI: 1.45–1.87) had a higher likelihood of induced abortion compared to their counterparts. Moreover, women with primary educa tion (AOR=1.27; 95% CI:1.11–1.46) and those who watch television once a week (AOR=1.29; 95% CI: 1.11–1.49) were more likely to terminate a pregnancy. Women with six or more children (AOR=0.40; 95% CI: 0.31–0.52) were less likely to terminate a pregnancy compared to those with no child. Conclusion The study revealed that a minority of the women had induced abortions. The prevalence of induced abortion did not change over time. Induced abortion was infuenced by age, marital status, employment status, edu cation, parity, and exposure to mass media. Therefore, policies and programs to reduce unwanted pregnancies should focus on increasing access to modern contraceptives among women of lower socio-economic status

Source: UG
Determinants of induced abortion among women of reproductive age: evidence from the 2013 and 2019 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey

Background Worldwide, pregnancy termination due to unintended pregnancy is crucial in maternal health, particularly in settings where abortion laws are restrictive. Presently, there is a paucity of literature on determinants of induced abortion among women of reproductive age in Sierra Leone. The study findings could be used to improve the country’s maternal mortality indices and inform health programs and reproductive health policies geared toward tackling induced abortion. Methods We analyzed secondary data from the 2013 and 2019 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Surveys. The surveys were nationally representative, with weighted samples comprising 16,658 (2013) and 15,574 (2019) women of reproductive age. Descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages, were computed, while Chi-square and Binomial Logistics Regression were employed to identify correlates of induced abortion. Results The results showed that a minority (9%) of the participants had induced abortion in both surveys. Abortion was significantly associated with age, marital status, employment status, education, parity, and frequency of listening to the radio and watching television (p<0.05). For instance, women aged 45–49 years (AOR=7.91; 95% CI: 5.76–10.87), married women (AOR=2.52; 95% CI: 1.95–3.26), and working women (AOR=1.65; 95% CI: 1.45–1.87) had a higher likelihood of induced abortion compared to their counterparts. Moreover, women with primary education (AOR=1.27; 95% CI:1.11–1.46) and those who watch television once a week (AOR=1.29; 95% CI: 1.11–1.49) were more likely to terminate a pregnancy. Women with six or more children (AOR=0.40; 95% CI: 0.31–0.52) were less likely to terminate a pregnancy compared to those with no child. Conclusion The study revealed that a minority of the women had induced abortions. The prevalence of induced abortion did not change over time. Induced abortion was influenced by age, marital status, employment status, education, parity, and exposure to mass media. Therefore, policies and programs to reduce unwanted pregnancies should focus on increasing access to modern contraceptives among women of lower socio-economic status.

Source: UG
Determinants of insecticide-treated net ownership and utilization among pregnant women in nigeria

BACKGROUND: Malaria during pregnancy is a major public health problem in Nigeria leading to increase in the risk of maternal mortality, low birth weight and infant mortality. This paper is aimed at highlighting key predictors of the ownership of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) and its use among pregnant women in Nigeria. METHODS: A total of 2348 pregnant women were selected by a multi-stage probability sampling technique. Structured interview schedule was used to elicit information on socio-demographic characteristics, ITN ownership, use, knowledge, behaviour and practices. Logistic regression was used to detect predictors of two indicators: ITN ownership, and ITN use in pregnancy among those who owned ITNs. RESULTS: ITN ownership was low; only 28.8% owned ITNs. Key predictors of ITN ownership included women who knew that ITNs prevent malaria (OR = 3.85; p < 0001); and registration at antenatal clinics (OR = 1.34; p = 0.003). The use of ITNs was equally low with only 7.5% of all pregnant women, and 25.7% of all pregnant women who owned ITNs sleeping under a net. The predictors of ITN use in pregnancy among women who owned ITNs (N = 677) identified by logistic regression were: urban residence (OR = 1.87; p = 0.001); knowledge that ITNs prevent malaria (OR = 2.93; p < 0001) and not holding misconceptions about malaria prevention (OR = 1.56; p = 0.036). Educational level was not significantly related to any of the two outcome variables. Although registration at ANC is significantly associated with ownership of a bednet (perhaps through free ITN distribution) this does not translate to significant use of ITNs. CONCLUSIONS: ITN use lagged well behind ITN ownership. This seems to suggest that the current mass distribution of ITNs at antenatal facilities and community levels may not necessarily lead to use unless it is accompanied by behaviour change interventions that address the community level perceptions, misconceptions and positively position ITN as an effective prevention device to prevent malaria.

Source: UG
Determinants of intention to use mobile phone caller tunes to promote voluntary blood donation: Cross-sectional study

Background: Voluntary blood donation rates are low in sub-Saharan Africa. Sociobehavioral factors such as a belief that donated blood would be used for performing rituals deter people from donating blood. There is a need for culturally appropriate communication interventions to encourage individuals to donate blood. Health care interventions that use mobile phones have increased in developing countries, although many of them focus on SMS text messaging (short message service, SMS). A unique feature of mobile phones that has so far not been used for aiding blood donation is caller tunes. Caller tunes replace the ringing sound heard by a caller to a mobile phone before the called party answers the call. In African countries such as Ghana, instead of the typical ringing sound, a caller may hear a message or song. Despite the popularity of such caller tunes, there is a lack of empirical studies on their potential use for promoting blood donation. Objective: The aim of this study was to use the technology acceptance model to explore the influence of the factors-perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude, and free of cost-on intentions of blood or nonblood donors to download blood donation-themed caller tunes to promote blood donation, if available. Methods: A total of 478 blood donors and 477 nonblood donors were purposively sampled for an interviewer-administered questionnaire survey at blood donation sites in Accra, Ghana. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factory analysis or structural equation modeling, leading to hypothesis testing to examine factors that determine intention to use caller tunes for blood donation among blood or nonblood donors who use or do not use mobile phone caller tunes. Results: Perceived usefulness had a significant effect on intention to use caller tunes among blood donors with caller tunes (beta=.293, P<.001), blood donors without caller tunes (beta=.165, P=.02, nonblood donors with caller tunes (beta=.278, P<.001), and nonblood donors without caller tunes (beta=.164, P=.01). Attitudes had significant effect on intention to use caller tunes among blood donors without caller tunes (beta=.351, P<.001), nonblood donors with caller tunes (beta=.384, P<.001), nonblood donors without caller tunes (beta=.539, P<.001) but not among blood donors with caller tunes (beta=.056, P=.44). The effect of free-of-cost caller tunes on the intention to use for blood donation was statistically significant (beta=.169, P<.001) only in the case of nonblood donors without caller tunes, whereas this path was statistically not significant in other models. Conclusions: Our results provide empirical evidence for designing caller tunes to promote blood donation in Ghana. The study found that making caller tunes free is particularly relevant for nonblood donors with no caller tunes. © Bernard Appiah, James N Burdine, Ammar Aftab, Lucy Asamoah-Akuoko, David A Anum, Irene A Kretchy, Elfreda W Samman, Patience B Appiah, Imelda Bates.

Source: UG
Determinants of inward foreign direct investment in the Ghanaian manufacturing sector

This study investigates the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Ghanaian manufacturing sector, using the Regional Project on Enterprise Development (RPED) dataset. The study adopts a binary logistic regression model in which the dependent variable, FDI, is expressed as a function of firm-level characteristics and location variables. The results of this study showed that firm size, capital requirement, skill intensity, labour cost, technological capability and unionisation of a firm’s workers positively affect FDI inflows. The results, however, revealed that firm age negatively affect FDI. We also found that the location and sub-sector of the firm influence FDI inflows. The main findings of this study are that, larger firms are more likely to attract FDI in the manufacturing sector. Also, firms with high capital base, skilled labour force, improved technological capability and unionised labour are often in the position to attract more FDI into the manufacturing sector.

Source: UG
Determinants Of Iron-Rich Food Deficiency Among Children Under 5 Years In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Demographic And Health Surveys

ABSTRACT Background: Iron deficiency is a major public health concern. problem that affects the physical and cognitive development of children under 5 years of age (under-5 children) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the factors associated with the limited consumption of iron-rich foods in the region are poorly understood. Objective This study examined the prevalence and determinants of iron-rich food deficiency among under-5 children in 26 SSA countries. Design: This nationally representative quantitative study employed pooled data from Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 2010 and 2019. Methods: Representative samples comprising 296–850 under-5 children from the various countries were used. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine the associations between the lack of iron-rich food uptake and various sociodemographic factors. Result The overall prevalence of iron-rich food deficiency among the children in the entire sample was 56.75%. The prevalence of iron-rich food deficiency varied widely across the 26 countries. ranging from 42.76% in Congo Democratic Republic to 77.50% in Guinea. Maternal education, particularly primary education (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.68) and higher education (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.64), demonstrated a reduced likelihood of iron-rich food deficiency in the sample. Likewise, paternal education, with both primary education (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.75) and higher education (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.60 to 0.73) showed decreased odds of iron-rich food deficiency. Postnatal visits contributed significantly to reduce the odds of iron-rich food deficiency (OR) 0.90, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.95), along with antenatal visits, which also had a positive impact (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.74 to 0.95). Finally, residents in rural areas showed slightly higher odds of iron-rich food deficiency (OR) 1.12, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.28). Conclusion Based on the findings, interventions targeting iron-food deficiency in the SSA region should take into strong consideration the key determinants highlighted in this study

Source: UG
Determinants of Job Satisfaction among Healthcare Professionals in Ghana : A Position Paper

There is a growing interest in the health professionals’ performance sustenance and work- related attitudes research. This is primarily because health professionals experience on daily basis some undesirable variables like fatigue, `well-being, stress, emotional drain, psychological need frustration and job dissatisfaction which affect performance and its sustenance. Health managers quest to resolve issues of performance sustenance, have resulted in difficulties in their attempt to motivate health professionals to be highly functional and effective to sustain performance. In a lower-middle income country like Ghana, there has not been a lot of success in this regard considering the enormity of psychological challenges and the seemingly disturbing work environment health professionals engage their services in. These continue to affect performance fundamentally because they keep experiencing negative development psychologically. Additionally, it has been documented severally in the extant literature how these negative psychological developments affect the performance of healthcare professionals which unreservedly requires a new dimension in the way work environment is managed. A gap our study intends to address through the incorporation of positive psychological capital which we seek to use in moderating the work related attitudes that has the capacity to address the negativity that has engulfed work environment among healthcare professionals.

Source: UG
Determinants of Job Search Intensity in Ghana

The success of individuals in securing employment requires a significant search effort. This article presents an empirical analysis of the determinants of job search intensity among a cross-section of workers in Accra, Ghana. Based on a sample of 404 workers drawn from 100 formal sector firms in Accra, we adopt the Poisson regression estimation technique to indicate that age, years of schooling, labour market experience, sex of household head, firm size and ethnic group significantly influence job search intensity. Measures to expose young job seekers to the world of work via internship and apprenticeship could accelerate their transition to employment. © 2014, © 2014 National Council of Applied Economic Research.

Source: UG
Determinants of livelihood diversification in an integrated agricultural and non-agricultural livelihood system in Ghana

The diversification of livelihoods by households has been widely acknowledged as a way to overcome food insecurity and poverty challenges in developing countries. Diversification of livelihoods help spread the risk among multiple livelihoods earning activities to provide house holds with a range of their food needs all year round. By examining the integrated livelihood systems of 405 rural farm households in the Upper East Region of Ghana, empirical evidence is provided in this study using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework to advance arguments in the literature for the creation of sustainable strategies that improve diversified livelihood systems. The mean diversification indices estimated were 0.45 for agricultural diversification systems, 0.32 for non-agricultural diversification systems and 0.59 for integrated agricultural and nonagricultural diversification systems. With the use of the Cragg two-step regression model, we demonstrate that the decision to diversify and the extent of diversification of rural livelihoods are distinct decisions and are influenced by distinct sets of factors. Similarly, for the three categories of livelihood diversification studied, the effect of these factors also differed. The results emphasize the significance of access to good road network, credit and market information in encouraging rural farm households to diversify their livelihoods. In the short term, improving access to credit and market information through community-based initiatives can provide immediate support to rural households. Communities should also organize local markets and cooperatives to strengthen their economic resilience. While government and stakeholders should focus on long-term infra structure projects, these community actions can complement such efforts and contribute to achieving global and regional goals targeting food insecurity and poverty eradication

Source: UG
Determinants of livelihood strategies of fishing households in the Volta Basin, Ghana

The main objective of this study is to identify livelihood strategies of fishing households in response to prevalent vulnerabilities they face within the Volta Basin. Questionnaires were administered to fishery households in the Basin using the multistage sampling technique. A non-hierarchical k-means cluster analysis partitioned the households into four livelihood strategies on which the multinomial logit regression was performed. These four identified strategies are fishery only, fishery and farming, fishery and non-farm, and fishery, non-farming and farming. The results from the multinomial logit regression revealed that marital status of head of household, number of months of food shortage experienced by a household per year, access to credit, access to extension services, distance to regular markets and district capital as well as experience in fishery were the major determinants of livelihood strategies. Implications for policy include the need for public extension services and training to invigorate fishery households’ income. As majority of the fishery households combined fishing and non-fishing strategies, livelihood intervention programmes should prioritize improvement of the non-fishing activities and lead to opening other opportunities for rural development. This will take pressure off the fish stock by facilitating the regeneration of fish stock.

Source: UG
Determinants of living arrangements of Lesotho's elderly female population

The paper addresses the demographic and socioeconomic correlates of living arrangements of women aged 60 years and over in Lesotho using the 1996 Census of Lesotho data file. Simple cross-tabular and multivariate techniques are applied to the household distribution of the census. The results show that a majority of elderly women in the country are widows, live in the rural areas, have had little education, and dwell in extended family households of which a significant proportion of them are the head. The findings further indicate that the age of the women's surviving children, and advancing age of the elderly themselves are important factors contributing to kin coresidence of the Lesotho elderly female population. The propensity of coresidence is found to increase with advancing age, while higher levels of educational attainment have significant negative correlation with the likelihood of kin coresidence. A combination of fertility decline, migration, and urbanization puts the older women in a disadvantaged position since there are fewer adult children available to provide support and care, and there is no universal non-familial social security system.

Source: UG
Determinants of low birth weight deliveries at five referral hospitals in Western Area Urban district, Sierra Leone

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) contributes significantly to infant and child mortality. Each year, about 20 1million deliveries are LBW with 96.5% occurring in developing countries. Whiles the incidence of LBW is reducing in other districts of Sierra Leone, it has been reported to be increasing in the Western Area Urban district. Determining the risk factors in a specific geographic area is important for identifying mothers at risk and thereby for planning and taking appropriate action. The current study sought to identify factors associated with LBW deliveries in the Western Area Urban district of Sierra Leone. Methods: A hospital-based unmatched 1:2 case-control study was conducted among mothers who delivered live singleton babies from November, 2019 to February, 2020 in five referral health facilities. Mothers were conveniently sampled and sequentially enrolled into the study after delivery. Their antenatal care cards were reviewed and a pretested questionnaire administered to the mothers. Data analysis was done using Stata 15.0 and association between maternal socio-demographic, socio-economic, obstetric and lifestyle factors and LBW assessed using bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Results: A total of 438 mothers (146 cases and 292 controls), mean age: 24.2 (±5.8) and 26.1 (±5.5) years for cases and controls respectively participated in the study. Multivariable analysis revealed that being unemployed (AoR = 2.52, 95% CI 1.16–5.49, p = 0.020), having anaemia during pregnancy (AoR = 3.88, 95% CI 1.90–7.90, p < 0.001), having less than 2 years inter-pregnancy interval (AoR = 2.53, 95% CI 1.11–5.73, p = 0.026), and smoking cigarettes during pregnancy (AoR = 4.36, 95% CI 1.94–9.80, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with having LBW babies. Conclusion: Factors associated with LBW identified were unemployment, anaemia during pregnancy, < 2 years inter-pregnancy interval and cigarette smoking during pregnancy. Health care providers should screen and sensitize mothers on the risk factors of LBW during antenatal sessions.

Source: UG