ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Provider preference for payment method under a national health insurance scheme: A survey of health insurance-credentialed health care providers in Ghana

Background Ghana introduced capitation payment method in 2012 but was faced with resistance from provider groups and civil society organizations for its perceived negative effects on quality care delivery. This study seeks to explore the views of providers to understand their preferred payment method for the various types of services they provide in order to inform the discussion and negotiations during this period of reform. Findings will not only aid the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to improve the implementation arrangements but also provide useful inputs for other low and middle-income countries (LMICs) in their quest to reform their provider payment systems. Materials and methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 200 credentialed health care providers’ in the three regions of Ghana on providers’ preference for payment method. We administered closed-ended questionnaires employing 5-point Likert scales for measurement of payment method preference. Descriptive and regression analysis were performed to examine healthcare providers’ background characteristics and their association with preferred payment method for primary care. Results In general, health care providers prefer the Ghana-Diagnosis-Related Grouping (G-DRG) payment method to fee-for-service and capitation payment methods. Result of bivariate analyses showed that healthcare providers’ preference for payment method for primary outpatient services differed significantly by their region of residence (p<0.001). The multinomial logic model showed that being a female (p = 0.013) or healthcare provider in the Volta region(p = 0.008) was significantly associated with health provider preference for G-DRG payment method relative to fee-for-service. Similarly, being a healthcare provider in the Volta region (p = 0.026) or Medical Assistant (p = 0.032) was significantly associated with capitation relative to fee-for-service payment method. Conclusion We conclude that the most preferred payment method across all regions is the G-DRG. However, whereas providers in the Volta region are not willing to accept capitation as payment method, this was not the case in Ashanti and Central regions. Capitation payment method as an option for primary care services in Ghana should, therefore, not be ruled out of the discussion.

Source: UG
Providing Birth Registration for all in Ghana: An Assessment of Target 16.9 of Sustainable Development Goal 16

In an effort to ensure universal access to basic human rights, essential social facilities such as healthcare, education, justice systems and financial institutions, and the planning of an overall development agenda, there is the need to provide official documentation of legal identity for all persons. Identity registration through birth registration and certification is regarded as the first document that serves as a form of legal identity for individuals at birth. As states in the international system make conscious efforts towards attaining the 17 Sustainable Development Goals before 2030, the 16th SDG which calls for Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions through Target 16.9, aims at tackling issues concerned with the provision of legal identity for all. This includes birth registration by identifying the proportion of children under the age of 5years whose births have been registered with civil authority. In Ghana, it is estimated that about 15% of the population remains without a legal identity and hence, their inability to enjoy their rights and benefit from social structures. This study employs the use of the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey to determine the influence of some selected socio-economic and demographic variables such as the level of education of the mother, type of place of residence, wealth index, age and sex of the child on birth registration status within the country. Through univariate analysis, frequencies and percentages were used to describe the characteristics of the respondents. Cross tabulations and chi-square tests were conducted at the bivariate level of analysis to determine the relationships between selected socio-economic and demographic variables and birth registration status. The binary logistic regression model was employed at the multivariate level to examine how socio-economic and demographic variables correlated with birth registration status. Results show that birth registration was dependent on factors like the mother’s education, wealth index, the type of place of residence and mother’s religion.

Source: UG
Providing free maternal health care: Ten lessons from an evaluation of the national delivery exemption policy in Ghana

The overall goal of the department is to conduct research and provide solutions to nutritional problems in Ghana. In pursuance of this goal, the Nutrition Department since its inception has focused its research in the areas of maternal, infant and young child nutrition, food consumption and food security and micronutrient deficiency and interventions. These are priority food and nutrition problems in Ghana.

Source: UG
Providing Information Communication Technology Support to Distance Education Students: A Case of the University of Ghana, Legon

A study to investigate the current state of Information Communication Technology policy of the University of Ghana Distance Education (DE) programme and the extent of awareness and use of ICTs in general by the DE learners was carried out. The survey methodology was adopted using questionnaire and interview instruments. Respondents were made up of 120 DE students, the coordinator of the DE programme, and 5 workers at the DE unit. The questionnaires were distributed to all the 120 students while the workers responded to a semi-structured interview. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (percentage frequency distribution and examining relationships). The main findings of the study revealed that there was a policy statement on providing ICT-based support to the DE learners; however, this policy has not yet been implemented. Most of the DE students were fully aware of ICT and majority of them use the internet across the regions. The students had positive attitude towards ICTs in that they deemed it necessary in the course of their studies and were willing to pay for ICT services. The main barriers identified that could affect the usefulness of the various ICTs were electricity, cost and accessibility. The study recommends among others, the forging of partnerships between distance education programmes and ICT companies, the networking of DE centres and the use of diverse ICT facilities, among others.

Source: UG
Providing Measurement, Evaluation, Accountability, and Leadership Support (MEALS) for Non-communicable Diseases Prevention in Ghana: Project Implementation Protocol

Background: This study describes the rationale, adaptation, and final protocol of a project developed to address the increase in obesity and nutrition-related non-communicable diseases (NR-NCDs) in Ghana. Code-named the Measurement, Evaluation, Accountability, and Leadership Support for NCDs (MEALS4NCDs) project, it aims to measure and support public sector actions that create healthy food marketing, retail, and provisioning environments for Ghanaian children using adapted methods from the International Network for Food and Obesity/NCDs Research Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS). Methods: The protocol for this observational study draws substantially from the INFORMAS’ Food Promotion and Food Provision Modules. However, to appraise the readiness of local communities to implement interventions with strong potential to improve the food environments of Ghanaian children, the MEALS4NCDs protocol has innovatively integrated a local community participatory approach based on the community readiness model (CRM) into the INFORMAS approaches. The setting is Ghana and the participants include health and nutrition policy-makers, nutrition and food service providers, consumers, school authorities, and pupils of Ghanaian basic schools. Results: The study establishes a standardized approach to providing implementation science evidence for the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Ghana. It demonstrates the feasibility and the innovative application of the INFORMAS expanded food promotion and food provision modules, together with the integration of the CRM in a lower-middle income setting. Conclusion: The research will facilitate the understanding of the processes through which the INFORMAS approach is contextualized to a lower-middle-income African context. The protocol could be adapted for similar country settings to monitor relevant aspects of the food environments of children.

Source: UG
Providing quality teacher education for women in Ghana through open and distance learning

Open distance learning (ODL) is of special relevance to the training of teachers who should respond efficiently to frequent and fast changes of knowledge. ODL has emerged as a tool for widening access to higher education for women. Compared to other professions, women are dominant in teaching. They find the profession very convenient for their roles in society. Teaching also creates opportunity for women to enhance themselves in formal education and in public life. Meanwhile like all other professions, women form the minority in the teaching profession as compared to their male counterparts. This is because gender disaggregated data on education has shown that compared to their male counterparts women have generally attained low level of formal education. Several reasons have attributed to this low level of formal education among women. The uniqueness of open and distance learning as widening access and bringing education to the door step of people makes it critical for using ODL to bridge the gender gap in teacher education for women. This paper explores the unique nature of ODL for providing quality teacher education for women in Ghana and the issues to consider in the process.

Source: UG
The Provision of Raw Materials for African History

I want to lay the emphasis on the word "provision" in the title of my paper. The function of the Oxford University Colonial Records Project is to provide. Material cannot be provided unless it is first obtained and this involves a great deal of detective work. Search, discovery, rescue and administration - all these are essential parts of the Project Organiser’s work. The decision to set up an organization to find and preserve papers on the British colonial-period' was taken after much thought by many people over a considerable length of time. They realised that the speed with which British colonial rule was ending might endanger the supply of historical material in the years ahead.

Source: UG
Proximate composition and serving sizes of selected composite Ghanaian soups

Soups are major components of Ghanaian dishes. The composite nature of Ghanaian soups, in general, tend to make the calorie and macronutrient composition highly variable. This study sought to determine the proximate composition of selected Ghanaian soups from defined recipes and to photographically present quantities of the soups, measured with common Ghanaian household food measures, equivalent to servings of protein and carbohydrates. Two types of each conveniently selected soup (light soup, groundnut soup, kontomire (cocoyam leaves) soup and palm nut soup) were prepared; one with animal protein and the other without. The soups prepared include; LS1- light soup with garden eggplant (African eggplant); LS2- light soup with garden eggplant and chicken GS1- groundnut (peanut butter) soup without animal protein; GS2- groundnut soup with chicken; PS1- palm nut soup without animal protein; PS2- palm nut soup with smoked catfish and herrings. Proximate analysis was done to determine macronutrient content of all the soups. Each soup was measured using a household food measure (150 ml soup ladle) to obtain a 15 g carbohydrate and 7 g protein equivalent and then photographed. Carbohydrate content of the soups ranged between 1.18 g-8.43 g, protein was between 0.34 g-4.31 g and 0.14 g-7.78 g for fat per 100 g of edible portion. Palm nut soup with animal source protein had the highest carbohydrate (8.43 ± 0.86 g) and fibre (1.99 ±0.22 g) content. Soups with the highest protein and fat content were GS2 (4.29 ± 0.14 g) and PS1 (20.39 ± 3.54 g) respectively. Serving sizes of the soups prepared ranged approximately between 1-8½ soup ladles (using 150 ml soup ladle) per 15 g carbohydrate equivalence and 1-13 soup ladles (using 150 ml soup ladle) per 7 g protein equivalence. It took variable quantities of the prepared soups to obtain the target serving sizes with PS2 having the least quantity (~1 soup ladle) for 15 g carbohydrate serving and PS1 having the least amount (~1 soup ladle) for 7 g protein serving. The large serving size of most of the soups required to meet a serving of protein implied that those soups should be eaten together with food sources rich in protein, in order to appreciably enhance the protein intake of individuals.

Source: UG
Proximate determinants of child mortality in liberia

The study looks at the effects of maternal sociodemographic characteristics and the quality of the environment on child survival through two intervening variables, breast-feeding and prenatal care. A linear structural equation modelling approach was used to examine infant and child survival based on a weighted sample of 5180 Liberian children aged 0-5 years. The findings confirm previous studies, but also reveal complex relationships of the role of education, maternal age and breast-feeding in enhancing child survival. PIP: The hypothesis that female education has a positive direct influence on child survival was investigated through the use of data from the 1986 Demographic and Health Survey of Liberia. Of the 5180 children born in the 5 years preceding the survey, 873 (17%) had died. Even when other socioeconomic variables were controlled, maternal education had a significant positive direct effect (0.167) on child survival at 5 years of age. The percentage of child loss was 17.9% among mothers with no education, 15.5% among those with a primary education, and 14.0% among mothers with an education above the primary level. This effect was weak, however, when compared to that of breastfeeding. The proportion of child mortality was 41.7% among non-breastfeeding mothers compared to only 8.9% among breastfeeding mothers. To the extent that high maternal educational decreased the propensity to breastfeed in this sample, education has a negative indirect effect on child survival--an effect that is counterbalanced somewhat by the tendency of education to increase the likelihood of obtaining prenatal care, the most important source of knowledge about child health. Moreover, prenatal care has the strongest direct effect on breastfeeding status. The excess risk of child mortality among teenage mothers in this survey (19.8%, compared to 14.9% among mothers 35 years of age and above) is believed to reflect to decreasing prevalence of breastfeeding in younger age groups. Overall, the risk of child death was greater in rural areas (17.75) than urban ones (15.6%), but, for breastfed children, the risk was lower in rural areas. These findings indicate a need for greater attention toward promoting breastfeeding as the central element of child survival campaigns.

Source: UG
PRP19 upregulation inhibits cell proliferation in lung adenocarcinomas by p21-mediated induction of cell cycle arrest

Precursor messenger RNA processing factor 19 (PRP19) is known to be a critical component of the eukaryotic spliceosomal machinery and DNA damage repair system, the deregulation of which leads to many disease conditions. In many human cancers, PRP19 expression is upregulated, but its functional significance and corresponding underlying mechanisms remain to be addressed. Focusing on lung carcinomas, PRP19 upregulation was achieved by plasmid transfection into A549 adenocarcinoma cells. The transfected cells were then subjected to several in vitro and in vivo assays following in situ assessment of the protein in paired clinical lung tissues. We report that PRP19 expression is elevated in lung carcinoma tissues compared to non-tumor tissues. Following its upregulation, PRP19 repressed cell proliferation and tumor growth by upregulating the expression of the cell cycle arrest protein p21. © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS.

Source: UG
Pseudogenomic Insights Into The Evolution Of Mycobacterium Ulcerans

Background: Buruli ulcer (BU) disease, caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans (MU) and characterized by necrotic ulcers is still a health problem in Africa and Australia. The genome of the bacterium has several pseudogenes due to recent evolutionary events and environmental pressures. Pseudogenes are genetic elements regarded as non-essential in bacteria, however, are less studied due to limited available tools to provide understanding of their evolution and roles in MU pathogenicity. Results This study developed a bioinformatic pipeline to profile the pseudogenomes of sequenced MU clinical isolates from different countries. One hundred and seventy-two MU genomes analyzed revealed that The pseudogenomes of African strains corresponded to the two African lineages 1 and 2. Pseudogenomes were lineages and location-specific, and African lineage 1 was further divided into A and B. Lineage 2 had less relaxation in positive selection than lineage 1, which may signify different evolutionary points. Based on the Gil-Latorre model, African strains may be in the latter stages of evolutionary adaptation and are adapting to an environment rich in metabolic resources with a lower temperature and decreased UV radiation. The environment fosters oxidative metabolism and MU may be less reliant on some secondary metabolites. In-house pseudogenomes from Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire were different from other African strains; however, they were identified as African strains. Conclusion Our bioinformatic pipeline provides pseudogenomic insights to complement other whole genome analyses, providing a better view of the evolution of the genome of MU and suggesting an adaptation model which is important in understanding transmission. MU pseudogene profiles vary based on lineage and country, and an apparent reduction in insertion sequences used for the detection of MU, which may adversely affect the sensitivity of diagnosis. Significance Prevention and treatment of Buruli ulcer is still a problem but large whole genome datasets on M. ulcerans are readily available. However, genomic studies fail to thoroughly investigate pseudogenes to probe evolutionary changes in the bacteria, and this can be attributed to the lack of bioinformatic tools. This work studied pseudogenes in Mycobacterium ulcerans (MU) to understand its adapted niche and evolutionary differences across African strains. Our results suggest that an MU niche-adapted model is important in understanding transmission. Also, MU pseudogene profiles vary based on lineage and country, suggesting their influence on pseudogenization patterns

Source: UG
Psycho-behavioural factors associated with medication adherence among male outpatients with hypertension in a Ghanaian hospital

Medication adherence is a key health outcome that reflects the health and general wellbeing of patients with hypertension. Challenges with adherence are common and associated with clinical, behavioural and psychosocial factors. This study sought to provide data on the extent of medication adherence among male patients with hypertension and their biopsychosocial predictors. Patient and clinical characteristics, psychological distress, insomnia and sexual dysfunction were hypothesized to predict outcomes of medication adherence. Utilizing quantitative data from a hospital-based cross-sectional study from 358 male out-patients with hypertension attending a tertiary hospital in Ghana, medication adherence was associated with age, marital status, educational level, income, duration of diagnosis, number of medications taken and sexual dysfunction. These findings support the need for biopsychosocial interventions aiming at promoting adherence while taking these factors into consideration for the benefit of improving the health and general well-being of male patients with hypertension.

Source: UG
Psychodrama Therapy - Counselling for the Performing Artiste

The founder of Psycho drama, J.L.Moreno used enactment, creativity, spontaneity, sociometry, group dynamics, role theory, and social systems analysis to facilitate constructive change in individuals and groups so that new perceptions and cognitive patterns can develop through better understanding of their roles in life, the ways they interact with others, and things that may be creating challenges or restricting change in their lives. Terms like catharsis, soliloquy, role reversal and mirroring used are relevant to theatrical persons and they can readily understand the approach than an ordinary person. Performers are noted amongst others to ease emotional burdens of others but often, they tend to be under serious emotional strain themselves because of the stressful conditions under which they work. Performing artistes need the services of a counselor. Using psychodrama therapy can help cast and crew deal with their own emotional needs for a better and healthy life. To Moreno, the world is a stage and the Director/ Producer is God. We all enter on this stage at birth and depart at death. As we enter the world, emotional needs are inevitable. Knowing who to go to in order to handle and deal with our emotional strain can make life more meaningful, healthy and enjoyable.

Source: UG
Psychological and educational effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on online students and faculty of a ghanaian university

Abstract This is a qualitative study that employed exploratory design to inquire from 15 participants of Central University (Ghana) about their experience with the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana. An in-depth interview was conducted, and data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that participants experienced fear expressed in four key domains reported under four key themes thus: Experiencing psychological distress; Burden of economic hardships; Fear of inefficient health system; and Educational disruptions and worries involved in online teaching and learning. The study concludes that the upsurge of COVID-19 has triggered psychological, economic, and educational conundrums that have to be addressed. This paper contributes to the growing body of studies on COVID-19 and effects on lecturers and students. The burgeoning evidence of the mental health distress following COVID-19 should be a wake-up call for universities and Ghana as a whole to invest both in infrastructure and manpower in this area of health care delivery. Vaccine hesitancy research must be conducted to improve upon health educational campaigns. The significant disruption from the pandemic is a fair warning to all stakeholders to make educational e-learning infrastructure resilient against similar future shocks. The implications of the findings for health and educational policies in Ghana are addressed.

Source: UG