ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Impact of Fraud on Ghanaian SMEs and Coping Mechanisms

Purpose Small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) are the engine of growth of most developing countries, as they employ a large number of people as opposed to large firms. Consequently, these enterprises should succeed in expanding to become significant employers and producers. However, what seems obvious at least through cursory observation is that the current state of SMEs betrays an economic loss with respect to the benefits that ought to be forthcoming from their potential. This loss can be triggered by a number of factors. The study determines the drivers of internal fraud and their impact on Ghanaian SMEs and prescribes coping mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach Primary data collected on 250 SMEs collected from various sectors across Accra, the capital of Ghana, are used for this study. Using a cross-sectional regression, the authors identify the key drivers of internal fraud that hamper the growth of Ghanaian SMEs. Findings The regression results show that although several fraud variables impact negatively the growth of the SME sector, it is only accounting fraud which is significant. This study also revealed that stealing, fake currency issued for the payment of goods or service and non-payment of goods or service account for almost 83 per cent of fraud cases experienced by SMEs. Research limitations/implications The study was limited to the SMEs located in the Accra, the capital of Ghana. Practical implications The study will offer SMEs owners methods that will assist in their determination to fight fraud in the business that they manage. Social implications The survival of SMEs is paramount to job creation. Consequently, combating fraud that stifle the growth of SMEs will allow SMEs to grow to their full potential and create more job opportunities for the unemployed. This will minimizes the social vices such as robbery, stealing, drug trafficking and prostitution that confront nations. Originality/value This study should be useful to managers of SMEs, auditors and the security agencies in developing economies in particular, in their quest to combat fraud within SMEs.

Source: UG
The impact of Ghana's R3M programme on the provision of safe abortions and postabortion care

In 2006, in response to the high maternal mortality, driven largely by unsafe abortions, the government of Ghana, in partnership with other organizations, launched the reducing maternal mortality and morbidity (R3M) programme in seven districts in Greater Accra, Ashanti and Eastern, to improve comprehensive abortion care services. This article examines whether this intervention made a difference to the provision of safe abortion services and postabortion care (PAC). We also examine the role played by provider attitudes and knowledge of the abortion law, on providers with clinical training in service provision. Primary data on health care providers in Ghana, collected using a quasi-experimental design, were analysed using propensity score weighting. Apart from the treatment group, the sample included two controls: (1) Districts in Accra, Ashanti and Eastern, not exposed to the treatment; and (2) Districts from distant Brong Ahafo, also not exposed to the treatment. The findings show that providers in the treatment group are nearly 16 times as likely to provide safe abortions compared with their peers in Brong Ahafo, and ∼2.5 times as likely compared with providers in the other control group. R3M providers were also different from their peers in providing PAC. Associations between provider attitudes and knowledge of the law on both outcomes were either non-significant or inconsistent including for providers with clinical knowledge of abortion provision. Provider confidence however is strongly associated with service provision. We conclude that the R3M programme is helping safe abortion provision, with the differences being greater with control groups that are geographically distant, perhaps owing to lower contamination from movement of providers between facilities. Increasing provider confidence is key to improving both safe abortion provision and PAC. © 2014 Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Source: UG
Impact of gold mining on soil and some staple foods collected from selected mining communities in and around tarkwa-prestea area

The principle of neutron activation was used to investigate the presence of toxic elements and possible heavy metals in samples of cassava, plantain and soil from the mining communities in and around Tarkwa in the Western Region of Ghana. The results showed that the maximum concentrations of the respective metals in cassava: plantain: soil samples were arsenic (As = 0.7 μg/g:0.25 μg/g:14.35 μg/g), mercury (Hg = 0.25 μg/g:0.52 μg/g:0.09 μg/g), antimony (Sb = 0.03 μg/g: 0.03 μg/g: 2.98 μg/g), chromium (Cr = 0.72 μg/g:3.42 μg/g:40.35 μg/g), vanadium (V = 0.8 μg/g:0.76 μg/g:188.40 μg/g), zinc (Zn = 38.42 μg/g:24.92 μg/g:42.36 μg/g), and copper (Cu = 66.39 μg/g: 8.74 μg/g: 53.46 μg/g). The concentrations in cassava and plantain were higher than the values proposed by the FAO, the Expert Committee on Food Additives of the WHO and the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The concentrations of Hg (0,09 μg/g) in soil at Teberebie and of V (188.40ìg/g) at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) in soil were above the permitted concentrations of 5 μg/g and 90 μg/g, respectively. Samples from communities further away from the centres of mine drainages (mile 81/2, mile 101/2) had smaller values of element concentrations. An enrichment factor (EF) analysis for both cassava and plantain were Zn (7%) and Hg (90%). The remaining elements together add up to 3%. The enrichment factor analysis for plantain is greater than that for cassava. Mercury is the element that is chiefly enriched in both cassava and plantain. The second predominant element enriched in cassava and plantain is zinc.

Source: UG
The Impact of Government/NGO Support Services on Performance of Crop Production and In Urban Farmers’ Livelihood: A Case of Accra, Ghana

Although urban agriculture plays an important role in economic development, activities that support it are rarely included in programmes for urban development and poverty reduction. The study was undertaken in three communities (Irrigation Development Authority area, Roman down and Afariwa) in the Ashaiman Municipality in the Greater-Accra region. The objective of the study is to determine whether Government/Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) support services increases performance of crop production and improvement in farmers’ livelihood and also to identify urban agricultural policies in Accra. Purposive sampling was used to select urban vegetable farmers out of an industry (urban agriculture) that produces, processes and markets food and fuel, to yield a diversity of crops and livestock. Simple random sampling was then used to select 104 out of 200 farmers and 5 members out of 12 Accra Working Group on Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (AWGUPA) members using the pick and replace method. The Government support services found were Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and Irrigation Development Authority (IDA). The NGO support services were the Pro Credit Bank, Dangme Rural Bank and the “Mummies”. Eighty eight farmers who had access to Government/NGO support services observed an improvement in performance of crop production while 16 farmers who did not have access to assistance did not realize any improvement. Also, there was a significant difference between access to Government/NGO support services and the various livelihoods outcome of urban farmers. Contemporary policies influencing urban and peri-urban agriculture include policy and legislative support for urban agriculture, education and policy awareness on urban agriculture and urban food safety, among others. These draft guidelines for strengthening and supporting urban agriculture has been produced and presented by AWGUPA to Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) for consideration. However, it has not yet been approved.

Source: UG
The impact of harvest frequency on herbage yield and quality of cynodon nlemfuensis

Ruminants in Ghana experience feed deficit in the dry season leading to loss of weight and condition. To curb this problem of weight loss, there is the need to raise their plain of nutrition in the critical months of the year when feed is low in quantity and quality. This can be achieved by maximising forage production through appropriate harvest management practices. This study sought to find the effect of repeated harvest on dry matter (DM) yield of Cynodon nlemfuensis (Cynodon) in the coastal savanna of Ghana. It was hypothesised that infrequent repeated harvest will improve DM yield and nutritive value of Cynodon. An area of 7.0 m by 5.5 m was used for a two year study (2013 and 2014). The treatments were harvest of Cynodon at 24 (T1), 12 (T2) and 6 (T3) weeks intervals. The Randomised Complete Block Design was used with four replicates per treatment. Dry matter yield and plant cell wall constituents viz. NDF, ADF and Cellulose contents decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in the order T3<T2<T1, indicating that DM yield and plant cell wall constituents decreased with increasing harvest frequency. Crude protein content (CP) decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in the order T1<T2<T3, indicating that CP content increased with increasing harvest frequency. The study has shown that repeated harvest of Cynodon provided lower DM yield of better quality, with harvest at six weeks interval exceeding the minimum CP level required for adequate intake and digestibility by ruminant livestock. © 2015, Ecological Laboratory. All rights reserved.

Source: UG
The Impact of Harvest Frequency on Herbage Yield and Quality of Cynodon nlemfuensis

Ruminants in Ghana experience feed deficit in the dry season leading to loss of weight and condition. To curb this problem of weight loss, there is the need to raise their plain of nutrition in the critical months of the year when feed is low in quantity and quality. This can be achieved by maximising forage production through appropriate harvest management practices. This study sought to find the effect of repeated harvest on dry matter (DM) yield of Cynodon nlemfuensis (Cynodon) in the coastal savanna of Ghana. It was hypothesised that infrequent repeated harvest will improve DM yield and nutritive value of Cynodon. An area of 7.0 m by 5.5 m was used for a two year study (2013 and 2014). The treatments were harvest of Cynodon at 24 (T1), 12 (T2) and 6 (T3) weeks intervals. The Randomised Complete Block Design was used with four replicates per treatment. Dry matter yield and plant cell wall constituents viz. NDF, ADF and Cellulose contents decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in the order T3<T2<T1, indicating that DM yield and plant cell wall constituents decreased with increasing harvest frequency. Crude protein content (CP) decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in the order T1<T2<T3, indicating that CP content increased with increasing harvest frequency. The study has shown that repeated harvest of Cynodon provided lower DM yield of better quality, with harvest at six weeks interval exceeding the minimum CP level required for adequate intake and digestibility by ruminant livestock.

Source: UG
The Impact of Health Expenditures on Health Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa

This article investigates the core macroeconomic and social determinants of health expenditures as well as the effect of health expenditures on select critical health out-comes (life expectancy, under-five mortality and maternal mortality) in recent years in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The study utilizes data on 46 sub-Saharan African countries covering the period 2000–2015. The results indicate that gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, physician per 1,000 population, population aged above 65 years and under-five mortality rate are the most significant determinants of health expenditure in the region. Overall, health expenditure is less income-elastic, not rising as a portion of GDP in wealthier nations. Health expenditure was found to exert a positive and significant impact on all three health outcomes. Specifically, a 1 percent increase in health expenditure per capita resulted in a 0.5percent reduction in under-five mortality and a 0.35 percent fall inmaternal mortality, while improving life expectancy by 0.06 percent. The results suggest that steady increases in health expenditures over time have the tendency to improve health outcomes in SSA.

Source: UG
Impact Of Health System Strengthening Interventions On Child Survival In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review Protocol

Background Strengthening healthcare systems is a practical approach to enhancing healthcare delivery and services. Although there has been a rise in the number of health systems strengthening (HSS) interventions in sub-Saharan In Africa (SSA), there is limited evidence on the causal effect of these activities on child survival. Furthermore, the findings reported so far have been varied, and how they relate to each other remains unclear. This systematic review study aims to assess all available evidence to understand the impact of HSS activities on child survival in SSA. Methods: We developed a search strategy to retrieve all relevant studies from electronic databases such as PubMed. MEDLINE, Web of Science, and African Journals Online. We will use a combination of search terms, such as under-fve mortality,” “child mortality,” “infant mortality,” “neonatal mortality,” “child survival,” and health systems strengthening." The review will include studies that establish a causal relationship between HSS interventions and child survival. This will include studies with designs such as randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental methods like difference-in-difference. Two reviewers will independently screen all citations, abstracts, and full-text data and a third The reviewer will act as a tiebreaker in cases of disagreement. The primary outcome of interest is the impact of HSS activities on under-five survival. We will evaluate the quality of each study using the Bradford Hill criteria for causation. Discussion Our systematic review will identify and evaluate all relevant evidence that establishes a causal relationship between HSS activities and the survival of children under five years old in SSA. The review’s findings regarding the impact of HSS activities on child survival could be of significant interest to the donor community and policy actors in the region. We also anticipate that the review’s conclusions could serve as a valuable guide for the development of future health system interventions and strategies in SSA.

Source: UG
Impact Of Health Systems Interventions In Primary Health Settings On Type 2 Diabetes Care And Health Outcomes Among Adults In West Africa: A Systematic Review Protocol.

Type 2 diabetes is a major global public health challenge, particularly in the African region. Though evidence exists on pharmacological agents and non-pharmacological interventions in maintaining blood glucose concentration, the healthcare systems’ ability to meet patients’ needs may be inadequate. The management of non-communicable diseases, particularly dia betes, has been postulated to depend on functioning health systems. This systematic review will, therefore, summarize the current evidence on existing health systems interventions in pri mary health settings for type 2 diabetes care and health outcomes in West Africa and will explore the impact of these system-level interventions on service availability, accessibility and quality, as well as individualized outcomes such as glycemic control, disease awareness and treatment adherence. The review will be conducted according to the reporting guidance in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols (PRISMA-P). The health system framework by Witter et al., 2019 will guide the system-level interventions and the search strategy to be explored in this review. This framework was designed to integrate the six building blocks of the World Health Organization (WHO) health systems framework and it delineates how they work synergistically to improve specific health out comes. We will search the following databases PubMed, Google Scholar and Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) between January 2000 to January 2024. We will also search Cairn.info for articles published between January 2005 to January 2024. The Cochrane Collaboration tool for assessing Risk of Bias will be implemented in each included study. We will conduct a narrative synthesis and make comparisons across findings using Excel-generated tables. In Conclusion, this systematic review will outline the existing system-level interventions that aim to or already improve type 2 diabetes services in primary health settings in West Africa and will offer suggestions for the strengthening and co-produc tion of successful interventions that can be generalized to the entire sub-region.

Source: UG
Impact of heat stress on ruminant livestock production and meat quality, and strategies for amelioration

Climate change will continue to accentuate the negative impact of heat stress (HS) on ruminant livestock production, compromising animal welfare and meat quality. • Mitigation strategies, including providing shade on farms, modifications of animal housing (heat extractors, fans, water sprinklers, and cool drinking water), and nutritional interventions, are important short-term measures to reduce the negative effects of HS. • Climate-smart breeding for thermotolerance and matching of adapted ruminant breeds to appropriate production systems should be considered for more sustainable livestock production systems.

Source: UG
Impact of Hemoglobin S trait on cell surface antibody recognition of plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes in pregnancy-associated malaria

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
Impact of High Performance Work Systems on Individual- and Branch-Level Performance: Test of a Multilevel Model of Intermediate Linkages

We proposed and tested a multilevel model, underpinned by empowerment theory, that examines the processes linking high-performance work systems (HPWS) and performance outcomes at the individual and organizational levels of analyses. Data were obtained from 37 branches of 2 banking institutions in Ghana. Results of hierarchical regression analysis revealed that branch-level HPWS relates to empowerment climate. Additionally, results of hierarchical linear modeling that examined the hypothesized cross-level relationships revealed 3 salient findings. First, experienced HPWS and empowerment climate partially mediate the influence of branch-level HPWS on psychological empowerment. Second, psychological empowerment partially mediates the influence of empowerment climate and experienced HPWS on service performance. Third, service orientation moderates the psychological empowerment-service performance relationship such that the relationship is stronger for those high rather than low in service orientation. Last, ordinary least squares regression results revealed that branch-level HPWS influences branch-level market performance through cross-level and individual-level influences on service performance that emerges at the branch level as aggregated service performance.

Source: UG
Impact of IgG response to malaria-specific antigens and immunity against malaria in pre-school children in Ghana. A cluster randomized, placebo-controlled trial

The Department of Immunology conducts research in the field of immunology of infectious and non-infectious diseases. The Department has the overall goal of contributing knowledge to better diagnosis, management, control and prevention of infectious and non-infectious diseases in Ghana and worldwide. This is consistent with the overall strategy of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and in line with the strategy of the College of Health Sciences of the University of Ghana.

Source: UG
The impact of immunization on the association between poverty and child survival: Evidence from Kassena-Nankana District of northern Ghana

Background: Research conducted in Africa has consistently demonstrated that parental poverty and low educational attainment adversely affect child survival. Research conducted elsewhere has demonstrated that low-cost vaccines against preventable diseases reduce childhood mortality. Therefore, the extension of vaccination to impoverished populations is widely assumed to diminish equity effects. Recent evidence that childhood mortality is increasing in many countries where vaccination programmes are active challenges this assumption. Data and methods: This paper marshals data from accurate and complete immunization records and survival histories for 18,368 children younger than five years in a rural northern Ghanaian population that is generally impoverished, but where family wealth and parental educational differentials exist nonetheless. Time-conditional Weibull hazard models are estimated to test the hypothesis that childhood immunization offsets the detrimental effects of poverty and low educational attainment. Conclusions: Findings show that the adverse effects of poverty disappear and that the effects of educational attainment are reduced in survival models that control for immunization status. This finding lends empirical support to policies that promote immunization as a strategic component of poverty-reduction programmes. © 2010, the Nordic Societies of Public Health. All rights reserved.

Source: UG
Impact of Improved Eye Care Services on Time of Diagnosis of Primary Open Angle Glaucoma

The case notes of new glaucoma patients seen at the Eye Unit of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana between the period of January, 1996 and April 1998 were reviewed. The results were compared with a study done by Hagan et al. A total of two hundred and twenty eight case notes were reviewed. Only 20.2% were found to be blind in both eyes when first seen and 50.4% had useful vision in both eyes. This shows a great change as compared to the situation in 1986-1990 when 63.3% were blind in both eyes and only 20.1% had good vision in both eyes. About 25% of patients seen at the clinic were referred from outreach services run by ophthalmic nurses. 58% reported directly with blurred vision in one or both eyes; 15 .4% reported with other complains and only 13.3% were picked up from family screening during the period under review.

Source: UG
Impact of indoor residual spraying on malaria parasitaemia in the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District in northern Ghana

The Epidemiology Department contributes to the mission of the institute through basic and applied epidemiological research on, but not limited to, malaria and other diseases of public health importance. It is also home to the Social Science Unit of the Institute, including the Health Support Centre for HIV/AIDS and other communicable and noncommunicable health problems.

Source: UG
The impact of indoor residual spraying on Plasmodium falciparum microsatellite variation in an area of high seasonal malaria transmission in Ghana, West Africa

The Epidemiology Department contributes to the mission of the institute through basic and applied epidemiological research on, but not limited to, malaria and other diseases of public health importance. It is also home to the Social Science Unit of the Institute, including the Health Support Centre for HIV/AIDS and other communicable and noncommunicable health problems.

Source: UG