ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
The Gambian national impregnated bednet programme: Costs, consequences and net cost-effectiveness

Clinical trials have indicated that treating mosquito nets with insecticide could be a potentially cost-effective method of preventing malaria. As malaria is one of the most common causes of death in children under five in developing countries, there has been substantial interest in whether such findings can be replicated for a country's control programme in practice. The cost-effectiveness of the Gambian National Insecticide-impregnated Bednet Programme (NIBP), from the viewpoint of providers (government and non-governmental agencies) and the community, has been calculated. Information was collected from existing records, interviews with NIBP personnel, observation and household surveys. Information is provided on the resource use consequences of the NIBP in terms of reduced expenditure on anti-malaria preventive measures, treatment in government health services, household financed treatment and "charity" (burial, funeral and mourning activities), as well as cash income lost as a result of child death. The annual implementation cost of the NIBP was D757,875 (US$91,864), of which 86% was recurrent cost. The estimated number of death averted was 40.56. The net implementation cost-effectiveness ratio per death averted and discounted life years gained were D3884 (US$471) and D260 (US$31.5), respectively. Adding the cost of all mosquito nets would increase the cost-effectiveness ratios by over five times, which is an important consideration for countries with a lower coverage of mosquito nets per capita. It is concluded that insecticide-impregnated mosquito nets are one of the more efficient ways of reducing deaths in children under 10 years in rural Gambia.

Source: UG
Gambling among Youth in Contemporary Ghana: Understanding, Initiation, and Perceived Benefits

Youth participation in gambling in Ghana has been surging, but little research has been done on the subject. This study examines factors leading to initiation into gambling and participants’ understanding of and motivation for it. One-on-one interviews were conducted with twenty selected participants. Thematic analysis shows that factors that triggered their gambling include personal loss, the proximity of betting sites, unemployment, leisure, and curiosity. Participants variously perceived betting on sports as a game that involves chance, money, and electronic gadgets. The perceived benefits of gambling included money, socialization, positive emotion, expression of knowledge, and love of football. Implications are discussed in light of the need for educating youth on adaptive coping strategies and the need for policies and programs to provide better alternatives to youth unemployment.

Source: UG
Game-based learning in Ghanaian primary schools: listening to the views of teachers

This research explores how primary school teachers use games to enhance pupils’ learning and development of conceptual knowledge. The study employs an illustrative case study design; data was collected through interviews with thirty (30) teachers who were selected using purposive sampling technique. Twenty teachers had some knowledge of game-based learning, ten teachers, however, did not know anything about the concept game-based learning. The results show that the use of non-digital games of different kinds to engage pupils is common in the learning of Maths, English, and Science. Teachers ascribed positively that the integration of game-based learning motivates pupils to come to school, actively engages them in the learning process, helps pupils to easily assimilate lesson contents, makes lessons lively and fun, and builds collaborative skills amongst pupils. Inadequate resources, noisy classes, time constraints, large class sizes, the reluctance of some pupils to participate, and inadequate knowledge are challenges reported by the teachers.

Source: UG
The Gandhi Statue Controversies and It Implications for Ghana-India Relationship.

Calls for the removal of monuments that represent anti-Black racism and in some instance its disguised “ultra-nationalism” have become common in parts of the world. From the Rhodes Must Fall campaign in Oxford to South Africa to the Charlottesville incidence, through to the Gandhi Must Fall campaign, a public consciousness on such racist representations seems to have been awakened. The #Gandhi Must Fall campaign in which some professors from the University of Ghana galvanized the support of about 1500 online petitioners to call for the removal of Gandhi‟s statue from the university grounds rather informed this study. Through the theoretical lens of international cooperation where the tenets of cooperation among states allows for the execution of the national interest of states, the study adopted the qualitative research design to examine the possible implications that calls for the removal of Gandhi‟s statue from the University of Ghana might have on the diplomatic relations between Ghana and India. The study proceeded on the alternative hypothesis that the long standing harmonious relationship between Ghana and India might be affected by the campaign to remove the statue (especially as the countenance of the statue had suffered some damage). The research findings revealed that there is more to the dominant or single popular story of pacifist, non-violent Gandhi that is not told and that while in South Africa Gandhi‟s attitude towards Black people was condescending and racist. In almost the twenty two years that he lived in South Africa the study found that he was full of disdain for the Black race and casted racial slurs on them by referring to them as Kaffirs or savages. Evidence to this was provided by Gandhi‟s own direct words. The research also found that regardless of the grounds or justification for the removal of Gandhi‟s statue from University of Ghana there is a very strong diplomatic relationship between Ghana and India that could be affected if the controversy surrounding the study is not handled diplomatically. The study found that while the relationship between the countries benefits both it is the interest of Ghana to maintain such relationship as it is most affected if such relationship is severed. More crucial is the fact that India is Ghana‟s second largest foreign investor.

Source: UG
Garnet-spinel transition in the upper mantle: Review and interpretation

This study carried out a comprehensive review of mantle-derived garnet peridotites on the basis of their garnet-spinel compositional relationships. The P-T estimates of the garnet peridotites of both orogenic and xenolithic derivations confirm previously established two garnet-spinel transition (GST) zones. Results of natural samples and experimental studies of all the garnet peridotites plot below the first GST at low P (&lt;2 GPa). The second GST at high P (6-10 GPa), obtained from the experimental system (MgO-Cr2O3-SiO2), was firstly evidenced from natural samples in this study and may imply a challenge to our understanding of Cr-rich and Al-poor mineral phase transition under ultrahigh P condition. Based on the data and our estimates, we propose the existence of another GST within the garnet peridotite discontinuous zone and a potential spinel-phase peridotite zone in the upper mantle. © 2010 China University of Geosciences and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Source: UG
Garvey and Garveyism

During the year 1926, while my husband - Marcus Garvey was incarcerated in Atlanta Federal prison, U.S.A. I published two volumes of his speeches and writings entitled "The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey" because no white publisher would do the work. I had to go on several lecture tours to raise the money to pay the Printers, as it was a cash transaction; I also had to proof-read, and distribute and sell the books. It was important that his words and works should be recorded; and at his request, hundreds of books were mailed to important persons, libraries and institutions of learning all over the world, as well as to Senators and Congressmen of the United States of America, so that they could know the truth about Garveyism, the facts that lead up to the campaign - "Garvey must go" by his jealous rivals, and which ended in his imprisonment, and finally deportation. At the time of his death in 1940, three hundred books were left. Knowing our financial position, the Secretary General of the U.N.I.A. offered to sell them in America. I shipped all the books to her, never received a cent from her, and after months of enquiries, was told that the President-General took them from her, and sold them. He never remitted the money to me. \Within recent years I have made repeated requests to the Executives of the Parent Body, U.N.I.A. in America to advance the moneys necessary for a reprint of the books, at an interest rate of seven per cent; but this has never materialized, and no Publisher will undertake same, that is why ''The Philosophy and Opinions" is still out of print. As African nations emerge from Colonialism, the clamour is even greater for books on Garvey. Very often I have to answer questionnaires from insistent Students, Teachers and political aspirants; so in 1958 I wrote this short biographical volume - Garvey and Garveyism, tried to get a publisher and failed. Now at the close of 1962, realizing that when I pass on much of the authentic story of his life will be lost, I appealed to an old stalwart member of the U .N.I.A. in America and he has consented to loan more than half of the cost of printing, and another member has promised to lend a few hundred dollars. Dear Reader, I have related the above, so that you will know the amount of work and responsibility I have to publish this book, sell them, and repay the loans with interest. You can help by asking others to buy a book.

Source: UG
Gastro-duodenal peptic ulcer perforation.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the epidemiology of, and define the morbidity and mortality factors following emergency surgery for patients with perforated peptic ulcer disease in Accra, Ghana. DESIGN: A retrospective and prospective hospital-based study. SETTING: The general and paediatric surgical wards of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Demography, the systolic BP, pulse rate and haemoglobin on admission at ER, co-morbid conditions, site of perforation, surgical method and treatment outcome. SUBJECTS: A total of 326 cases treated for peptic ulcer perforation, 267 males and 59 females; ratio 4.5:1, with mean age of 40.9, SD 16.4 and range 4-87 years, were studied. RESULTS: The incidence of peptic ulcer perforation rose from 1.6% in 1998 to 5.3% in 2002 and stabilised at 5%, and overall accounted for 4.6% of acute abdomen. Co-morbid conditions were present in 48 (18.2%) of cases. Ulcerogenic substance intake was in 177 (67%) patients. One hundred and twenty two (46.2%) patients reported to hospital within 24 hours of perforation. There were 287 (88%) duodenal, 22 (7.1%) prepyloric, and 19(4.9%) type 1 gastric ulcer perforations. Simple closure with omental patch was performed in 299 (94.3%), truncal vagotomy and drainage in 10 (3.2%), and Billroth II partial gastrectomy in seven (2.2%). Post-operative complications occurred in 62 (19%); overall mortality was 36 (11%). Logistic regression analysis of the patients clinical variables showed that age less that 60 years (p-value, OR and 95% CI; 0.002, 3.964 and 1.668-9.420), duration of perforation of more than 24 hours before admission (p-value, OR and 95% CI; 0.011, 2.471 and 1.228-4.971), alcohol intake (p-value, OR and 95% CI; 0.009, 2.543 and 1.259-5.135) and resectional surgery (p-value, OR and 95% CI; 0.000, 8.25E and 74204908.138-9162648048.1) were statistically significant in determining postoperative complications. Age 60 years and above (p-value, OR and 95% CI; 0.018,4.359 and 1.284-14.802), alcohol intake (p-value, OR and 95% CI; 0.042, 3.238 and 1.046-10.021) and resectional surgery (p-value, OR and 95% CI; 0.000, 1.20E and 938112920.94-1.54E+ 11) were the factors that showed statistical significance in determining post-operative mortality. CONCLUSION: Perforated peptic ulcer disease is emerging as a frequent cause of acute abdomen in our centre and affects the youth commonly. Age 60 years and above, duration of perforation for more than 24 hours before admission, alcohol intake and resectional surgery were the variables that showed statistical significance in predicting post-operative morbidity and/or mortality.

Source: UG
Gastrointestinal food allergy in Ghanaian children: a case series

Background: Food allergy is an adverse health effect arising from a specific immune response that occurs reproducibly on exposure to a given food. Food allergies are classified into three types: Ig(immunoglobulin)E mediated, mixed IgE and cell mediated and cell-mediated non IgE mediated. Gastrointestinal (GIT) food allergy has classically encompassed a number of different clinical entities: food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES), food protein- induced proctocolitis (FPIP), food protein-induced enteropathy and eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGID). Case presentations: These are 5 cases of infants and toddlers who presented with various features of gastrointestinal food allergies, the commonest of which is lower gastrointestinal bleed. Two infants on exclusive breast feeding, presented with lower gastrointestinal bleeding and these resolved with maternal dietary milk and all dairy elimination. The third infant had rectal bleeding at age 6 months after the introduction of infant formula. The bleeding and eczema resolved with the introduction of hydrolyzed formula. One of the toddlers presented with severe eczema and malnutrition which improved with 6 food elimination. The last case had massive lower gastrointestinal bleed which resulted in hemicolectomy with no improvement until dietary elimination was instituted. Conclusion: Gastrointestinal food allergy is not uncommon in children in Ghana. A high index of suspicion is required to make the right diagnosis, to minimize morbidity and unnecessary therapy

Source: UG
Gastrointestinal helminths in farmers and their ruminant livestock from the Coastal Savannah zone of 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
Gastrointestinal Parasites of the Ethiopian Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis, Pallas, 1766) in the North East Region of Ghana

Wildlife may serve as potential reservoirs and intermediate or accidental hosts of zoonotic pathogens due to their interactions with human beings. For the .rst time in Ghana, we report extempore the gastrointestinal parasites of three Ethiopian rock hyraxes captured in September 2021. Forty adult parasites (21 nematodes and 19 tapeworms) were recovered from the gastrointestinal tracts of these three game hyraxes (Procavia capensis, Pallas, 1766) from the hills of Bimbagu (near the Gambaga Scarp) in the North East Region of Ghana. Adult worms comprising 16 tapeworms and 24 nematodes were identi.ed. 'e intestinal faecal examination detected ova of Trichuris spp., tapeworms, and hookworms. 'e results are presented alongside the results of the molecular determination of the worm identities. Since wildlife has been identi.ed as an important source of emerging human pathogens, including helminth parasites, there is an urgent need for su8cient literature on wildlife parasites in Ghana. As the rock hyrax is hunted for its meat, there is a potential risk of transmitting these identi.ed helminths and other zoonotic pathogens to humans, especially involving people who handle the carcasses as the transmission is faecal-oral. A more precarious situation may arise when the eggs of cestodes are ingested by handlers of these carcasses and could result in cysticercosis/neuro-cysticercosis when these eggs cross the blood-brain barrier in the person.

Source: UG
Gastrointestinal Parasites of the Ethiopian Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis, Pallas, 1766) in the North East Region of 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
Gastrointestinal parasites of the grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus, Temminck 1827) on the Accra Plains of Ghana

The gastrointestinal parasites of the grasscutter were investigated between 1996 and 2006 using 180 grasscutters from the Accra Plains. The aim of the study was to develop strategies for the control of the parasites under captive management. The gastrointestinal tracts of the animals were examined for the presence of both helminth and protozoan parasites with the aid of a hand lens, the direct smear and Willis Flotation techniques. In all, fourteen species of helminths were found including twelve nematodes and two cestodes. Trichuris muris was the most common nematode encountered, whilst Hepatocola hepatica was the least commonly encountered nematode. Three genera of protozoans, viz, Trichomonas spp, Giardia spp and Eimeria spp were also encountered, with Giardia spp and Trichomonas spp being reported for the first time in the grasscutter. Eimeria spp were the most prevalent protozoa. The widespread occurrence of protozoal and helminthic parasites in the grasscutter suggests that routine treatment of grasscutters with coccidiostats, anti-flagellates and anthelminthics such as dimetridazole and albendazole may contribute significantly to improve productivity of animals and reduce the pressure on wild populations. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Source: UG
Gastroprotective effect and safety assessment of zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides (lam) waterm root bark extract

Problem statement: Gastrointestinal ulcers account significantly for morbidity and mortality in Ghana. The study therefore investigated the gastroprotective effect of an ethanolic root bark extract of Zanthoxylum zanthxyloides and its safety for us. Approach: Gastric ulceration was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats with Indomethacin (25 mg kg-1, p.o) and was treated with 150, 250, or 500 mg kg-1 of the extract, or 20 mg kg-1 Esomeprazole. The number of ulcers per stomach, Ulcerative Index and Curative Ratio were determined. A histological study of the gastric mucosa was also performed. The extract’s effect on an isolated guinea-pig ileum preparation was investigated to elucidate its possible mechanism of action. Safety assessments involving, organ weight to body weight ratio determination, hematological analysis and liver function tests were performed. Results: The extract significantly decreased (p≤0.001) the number of ulcers per stomach and the Ulcerative Index (similar to Esomeprazole) and significantly increased (p≤0.001) the Curative Ratio in a dose-dependent manner. It completely corrected the architectural distortions caused by gastric ulceration and inhibited significantly (p≤0.001) the contractile responses of the isolated guinea-pig ileum to Acetylcholine, Nicotine and Histamine in a manner comparable to reference antagonists. The extract had no significant effect (p>0.05) on organ weight to body ratio and hematological profile. Plasma levels of Alanine transaminase and Alkaline phosphatase decreased significantly (p≤0.001) in extract and Esomeprazole-treated ulcerated rats. Levels of Gamma-glutamyl transferase, Total bilirubin (direct and indirect) however increased significantly (p≤0.01-0.001). Conclusion/Recommendations: Per the findings, the ethanolic root bark extract of Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides has gastroprotective effect in Sprague-Dawley rats working possibly via antimuscarinic or antihistaminic mechanism. It however has a potential of causing cholestasis hence liver function should be monitored.

Source: UG
Gate-keeping and women's health seeking behaviour in navrongo, northern Ghana

Among the Kassena-Nankana of northern Ghana, compound heads and husbands impede women's prompt access to modern health care. This paper shows that such gate-keeping systems have a negative effect on child survival. To investigate the social construction of compound-based gate-keeping systems, the authors relied on a series of qualitative interviews conducted in the Kassena-Nankana district These data reveal that whilst compound heads are gate-keepers for spiritual reasons, husbands play such role for economic reasons. But more important, this article presents health interventions that are on trial in Navrongo (northen Ghana) and how they undermine such gate-keeping systems.

Source: UG
Gauging the ethical sensitivity of accounting students: the effect of money attitudes

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the attitude of accounting students towards money and their ethical perceptions, and ascertains whether ethical perception of students could be influenced by their attitudes towards money. Design/methodology/approach – A survey method of research was adopted, and a set of questionnaires based on the money ethic scale (MES) and existing ethical scenarios was administered to the target respondents. The MES was subjected to an exploratory factor analysis to examine its dimensionality and, by means of a cluster analysis, the respondents were classified based on similarities in attitude towards money. The relationship between attitude towards money and ethical perception was ascertained by means of a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) test. Findings – The results suggest the respondents are generally ethically oriented and that the females are more ethical than males. Differences exist in terms of the attitude of respondents towards money and the MANOVA results show that money attitudes are good predictors of ethical perceptions of students. Research limitations/implications – Findings of this study demonstrate that an understanding of individuals’ attitude towards money may be an important way of predicting how they will behave when faced with ethical dilemmas. Originality/value – The analysis makes an important contribution to prior literature by highlighting the effect of money attitude on ethical perception.

Source: UG
Gender Representations in Death and Burial Rituals: Perspectives from some cultural groups in Ghana

While the sex of a person is biologically determined at birth, gender is a social construct involving the sex-related roles of individuals in society (Renfrew and Bahn, 2008:230). When archaeologists examine human remains, it is essential to extract the maximum information while causing minimum damage to the remains themselves (ibid: 448). A considerable amount of information on the gender of human remains can be gained by understanding the cultural and archaeological contexts of the site under investigation. The cultural practice involved in positioning of the body in a grave, the accompanying grave goods and examination of the shape of the pelvis and other bones left intact, gives clues to the gender interpretation of the human remain and the archaeological data. In addition, ethnographic studies, oral traditions and historical records provide insights that guide interpretations. This article looks at how the concept of gender is constructed among the living and also how various cultures construct burials to reflect gender. The implication of such gender constructs on archaeological interpretation of burials is also a focus of this paper.

Source: UG