ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
“I Have Since Repented”: Discursive Analysis of the Role of Religion in Husband-to-Wife Abuse in Ghana

Religion has long been recognized as a powerful tool capable of shaping the lives of people in many societies. In this study, we draw insights from discursive psychology to explore the influence of religious beliefs and practices on the perpetration of husband-to-wife abuse and the entrapment of victims in Ghana. Semi-structured focus group discussions and in-depth individual interviews were conducted with 40 participants, comprising 16 (60%) perpetrators (men), 16 (60%) victims (women), and eight (20%) key informants from rural and urban Ghana. Participants’ discursive accounts suggest that both perpetrators and victims invoke religious instructions on gender norms to legitimize male authority over women in marriage. While perpetrators construct husbands’ conjugal authority over their wives in terms of prescriptive religious norms, victims construct their entrapment in abusive relationships in terms of proscriptive theology of divorce in the bible. The double-edged role of religion in providing both motivational and inhibitory support for wife abusers is also discussed.

Source: UG
&quot;I have sinned&quot;: Understanding the role of religion in the experiences of suicide attempters in Ghana

This qualitative study examined the role played by religion in the experiences of persons who attempted suicide in Ghana. Twelve men and 18 women on admission at various hospitals and clinics in Accra were interviewed. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse the data. We found that religion provided a broad context within which the informants' experiences could be understood. All informants acknowledged God as owner of life and death. Whereas the majority reacted to the suicidal act in a way that resonates with their religious system and sought for forgiveness from God, a few reacted in opposition to the system and expressed anger and disappointment in God. Implications of our findings for suicide prevention in Ghana are discussed. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Source: UG
“I just wish it becomes part of routine care”: healthcare providers’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of screening for maternal mental health during and after pregnancy: a qualitative study

Maternal mental health is an international public health concern. Many women experience mental ill-health during and after pregnancy, but assessment is not part of routine maternity care in many low- and middle-income countries. Healthcare providers are in a position to identify and support women who experience mental health disorders during and after pregnancy. We sought to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of routine screening for maternal mental health during and after pregnancy among healthcare providers providing routine maternity care in Accra, Ghana. Enabling factors, barriers and potential management options to routinely screen maternal mental health during and after pregnancy were explored. METHODS: Semi-structured key informant interviews (n = 20) and one focus group discussion (n = 4) were conducted with healthcare providers working in one public hospital in Accra, Ghana. Transcribed interviews were coded by topic and then grouped into categories. Thematic framework analysis was undertaken to identify emerging themes. RESULTS: Most healthcare providers are aware of the importance of maternal mental health and would be keen to help women who experience mental ill-health during and after pregnancy, if resources were available to do so. An enabling factor was the suggestion of introducing a culturally appropriate mental health screening tool. However, compromised mental health was often considered a 'spiritual issue' and not routinely screened for by healthcare providers, nor requested by women. Barriers to the provision of quality maternal mental health care included lack of trained staff and lack of time. CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare providers are aware of the problem of the lack of maternal mental health provision during and after pregnancy and are open to developing protocols to improve care. Currently, screening for maternal mental ill-health is not part of routine maternity care. The establishment of such a service requires the reprioritisation of workloads, further training, and a change in the attitudes and practices of healthcare providers. Education to change the attitudes of healthcare providers, women and the wider community towards mental health is needed. The development and implementation of culturally appropriate guidelines would be beneficial and result in better quality of maternity care.

Source: UG
“I married because …”: Motivations to marry early among female spouses in child marriages in northern Ghana

Child marriage is practiced in Ghana with a prevalence rate of 27.2 %. This high prevalence is due to how marriage is conceptualized and constructed in communities that practice child marriage. Though reasons for the practice of child marriage are well documented, empirical studies of the married adolescent girls’ reasons for marrying early in the Ghanaian context are scant. This study, therefore, sought to present experiential factors that influenced the early marriage of adolescent girls. Twenty-one married girls aged between 13 and 17 years were recruited from selected communities in the Northern region of Ghana using purposeful, convenient and snowball sampling techniques. Individual face-to-face in-depth interviews with a semi-structured interview guide were adopted for the collection of data. A generic inductive qualitative analysis method was used to analyze the accounts of their experiences. Three core themes emerged as reasons influencing participants’ decision to marry. Personal motivating factors focused on adolescent girls’ personal need for children, idleness, peer group comparison and love. Economically motivated reasons include poverty, the quest for a better life and enticement by men. Sociocultural reasons include teenage pregnancy, family pressure and societal views on marriage among others. Information on the motivations for marriage among adolescent girls may be relevant to policymakers and interventionists in developing measures and interventions that are tailored to the needs of individuals affected by the practice of child marriage.

Source: UG
&quot;I think this is the only challenge. . . the stigma” Stakeholder perceptions about barriers to Antenatal care (ANC) and Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) uptake in Kano state, Nigeria

Background Despite the progress made so far in reducing mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), Nigeria still contributes significantly to the global burden of new pediatric HIV infections. The elimination target for MTCT has not been reached and the decline in new infections among all Global Plan countries from 2009 to 2015 was lowest in Nigeria. This qualitative study explores the barriers to uptake of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) intervention in Kano, the second most populous state in Nigeria. Methods Key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted among twelve stakeholders who were purposively selected based on their knowledge and involvement in PMTCT program activities in the state. The KII guide explored the status and challenges of PMTCT uptake in Kano state. Qualitative data analysis was managed using NVIVO 11 software and themes were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results We found that the key barriers to uptake of PMTCT identified by stakeholders cut across the domains of the socio-ecological model. These include—fear of stigma associated with being seen accessing HIV related services, low male partner involvement, socio-cultural beliefs about the dangers of hospital-based delivery, poor attitude of health workers, distance/cost to facilities, issues with availability of HIV test kits and poor organization of health services. Conclusion The implementation of effective PMTCT programs would require innovative strategies that leverage improvement of Antenatal care (ANC) uptake as an entry point for PMTCT. In addition, sustaining engagement in care requires creating a supportive stigma-free environment in the community as well as spousal support to ensure women can navigate the socio-cultural barriers that limit access to health services

Source: UG
&quot;I think this is the only challenge. . . the stigma” Stakeholder perceptions about barriers to Antenatal care (ANC) and Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) uptake in Kano state, Nigeria

Background Despite the progress made so far in reducing mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), Nigeria still contributes significantly to the global burden of new pediatric HIV infections. The elimination target for MTCT has not been reached and the decline in new infections among all Global Plan countries from 2009 to 2015 was lowest in Nigeria. This qualitative study explores the barriers to uptake of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) intervention in Kano, the second most populous state in Nigeria. Methods Key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted among twelve stakeholders who were pur posively selected based on their knowledge and involvement in PMTCT program activities in the state. The KII guide explored the status and challenges of PMTCT uptake in Kano state. Qualitative data analysis was managed using NVIVO 11 software and themes were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results We found that the key barriers to uptake of PMTCT identified by stakeholders cut across the domains of the socio-ecological model. These include—fear of stigma associated with being seen accessing HIV related services, low male partner involvement, socio-cultural beliefs about the dangers of hospital-based delivery, poor attitude of health workers, distance/cost to facilities, issues with availability of HIV test kits and poor organization of health services Conclusion The implementation of effective PMTCT programs would require innovative strategies that leverage improvement of Antenatal care (ANC) uptake as an entry point for PMTCT. In addi tion, sustaining engagement in care requires creating a supportive stigma-free environment in the community as well as spousal support to ensure women can navigate the socio-cul tural barriers that limit access to health services.

Source: UG
I used to fight with them but now I have stopped!: Conflict and doctor-nurse-anaesthetists' motivation in maternal and neonatal care provision in a specialist referral hospital

Background and Objectives This paper analyses why and how conflicts occur and their influence on doctors and nurseanaesthetists' motivation in the provision of maternal and neonatal health care in a specialist hospital. Methodology The study used ethnographic methods including participant observation, conversation and in-depth interviews over eleven months in a specialist referral hospital in Ghana. Qualitative analysis software Nvivo 8 was used for coding and analysis of data. Main themes identified in the analysis form the basis for interpreting and reporting study findings. Ethics Statement Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ghana Health Service Ethics Review board (approval number GHS-ERC:06/01/12) and from the University of Wageningen. Written consent was obtained from interview participants, while verbal consent was obtained for conversations. To protect the identity of the hospital and research participants pseudonyms are used in the article and the part of Ghana in which the study was conducted is not mentioned. Results Individual characteristics, interpersonal and organisational factors contributed to conflicts. Unequal power relations and distrust relations among doctors and nurse-anaesthetists affected how they responded to conflicts. Responses to conflicts including forcing, avoiding, accommodating and compromising contributed to persistent conflicts, which frustrated and demotivated doctors and nurse-anaesthetists. Demotivated workers exhibited poor attitudes in collaborating with co-workers in the provision of maternal and neonatal care, which sometimes led to poor health worker response to client care, consequently compromising the hospital's goal of providing quality health care to clients. Conclusion To improve health care delivery in health facilities in Ghana, health managers and supervisors need to identify conflicts as an important phenomenon that should be addressed whenever they occur. Effective mechanisms including training managers and health workers on conflict management should be put in place. Additionally promoting communication and interaction among health workers can foster team spirit. Also resolving conflicts using the collaborating response may help to create a conducive work environment that will promote healthy work relations, which can facilitate the delivery of quality maternal and neonatal health care. However, such an approach requires that unequal power relations, which is a root cause of the conflicts is addressed.

Source: UG
&quot;I Want to Go Gently&quot;: How AIDS Patients in Ghana Envisage Their Deaths

A contemporary critique levelled against sexual and reproductive (SR) behavioral studies in Africa is the dominance of Western theories and perspectives, with the main language through which SR categories and concepts are developed and investigated being Western or colonial, which rarely correspond with local and ethnic conceptualizations. In this paper, we conduct an ethnolinguistic analysis of gender and intergenerational constructions of sexual and reproductive behaviors (SRB) among the Ga of Ghana. Ethnographic approaches were used to collect and analyze two data sources from seventy-two respondents; first, a lexicon of common words, phrases, terminologies and coinages on SR activities and relationships. Second, narratives on respondents’ major SR experiences, through a biography of respondents’ body methodological framework. Respondents reflected a high degree of conceptual baggage, underpinned by their own gendered SR experiences, in their selection and interpretation of the terminologies/words. Younger respondents were more likely to use flippant coinages for risky SRB, which resonate with their narratives on their casual and unrestrained SR behaviours. We discuss the SR health threats and opportunities of our findings. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Source: UG
“I Wouldn’t Say We Were Treated Equally”: Experiences of Young Adult Stepchildren in the Ghanaian Context

Stepparent–stepchild relationships can be difficult to develop and research suggests that the quality of these relationships affects stepfamily functioning and child well-being. This qualitative study explored experiences and perceived determinants of stepchild abuse among 16 youths who are stepchildren on the University of Ghana campus. Positive experiences included receipt of material and emotional support and difficult experiences included favoritism, subjection to severe disciplinary measures, and neglect. Impacts of these experiences were reported. Perceived determinants of stepchild abuse included lack of biological relation, personality of stepparent, financial constrain, stepparent’s past experiences, and inheritance. Implications of the findings are discussed. © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Source: UG
ICAM‑1 Kilifi variant is not associated with cerebral and severe malaria pathogenesis in Beninese children

Background: Cytoadhesion and sequestration of Plasmodium falciparum infected red blood cells (iRBC) in the microvasculature of vital organs are a major cause of malaria pathology. Several studies have provided evidence on the implication of the human host intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) as a major receptor for iRBCs binding to P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) in the development of severe and cerebral malaria. The genetic polymorphism K29M in the immunoglobulin-like domain of ICAM-1, known as ICAM-1Kilifi, has been associated with either increased or decreased risk of developing cerebral malaria. Methods: To provide more conclusive results, the genetic polymorphism of ICAM-1Kilifi was assessed by PCR and sequencing in blood samples from 215 Beninese children who presented with either mild or severe malaria including cerebral malaria. Results and conclusions: The results showed that in this cohort of Beninese children, the ICAM-1kilifi variant is present at the frequencies of 0.27, similar to the frequency observed in other African countries. This ICAM-1kilifi variant was not associated with disease severity in agreement with other findings from the Gambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Gabon, and Thailand, suggesting no evidence of a direct link between this polymorphism and the pathogenesis of severe and cerebral malaria.

Source: UG
ICAM-1-binding Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 variants elicits opsonic-phagocytosis IgG responses in Beninese children

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 ICC, international criminal justice and international politics

The International Criminal Court (ICC) came into being as a result of a desire by the international community to establish a permanent body to deliver criminal justice instead of the formula of ad hoc tribunals that had become the norm. The coming into force of the Rome Statute in 2002 was greeted with euphoria as it signified to many that a new era had dawned when the international community would, with one voice, say no to impunity and create a deterrent effect to crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression. The slowness with which the court has moved in concluding cases, as well as its perceived lack of even-handedness in selecting what cases to pursue, have resulted in widespread disappointment and disaffection, even to the extent of generating hostility in some of its former supporters. Has the ICC indeed failed to live up to expectations, or were those of its proponents unrealistic, and the criticism of its detractors unfair? Are the ICC’s weaknesses a function of its very nature or externally-imposed by the machinations of international politics? Is there a need for the world in general, and Africans in particular, to look beyond the ICC for protection from their own people, and for ending impunity in a decisive manner? In short, does it have a future, and how shall it remain relevant in the future? This article is a think piece on the ICC, its failings, perceived or real, and its prospects for achieving what it was originally conceived to be and to become in the world of international criminal justice. © Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, 2015.

Source: UG
ICT adoption and use in supply chain management: The Ghanaian experience.

Coordination and collaboration among supply chain members are very essential to improve the performance of a supply chain. This paper therefore investigates the factors that hinder and facilitate ICT adoption in the areas of procurement management, logistics management, customer relationship management, and supplier relationship management in the supply chain in order to propose solutions for efficiency. A survey using 32 purposively selected manufacturing firms in the study area was used. Purposive sampling was used because we needed firms that both practise SCM and use ICT. Data was collected through questionnaires, interviews, and observation. The collected data were analysed in SPSS producing results in the form of percentages, bar charts and hypothesis testing. The study found a high ICT adoption rate in SCM though it has not been used to fully integrate SCM activities. The desire to gain competitive advantage facilitates ICT adoption most while the steady decline in ICT prices facilitates ICT adoption the least. Risk/security issues associated with implementation hinders ICT adoption most while management of the companies studied hinders ICT adoption least. The limitations of the study are the fact that it concentrated on the Greater Accra Region of Ghana and also failed to collect data from suppliers and customers. This novel paper on ICT usage in SCM in Ghana brings to light the inadequate use of the technology. Thus, governments, managers, educationists, and the business community should find it as a guide to working towards integrating ICT and SCM in a way that will eliminate the inadequacies.

Source: UG
ICT services to students in the greater Accra region of Ghana: An initiative of the Ghana Library Board (GhLA) towards the development agenda

Purpose The article describes an ICT training programme in the central library in Ghana, discusses the benefits of the programme and the challenges faced by those delivering it, and seeks to relate this work to the broader development goals of the UN and the AU, offering some recommendations on how the programme can be made more effective. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a qualitative approach to help determine the modality of the program to two Junior High Schools (JHS) in the area who benefit weekly from the training programmes offered at the ICT corner. Interviews were conducted with the 2 staff of the ICT corner to help gather information on the services that the ICT corner offers and challenges with the programme, ICT teachers and a library coordinator of the two JHS were also interviewed to find out their opinion on the programme and the impact they think the programme can make to help achieve the agenda of equipping the youth with ICT skills. Focus group discussions were held with two classes from the JHS for them to indicate the ICT skills they have acquired from the training and what they can use the skills to achieve. The researcher also witnessed two of the training sessions and observed daily activities of the ICT corner and the method of instruction. Findings The study brought to fore the contribution GhLA is making to help Ghana achieve Agenda 2063 and 2030 by helping students acquire basic ICT skill that is motivating them to use computers in their daily activities. Originality/value The study highlighted the importance of libraries in the 21st century and recommendations were made among others that, the facility should be replicated in all public libraries to be used by schools that do not have their own ICT lab in Ghana and the library should employ more staff to help with the training.

Source: UG