ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Social Support for People Living with Hiv Aids within the Accra Metropolitan Area

Social support has been identified as one o f the coping strategies in chronic illnesses especially in HIV/AIDS disease. The purpose of this study was to explore how the people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) experience social support in the Accra Metropolitan area of Ghana. An exploratory, descriptive and qualitative method was employed in this study. A purposive sampling was used in the selection of the fourteen participants living with HIV/AIDS. They were interviewed using semi structured interview guide and observations. The data were analyzed using content analysis and constant comparison. The main themes that emerged from the study were; “Lived experiences o f PLWHA, biophysical experiences, psychological experiences, socio-economic, and socio-cultural experiences. Others included coping strategies, meaning attached to support, sources and types o f support, and perception o f support received. Other sub-themes emerged under these major themes. The findings indicated that the PLWHA experienced some unpleasant symptoms o f the disease, which limited their ability to work and earn income. This is because the disease has stigma attached to it, and it either made them weak and unable to work or has depleted their capital. A few were stigmatized and isolated by some members o f their family. This has created a variety of needs such as employment, getting the necessities o f life for themselves and their dependants and the need for healing o f their diseases. Each o f the participants had at least one support provider. These providers were; the family, community members, non-governmental organizations, church institutions, and health institutions. The support the participants received covered financial, assistance with basic needs, and social support. Others included medical, emotional and spiritual support. Whilst some o f these supports were provided spontaneously to the PLWHA, others had to beg for the support. It was the general view of all except one participant that the support they received was inadequate. The participants devised some coping strategies to contain the situation. Some o f these were projection, disclosure, and mutual support. Most o f them expressed their desire to work, preferably sedentary work. These findings have implications for nursing care and policy making. It is important for policy-makers to consider employment policies that would support the PLWHA to continue being employed, even after diagnosis, in jobs that do not entail strenuous activity. Policies on reaching out to the PLWHA should be intensified to prevent stigmatization and isolation o f the PLWHA.

Source: UG
Social Support, Dysfunctional Coping, and Community Reintegration as Predictors of PTSD Among Human Trafficking Survivors

Human trafficking exerts psychological effects on survivors that persist after intervention, and even after community reintegration. Effects include anxiety, depression, alienation, disorientation, aggression, suicidal ideation, attention deficit, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Community supports and coping mechanisms may mitigate these effects. The report presented here is part of a long-term program of research to develop and test evidence-informed mental health and human capacity-building intervention programs for women and girls who are victims of trafficking. Structural equation modeling was used to assess a conditional process model (moderated mediation) of the effect of social support, coping, and community reintegration on PTSD among n = 144 girls and women. Participants received psychosocial intervention at a residential care facility for trafficking survivors. Results indicate model fit was excellent. Results indicate community reintegration indirectly influenced PTSD through its effect on perceived social support. Survivors who reported more difficulty reintegrating back into the community perceived less social support than those that reported easier community reintegration, and trafficking survivors who perceived less social support indicated more PTSD. Survivors with more PTSD symptoms tended to report using more dysfunctional coping mechanisms.

Source: UG
Social transitions in the Savannah: The decline and fall of social risk management amongst Fulani in the subhumid zone of Nigeria

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to explore social risk management strategies amongst Fulani in the subhumid zone of Nigeria; and second, to determine current status and nature of reciprocal exchange networks, risk pooling and social support for pastoral livelihoods in North-Central Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach Surveys of cattle productivity and pastoral livelihoods were carried out amongst Fulani pastoralists on the Jos Plateau: between 2008 and 2013 using participatory epidemiology methods and the sustainable livelihoods framework. Qualitative and quantitative data on livelihood activities, knowledge, attitudes and practices of animal husbandry and disease control, wealth grouping, herd entries and exits was gathered to determine the current state of cattle productivity and pastoral livelihoods in the study area. Findings Results show that reciprocal exchange networks for risk management have mostly disintegrated and patron-client relationships have become an important social risk management strategy. Practical implications This research has significant implications for sustainability of Fulani livelihoods and communities: decreased social risk-management strategies and increased self-reliance means that the most vulnerable households will find it more difficult to withstand shocks and climb out of poverty. Wealthier households may cope better with high incidence/low severity shocks like but are more vulnerable to low incidence/high severity shocks. Likewise, decreased social cohesion reduces the ability of communities to mobilise and act collectively in the face of community-level shocks. This is very important for engagement with the state – a crucial process, given current levels of acrimony and conflict. Originality/value Given the high levels of farmer-herder conflict and civil unrest in this region over the past 15 years this research is valuable in providing insights into economic drivers of conflict, current dynamics of pastoral livelihoods and social cohesion within and between communities.

Source: UG
Social Work and Education

Social work supports the mission of education to develop human potential. The goal of school social work is to help learners overcome barriers to educational success and social pedagogy focuses holistically on learners’ social development. School social work is a growing international specialty as educational institutions recognize the value of specialized intervention in tackling micro to macro level obstacles to universal education. In developing countries, enrolment, gender parity and literacy are improving however, progress is slow and uneven. Challenges remain in bringing social work services to schools in developing countries and in developing new roles as education evolve to meet changing needs.

Source: UG
Social Work and Education In Lyons, K.; Hokenstad, T.; Pawar, M.; Huegler, N. &amp; Hall, N. (Eds.) The Sage Handbook of International Social Work

Social work supports the mission of education to develop human potential. The goal of school social work is to help learners overcome barriers to educational success and social pedagogy focuses holistically on learners’ social development. School social work is a growing international specialty as educational institutions recognize the value of specialized intervention in tackling micro to macro level obstacles to universal education. In developing countries, enrolment, gender parity and literacy are improving however, progress is slow and uneven. Challenges remain in bringing social work services to schools in developing countries and in developing new roles as education evolve to meet changing needs.

Source: UG
Social Work in a Changing World: Issues and Prospects.

The Chapter traces the origins of the social work profession globally and in Africa, from the English Poor Laws of the 17th century to the major economic and social changes and ideological movements of the mid-19th century that set the pace for helping the vulnerable in society. It outlines the development of social work in Ghana from traditional support by extended family and charity work by foreign missionaries to government support and institutionalization of social work as a profession. Additionally, it examines how the Department of Social Work at the University of Ghana has contributed to that development through training of social workers at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The chapter concludes with a brief on the domain of the profession.

Source: UG
Social work practice in Ghana: Changing dynamics, challenges and opportunities

Social Work is described as a helping profession since it is a professional practice that provides services aimed at helping societies work better for their people. It is also designed to assist people with varying degrees of social problems function better within society. While social work started in the pre-independence era as the provision of social welfare services, it is slowly making its way through the Ghanaian society. Like the Western societies where the profession developed, Ghana is also beset with a host of social problems that call for professional social work interventions. Using the history of the social work profession in the Western world as a backdrop, this chapter explores the development of the social work profession in Ghana from the colonial times to the present. It examines some of the social problems in the country that call for professional social work intervention. The chapter concludes with a call for a revamped social work education in the face of the changing dynamics of the profession which present challenges as well as opportunities to develop new practice paradigms within an indigenous context. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. All rights reserved.

Source: UG
Socially responsible investment practices and implementation approaches: A case study of listed extractive firms in Ghana

We explore the socially responsible investment practices and imple mentation approaches of some extractive listed firms through the lens of institutional theory. Using an interpretive case study approach with data col lected from interviews, observations, and archival documents, over 10 months, we find that the SRI practices of the firms were in line with the SDGs. Furthermore, we reveal that the case firms’ choice of practices along the SDGs was because of the government’s drive for SRI practices in line with the SDGs. We also observe that the government-dominated case firm used its SRI practices to augment the developmental activities of the government. Finally, we show that alien to literature, a multinational company implements its SRI practices using the global approach, because of the pressure from its parent company. Our empirical findings possess the rigour expected from qualitative research. The empirical findings are credible, dependable, and confirmable. In ensuring credibility, the interviews were recorded. However, detailed notes were taken of the interviewees who refused to be recorded. The transcribed data were resent to the interviewees to ensure what they said was accurately captured. Recruiting qualified assistants to undertake some interviews, provid ing in-depth descriptions of the research method and the analysis of the findings from both the intra and cross-case perspective ensured that the find ings are dependable. Finally, the use of semi-structured interviews where further clarity was sought when needed makes the empirical findings confirm able. Largely, our findings support the institutional theory, albeit with some deviations.

Source: UG
Societal emotional environments and cross-cultural differences in life satisfaction: A forty-nine country study

In this paper, we introduce the concept of ‘societal emotional environment’: the emotional climate of a society (operationalized as the degree to which positive and negative emotions are expressed in a society). Using data collected from 12,888 participants across 49 countries, we show how societal emotional environments vary across countries and cultural clusters, and we consider the potential importance of these differences for well-being. Multilevel analyses supported a ‘double-edged sword’ model of negative emotion expression, where expression of negative emotions predicted higher life satisfaction for the expresser but lower life satisfaction for society. In contrast, partial support was found for higher societal life satisfaction in positive societal emotional environments. Our study highlights the potential utility and importance of distinguishing between positive and negative emotion expression, and adopting both individual and societal perspectives in well-being research. Individual pathways to happiness may not necessarily promote the happiness of others.

Source: UG
Societal Reactions to Suicide in Ghana: A Qualitative Study of Experiences of the Bereaved

Background: Condemnatory reactions toward suicide are prevalent in Africa, yet no study has examined how society reacts to suicides from the perspective of suicide-bereaved persons. Aims: This qualitative study explored societal reactions to suicides so as to further our understanding of the problem in Ghana. Method: Using a semi-structured interview guide, we interviewed 45 close relations of 14 men who took their lives. Results: The reactions followed ontological questions of what suicide means (construing the act), its impact (consequences), why it happened and who to blame (attributions and allocation of responsibility), and how to remedy perceived damages (damage control). Limitations: Focusing on suicides of only men might have limited the range of societal reactions to suicide in general. Conclusion: Reparative and retributive societal reactions to suicides were influenced predominantly by views that suicide is an extraordinary moral evil in the setting. Increased culturally focused suicide education can improve people's understanding and enhance responsive suicide prevention and postvention

Source: UG
The Societal Significance of Informal Economics during the COVID-19 Pandemic in an African City

The COVID-19 pandemic compelled many African countries to make decisions that lim ited livelihood choices. This article examines how informal traders (IT) in Kumasi, Ghana responded to the COVID-19. It explores the livelihood capacities, socioeconomic, socio cultural, and sociopolitical values of informal economics. Using data from multiple sources, the purchase and sale of personal protective equipment (PPE) emerged as the dominant livelihood activity. The results show that IT innovated their way of trading, realigned liveli hood activities, and created cross-sectoral networks that enhanced social cohesion. The emerging informal market catalyzed spin-off activities that linked values of the informal sector to the public, distributing agencies, producing companies, and the government. We argue that IT constitute a “natural” and “indispensable” share of Ghana’s urban economic, cultural, and governance space. The values of IT expressed within and between these distinct societal spheres should be amplified in the development discourses of countries like Ghana

Source: UG
Socio-cultural and economic factors influencing adolescents’ resilience against the threat of teenage pregnancy: a cross-sectional survey in Accra, 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
A socio-cultural approach to public sector corruption in Africa: key pointers for reflection

The public sector of many African countries is notoriously corrupt; cultural inclinations and socialization processes largely have a tendency to lead public officials into actions that may amount to corrupt practices. Providing seven (7) key pointers for reflection, this study explores public sector corruption in African countries by examining the interplay between culturally acceptable norms and professional expectations of public officials. The public official, by these two unparalleled expectations, tends to walk on a tight rope which often results in ethical dilemma and conflict of interest. The study adopts Riggs' prismatic-sala model and uses the case of Ghana and traditional proverbs to explain the cultural context within which Ghanaian public official ought to operate. How can one combine these cultural expectations with professionalism? To what extent does the ‘collectivity culture’, ‘culture of gift giving and acceptance’, ‘extended family system’, ‘ethnic loyalty’ and ‘unfettered respect of the aged’ downplay professional bureaucratic and ethical principles?

Source: UG
The socio-cultural concept of face in akan communication

The paper examines the metaphorical expressions derived from anim ‘face’ in Akan, a major language in Ghana. It analyses and discusses face metaphoric expressions in relation with the universal concept analysed by Face Theory. The paper projects this concept onto the Akan cultural system and looks at how the concept is used in Akan communicative interaction. The sociolinguistics and pragmatics of anim are considered. In particular, it focuses on face-to-face interaction and the typical situations and discourses within the Akan speech community where the concept of face plays a role. © 2004 John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Source: UG
Socio-cultural determinants of timely and delayed treatment of Buruli ulcer: implications for disease control

Abstract Introduction Public health programmes recommend timely medical treatment for Buruli ulcer (BU) infection to prevent pre-ulcer conditions from progressing to ulcers, to minimise surgery, disabilities and the socio-economic impact of BU. Clarifying the role of socio-cultural determinants of timely medical treatment may assist in guiding public health programmes to improve treatment outcomes. This study clarified the role of socio-cultural determinants and health system factors affecting timely medical treatment for BU in an endemic area in Ghana. Methods A semi-structured explanatory model interview based on the explanatory model interview catalogue (EMIC) was administered to 178 BU-affected persons. Based on research evidence, respondents were classified as timely treatment (use of medical treatment 3 months from awareness of disease) and delayed treatment (medical treatment 3 months after onset of disease and failure to use medical treatment). The outcome variable, timely treatment was analysed with cultural epidemiological variables for categories of distress, perceived causes of BU, outside-help and reasons for medical treatment in logistic regression models. The median time for the onset of symptoms to treatment was computed in days. Qualitative phenomenological analysis of respondents&#8217; narratives clarified the meaning, context and dynamic features of the relationship of explanatory variables with timely medical treatment. Results The median time for initiating treatment was 25 days for pre-ulcers, and 204 days for ulcers. Income loss and use of herbalists showed significantly negative associations with timely treatment. Respondents&#8217; use of herbalists was often motivated by the desire for quick recovery in order to continue with work and because herbalists were relatives and easily accessible. However, drinking unclean water was significantly associated with timely treatment and access to health services encouraged timely treatment (OR 8.5, p&#8201;=&#8201;0.012). Findings show that health system factors of access are responsible for non-compliance to treatment regimes. Conclusions Findings highlight the importance of an integrated approach to BU control and management considering the social and economic features that influence delayed treatment and factors that encourage timely medical treatment. This approach should consider periodic screening for early case-detection, collaboration with private practitioners and traditional healers, use of mobile services to improve access, adherence and treatment outcomes.

Source: UG
Socio-cultural determinants of treatment delay for childhood malaria in southern Ghana

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
Socio-cultural perceptions of infertility in Ghana.

The purpose of this study was to explore the social/cultural perceptions of Ghanaians about women with infertility problems. Audio-taped interviews with nineteen (19) key informants were transcribed and analysed. The findings indicate that in traditional Ghanaian society, a high premium is placed on biological parenting and there are specific cultural norms that dictate the attitudes of society towards childless women. Health professionals' knowledge of cultural issues could be of benefit in informing the care provided to women undergoing fertility problems.

Source: UG
Socio-demographic and neighbourhood factors influencing urban green space use and development at home: A population-based survey in Accra, Ghana

Abstract In Sub-Saharan Africa and other developing regions, there has been very little systematic attempt to document the uses and perceived health benefits of urban green spaces in cities and the factors influencing usage. We therefore sought to establish the availability, accessibility and use of urban green spaces, and the perceived health benefits in an African population. We also ascertained the factors influencing use and development of green spaces at home. A population-based survey was conducted in Accra, the capital city of Ghana, spanning 11 Municipal and 3 Sub-Metropolitan areas. Multivariable binary logistic regression adjusting for potential confounders was used to establish the association between green space use and development at home, and socio-demographic, neighbourhood and health factors. Odds ratios and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals were estimated from the models. Several socio-demographic (gender, age, marital status, occupation, ethnicity, religion) and district-level (population density, income level, neighbourhood greenness) factors were associated with use of green spaces and development of green spaces at home in Accra. Residents who were worried about depletion of green spaces in their community were more likely to develop green spaces at home. In neighbourhoods with moderate and high level of greenness, residents were less likely to develop green spaces at home. Fivepercent and 47% of green space users in Accra reported witnessing an improvement in theirphysical and mental health, respectively, from use of green spaces. The study findings can inform policy action for promoting use and development of green spaces in African cities and for mitigating depletion and degradation of the limited urban greenery.

Source: UG