ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Community-Based Mental Health Care: Stigma and Coping Strategies Among Professionals and Family Caregivers in the Eastern Region of Ghana

To a large extent caregivers perceive stigma through their social and community interactions by virtue of their association with persons with mental health problems. Meanwhile, evidence on their strategies for coping with potentially undesirable experiences linked with stigma is limited. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, the present study explored affiliate stigma among mental health professionals and family caregivers of persons with mental illness. Data, collected through one-on-one interviews with 10 mental health professionals and 10 family caregivers, were examined with content analysis. Findings revealed that, although stigma attached to mental illness was largely directed at sufferers and family caregivers, professionals sometimes had their fair share. To manage the negative impact of stigma, caregivers adopted various strategies including the use of realisation, tactical or planned ignoring, self-motivation, acceptance and religion. Implications of the findings necessitate the intensification of mental health education among the general populace, which must be targeted at demystifying mental illness.

Source: UG
Community-based study on knowledge, attitude and practice on the mode of transmission, prevention and treatment of the Buruli ulcer in Ga West District, Ghana

Buruli ulcer disease (BUD), a devastating tropical disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, occurs in more than 80% of the administrative districts of Ghana. To elucidate community perceptions and understanding of the aetiology of BUD, attitudes towards Buruli patients and treatment-seeking behaviours, we conducted a survey with 504 heads of households and seven focus group discussions in Ga West District, Ghana. Although 67% of participants regarded BUD as a health problem, 53% did not know its cause. Sixteen per cent attributed the cause to drinking non-potable water, 8.1% mentioned poor personal hygiene or dirty surroundings, and 5.5% identified swimming or wading in ponds as a risk factor. About 5.2% thought that witchcraft and curses cause BUD, and 71.8% indicated that BU sufferers first seek treatment from herbalists and only refer to the hospital as a last resort. The main reasons were prospects of prolonged hospital stay, cost of transport, loss of earnings and opportunity associated with parents attending their children’s hospitalization over extended period, delays in being attended by medical staff, and not knowing the cause of the disease or required treatment. The level of acceptance of BUD sufferers was high in adults but less so in children. The challenge facing health workers is to break the vicious cycle of poor medical outcomes leading to poor attitudes to hospital treatment in the community. Because herbalists are often the first people consulted by those who contract the disease, they need to be trained in early recognition of the pre-ulcerative stage of Buruli lesions.

Source: UG
Community-directed treatment: The way forward to eliminating lymphatic filariasis as a public-health problem in Ghana

The elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public-health problem is currently dependent on the delivery of annual drug treatments to at least 80% of the eligible members of endemic populations for at least 5 years. However, for various reasons, this goal may not be achievable by the health systems of most endemic countries in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly if treatment is not community-directed. In Ghana, community-directed ivermectin treatment involving the regular public-health services at the implementation level (ComDT/HS) has recently been compared with mass-treatment in which only the health services participated (HST). Health staff and the target communities appreciated the ComDT/HS approach more than the HST approach and were more willing to participate in the community-directed scheme. The treatment coverage achieved by ComDT/HS (74.5%) was not only much higher than that of HST (43.5%) but also probably adequate for filariasis elimination. HST coverage was particularly poor in villages located > 5 km from a health facility, but distance from such a facility had no significant effect on treatment coverage in the ComDT/HS arm. As virtually all the subjects who received drugs swallowed them, compliance with treatment was not a problem. The ComDT/HS approach is therefore recommended, especially for areas where access to health facilities is poor and the health workers are over-stretched. The implications of these findings for the global programme for filariasis elimination are discussed.

Source: UG
Community-led approaches to the academic development of pracademics in universities: evidence from Ghana

This paper examines how pracademics who teach at different universities in Ghana contribute to shaping their academic develop ment. In this study, a pracademic refers to an industry practitioner who is employed by a university as a part-time academic to teach academic courses and support the knowledge and skills development of learners. Using a dialogical narrative approach, data were gathered from 14 pracademics who teach academic courses at different universities in Ghana. The findings revealed that the academic development of pracademics is linked to their unique professional identity, the social networks that support their personal and professional growth, and the complex professional community in which they operate. The narratives of the participants revealed that the network of pracademics serves to promote their common interests, which include needs (social, job-related, and resources), expectations, access to opportunities, and their ability to promote academic disciplines. Additionally, pracademics are likely to be highly motivated to join informal networks within a broad context – pracademia, when they know that issues concerning their job security and professional development in the areas of teaching, research, and engaged scholarship will be prioritised by the management of universities.

Source: UG
A community-wide study of malaria reduction: Evaluating efficacy and user-acceptance of a low-cost repellent in Northern 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
Comorbidity of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency and Sickle Cell Disease Exert Significant Effect on RBC Indices

Background. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) converts glucose-6-phosphate into 6-phosphogluconate in the pentose phosphate pathway and protects red blood cells (RBCs) from oxidative damage. Their deficiency therefore makes RBCs prone to haemolysis. Sickle cell disease (SCD) on the other hand is a hereditary blood disorder in which there is a single nucleotide substitution in the codon for amino acid 6 substituting glutamic acid with valine. SCD patients are prone to haemolysis due to the shape of their red blood cells and if they are deficient in G6PD, the haemolysis may escalate. Reported studies have indicated variations in the prevalence of G6PD deficiency in SCD patients and as such further work is required. The aim of this study was therefore to estimate the incidence of G-6-PD deficiency among SCD patients and to determine its impact on their RBC parameters as a measure of incidence of anaemia. Methods. A total of 120 clinically diagnosed SCD patients of genotypes HbSS and HbSC were recruited into the study. About 5ml of blood was collected via venipuncture from each patient and used to run G6PD, full blood count, and haemoglobin (Hb) electrophoresis tests. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 and Graphpad prism. Result. G6PD deficiency was detected in 43 (35.83%) of the participants made up of 16 (13.33%) males and 27 (22.50%) females of whom 17 (14.17%) had partial deficiency and 10 (8.33%) full deficiency. Statiscally significant differences p=0.036 and p=0.038 were established between the Hb concentration of the participants having a G6PD deficiency and those with normal G6PD activity for males and females, respectively. Conclusion. From the results obtained, it implies that G6PD deficiency may increase the severity of anaemia in SCD patients. There is therefore the need to screen all SCD patients for G6PD deficiency to ensure that their condition is not exacerbated during treatment.

Source: UG
The comparative ability of four isolates of Bacillus subtilis to ferment soybeans into dawadawa

In an attempt to develop starter cultures for fermenting soybeans into the traditional West African condiment dawadawa, four isolates of Bacillus subtilis: 24BP2, 72RP17, 72BP30, and FpdBP2, which had been selected from 42 Bacillus cultures in a previous study by the current authors, were used separately to produce soy-dawadawa. The accompanying microbiological and biochemical changes, including enzymatic activities, as well as the organoleptic quality of the products were evaluated including that of a control sample which was fermented spontaneously. Significant differences existed in the ability of the four isolates to hydrolyse the soybean proteins, starch, and fat to produce dawadawa. Bacillus subtilis 24BP2 recorded the highest protease and amylolytic activities, 101 U/ml and 26.68 mg/ml, respectively, and liberated the most amino acids, 117.64 mg/g dry wt., during fermentation. Bacillus subtilis 24BP2 also grew to the highest population of cells in the final product. Taste panelists found soybean dawadawa produced by each of the four isolates acceptable and rated soup flavoured with soy-dawadawa produced by Bacillus subtilis FpdBP2 as the best sample. Panelists scored it higher than the control sample and soy-dawadawa produced by Bacillus subtilis 24BP2 in that order. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Source: UG
Comparative analyses of rice husk cellulose fiber and kaolin particulate reinforced thermoplastic cassava starch biocomposites using the solution casting technique

he potential of biodegradable packaging materials from thermoplastic cassava starch (TPS) reinforced with rice husk cellulose fibers (RHCF) and kaolin particulates (KP) using the solution casting method has been presented. This involved the blending of TPS and RHCF/KP in a plasticizer of ~4 ml of glycerol and ~45 ml of distilled water at 125°C and stirred at 60 rpm until a gel was formed. The gel was cast into sheets and bone-shaped tensile specimens and allowed to dry for 5 days and characterized. The results show a semicrystalline structure for TPS with an ~36% increase in crystallinity after reinforcement. The O-H bond stretching and the C-H bending bonds due to starch–glycerol reactions were the common functional groups in TPS–RHCF biocomposites, and Si-O-C bonds were characteristics of the silica phase in the kaolin. The water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) reduced to ~34% with KP reinforcements from ~238 g/m.day to 177 g/m.day and to ~74 g/m.day and ~164% for TPS–RHCF. The strength increased with up to 50 wt% kaolin content; ~0.96 MPa yield strength and ~2.60 MPa ultimate tensile strength (UTS) were recorded. For the RHCF reinforced composites, TPS-50 wt% also showed high strengths of ~0.96 MPa yield strength and ~3.50 MPa UTS. The WVTR reduced as content of kaolin was increased. Typically, from 0 to 30 wt% volume fraction of kaolin, the WVTR was reduced by ~34% to 177 g/m.day for TPS–kaolin and by ~164% to ~74 g/m.day in TPS–RHCF. The as-prepared biocomposites have potential as good packaging materials.

Source: UG
Comparative analyses of the mechanical and microstructural properties of the weld region of LPG cylinder materials

Abstract: This paper presents the numerical and experimental results of the mechanical and microstructural properties of liquefied petroleum gas cylinders from local sources. The tensile strength, burst and fracture toughness of the materials were also investigated. The results show that the carbon content for all samples averaged ~0.22 wt% and manganese ~0.76 wt% and the microstructure was largely pearlitic. The tensile strength showed that LPG-C3 recorded high tensile strength of ~ 611 MPa and hardness of ~ 200 HV while LPG-C5 recorded low tensile strength of ~ 450 MPa. The finite element analysis (FEA) showed fracture toughness of ,5 � 105MPa.mm0.5 for LPG-C2 and the energy release rate of ~2 � 106J/m2 for LPG-C5. All samples exhibited high resilience to crack propagation which showed ductile fracture after tensile test. The implications of the results are discussed to elaborate on the influence of carefully controlling the alloying elements of LPG cylinder materials on their mechanical and microstructures during fabrication.

Source: UG
Comparative analysis of asexual and sexual stage Plasmodium falciparum development in different red blood cell types

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
Comparative Analysis of Fecal Microbiota in Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) and Other Herbivorous Livestock in Ghana

The grasscutter (also known as the greater cane rat; Thryonomys swinderianus) is a large rodent native toWest Africa that is currently under domestication process for meat production. However, little is known about the physiology of this species. In the present study, aiming to provide information about gut microbiota of the grasscutter and better understand its physiology, we investigated the intestinal microbiota of grasscutters and compared it with that of other livestock (cattle, goat, rabbit, and sheep) using 16S rRNA metagenomics analysis. Similar to the other herbivorous animals, bacteria classified as Bacteroidales, Clostridiales, Ruminococcaceae, and Lachnospiraceae were abundant in the microbiome of grasscutters. However, Prevotella and Treponema bacteria, which have fiber fermentation ability, were especially abundant in grasscutters, where the relative abundance of these genera was higher than that in the other animals. The presence of these genera might confer grasscutters the ability to easily breakdown dietary fibers. Diets for grasscutters should be made from ingredients not consumed by humans to avoid competition for resources and the ability to digest fibers may allow the use of fiber-rich feed materials not used by humans. Our findings serve as reference and support future studies on changes in the gut microbiota of the grasscutter as domestication progresses in order to establish appropriate feeding methods and captivity conditions.

Source: UG
Comparative analysis of glycated haemoglobin, fasting blood glucose and haematological parameters in Type-2 diabetes patients

Objective Diabetes remains a major health problem, and Glycated hemoglobin (HBA1c) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels play important roles in its management. Also, chronic hyperglycemia coupled with high HBA1c levels impact inflammation and may alter haematological parameters in diabetes. Hence, the need to assess and correlate HBA1c and FBG levels with selected haematological parameters in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus as the main objective of this study. The study was cross-sectional involving 384 participants. Five milliliters of blood was collected from each participant and analyzed for HBA1c, FBG levels and full blood count which were correlated statistically. Results From the data obtained and analyzed, there were statistically significant correlations between HBA1c and neutrophil count (p<0.013), plateletcrit (p<0.036), mean platelet volume (p<0.019) and platelet distribution width (p<0.002). There were also significant differences in FBG (p<0.014), neutrophil count (p<0.029), red cell distribution width (p<0.046), mean platelet volume (p<0.032) and platelet distribution width (p<0.013) between diabetes patients with HBA1c less than 7.0% and HBA1c more than or equal to 7.0%. The outcome of the study indicates significant correlation of HBA1c with selected haematological parameters. This could make routine haematological parameters a cost-effective means of predicting poor glucose control in diabetes mellitus patients.

Source: UG
Comparative Analysis of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Application by Male and Female Academics in Africa

This study aims to investigate or verify whether gender affects the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) facilities among academics. The study used a survey approach that involved questionnaires to solicit data from 154 academics. For the past few years, an assortment of ICT facilities such as computers, laptops, projectors, printers and many others have been available to academics for accessibility and use in collaboration, teacher-student communication, online assignment, research, teaching and learning. Using the t-test analysis, access rates and use of ICT among male and female academics was observed to be insignificant. Again, the findings revealed a significant difference between male and female academics on ‘ICT increasing collaboration with other tertiary faculty members’, ‘performing information/data management activities’ and ‘accomplishing tasks more quickly’. Strategies have been suggested to utilize ICT in educational institutions and these are improving on ICT infrastructure, provision of a policy environment, increasing Internet bandwidth, providing alternative power supply, improving on ICT infrastructure, enhancing ICT training programs, recruiting more ICT personnel and collaboration between academics and industry.

Source: UG
A comparative analysis of pension reforms and challenges in Ghana and Nigeria

Ghana and Nigeria recently joined a number of countries that have incorporated fully-funded defined contribution pension programmes into their national social security arrangements. Contemporary analyses of pension reforms, however, continue to focus on middle-income countries in Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe, as well as on Member States of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, thereby marginalizing recent pension policy reforms in sub-Saharan African countries. This article examines the complete and partial shifts to defined contribution pension programmes in Nigeria and Ghana respectively, and points to a number of contextual and contingency factors that challenge the use of defined contribution schemes as a means to address problems of benefit adequacy in the sub-Saharan African context

Source: UG
A comparative analysis of perceived stigma among HIV-positive Ghanaian and African American males

The purpose of this paper was to address two questions: (i) Do Ghanaian and African American males with HIV/AIDS experience different types and degrees of stigma? and (ii) Is the impact of stigma associated with HIV/AIDS on the self different for Ghanaian and African American males? A quantitative method was used, and the four dimensions of stigma (social rejection, financial insecurity, internalised shame, and social interaction) were identified and measured using combination Likert-type questionnaires. Data regarding positive feelings of selfworth and self-deprecation, stress related to body image, and personal control were also collected in Ghana and the southeastern USA. The sample consisted of 55 men from Ghana and 55 men from the southeastern USA. Results indicate that values for the scales measuring stigma and self-perception were significantly higher for the Ghanaian sample than for the African American sample. Thus we conclude that the Ghanaian sample living with HIV/AIDS experienced a greater amount of negative self-perception and stigma-related strife than the African American sample. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Source: UG
A Comparative Analysis of Social Media Usage and Academic Performance in Public and Private Senior High Schools

The study comparatively analyzed social media usage and academic performance in public and private sen ior high schools. The issue of social media and academi c performance has been a very debatable topic with regard to its effect. This study further explores the relatio n between private and public schools in relation to social media use and academic performance. The objectives of the study was to find out activities performed by stud ents on social media, its effect on spelling during examina tion, and to find out if participation affected stu dents grades before and after using social media. The study used the survey method to solicit responses from two pu blic senior schools and two private senior high schools. The study revealed that majority of respondents fr om the private schools used Whatsapp and Facebook more oft en. Also, respondents from the private schools spen t more hours online as compared to counterparts in the pub lic schools. In addition, a higher proportion of re spondents from the private schools experienced drop in grades as compared to their counterparts in the public sc hools. The study therefore recommends a strict enforcement of rules in private schools, counselling for addicted students etc.

Source: UG
Comparative analysis of the ex vivo IFNgamma responses to CD8+ T cell epitopes within allelic forms of PfAMA1 in subjects with natural exposure to malaria

Antigen polymorphisms in essential malarial antigens are a key challenge to the design and development of broadly effective malaria vaccines. The effect of polymorphisms on antibody responses is fairly well studied while much fewer studies have assessed this for T cell responses. This study investigated the effect of allelic polymorphisms in the malarial antigen apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) on ex vivo T cell-specific IFN-γ responses in subjects with lifelong exposure to malaria. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I-restricted peptides from the 3D7 clone AMA1 were bioinformatically predicted and those with variant amino acid positions used to select corresponding allelic sequences from the 7G8, FVO, FC27 and tm284 parasite strains. A total of 91 AMA1 9-10mer peptides from the five parasite strains were identified, synthesized, grouped into 42 allele sets and used to stimulate PBMCs from seven HLA class 1-typed subjects in IFN-γ ELISpot assays. PBMCs from four of the seven subjects (57%) made positive responses to 18 peptides within 12 allele sets. Fifty percent of the 18 positive peptides were from the 3D7 parasite variant. Amino acid substitutions that were associated with IFN-γ response abrogation were more frequently found at positions 1 and 6 of the tested peptides, but substitutions did not show a clear pattern of association with response abrogation. Thus, while we show some evidence of polymorphisms affecting T cell response induction, other factors including TCR recognition of HLA-peptide complexes may also be at play.

Source: UG