ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Effects of Mass Media and Tobacco Promotion on Smoking among Adolescents in Ghana

This paper examines the effects of the mass media and tobacco promotion on adolescents’ outcome expectancies and intention to smoke in Ghana. A sequential method triangulation approach was adopted in the study. First, we analysed existing data from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey conducted among 1,917 students in Ghana. In-depth interviews were then conducted among 40 adolescents in Accra. The potential determinants of adolescents’ intention to smoke were mainly derived from the Social Cognitive theory. The results show that while direct advertisement is minimised, a high proportion of adolescents in Ghana are exposed to tobacco use in films and at public gatherings. There was a direct relationship between exposure to tobacco promotion and outcome expectancies. The variables associated with intention to smoke in the future were outcome expectancies and “ever experimented with tobacco smoking”. It is concluded that smoking in movies and tobacco promotion play a role in the initiation of smoking among adolescents in Ghana. Based on the findings, the paper recommends effective parental control and legislation to prevent adolescents from being exposed to smoking in movies. Additionally, effective information should be provided to adolescents about the harmful effects of tobacco use

Source: UG
Effects of Multifaceted Cognitive Training for Healthy Older Adults

In the present study, a pretest/posttest design was employed to test the efficacy of a 12-week cognitive training program used to simultaneously stimulate multiple cognitive abilities through guided mental exercises. A three-month no contact interval, following the posttest, was implemented to evaluate the durability of the cognitive intervention. Participants improved on measures of executive function, learning/memory, verbal fluency, motor speed and overall cognitive function. Cognitive gains remained significant after the three-month no contact interval. These findings support previous studies that have shown the benefit of cognitive training on mental abilities in older adults.

Source: UG
Effects of novel benzotriazole based zwitterionic salt as electrolyte additive for lithium ion batteries

A novel zwitterionic lithium-benzotriazole sulfobetaine is fabricated by grafting 1,3– propanesultone onto benzotriazole and then lithiating it. The resultant lithium-benzotriazole-sulfobetaine additive is used as an electrolyte additive in lithium ion batteries in 1M LiPF6 (ethylene carbonate/dimethyl carbonate=1:1). The electrolytes with the lithium-benzotriazole sulfobetaine shows higher ionic conductivities (2.18 × 10−2 S cm−1) compared to the bare electrolyte (1.07 × 10−2 S cm−1) and greater electrochemical stability (anodic limit at ~5.5 V vs. Li/Li+) than the pure electrolyte (anodic limit at ~4.6 V vs. Li/Li+). The discharge capacity of the lithium cobalt oxide/graphite cells is improved at higher C-rates with the addition of lithium-benzotriazole sulfobetaine due to increased ionic conductivity. The lithium cobalt oxide/graphite cells with the lithiumbenzotriazole sulfobetaine additive also show stable cycling performance. These findings warrant the use of lithium-benzotriazole sulfobetaine as an electrolyte additive in lithium ion batteries.

Source: UG
Effects of Parents Training on Parents' Knowledge and Attitudes about Adolescent Sexuality in Accra Metropolis, Ghana

Abstract Background Attitudes of parents about discussing sexuality issues with adolescents may or may not be influenced by their level of knowledge on such issues. This study seeks to examine parents’ training and its effects on parent knowledge and attitudes about sexuality in Accra Metropolis, Ghana. Methods This was an intervention study consisting of 145 parents who were recruited through their wards from 12 public junior high schools in Accra Metropolis. Parents were randomized equally into intervention and control groups and the intervention group received a 4 weeks training on adolescent sexuality topics. At pre-intervention and 3 months after parent training, parents answered questions on knowledge and attitudes about adolescent sexuality. Changes in baseline and follow-up within and between groups were compared using the difference- in-difference model and logistic regression. Results The ages of the parents ranged from 26 to 63 years and 44.1% of them completed middle school. There were 69.9% and 59.7% mothers in the intervention and control groups respectively. At pre-intervention, 21.9% of parents in the intervention group had very good knowledge but this increased significantly to 60% three months after the training. Knowledge about sexuality increased to a lesser degree from 18.1% to 34.7% in the control group. Parents’ positive attitudes towards adolescents’ sexuality increased by 50% in the intervention group compared to 20% in the control group. There were significant differences in knowledge on adolescent sexuality as parents in the intervention group had a greater positive effect than parents in the control group (28.7%, p-value

Source: UG
Effects of peanut processing on body weight and fasting plasma lipids.

Peanuts and peanut butter are commonly consumed as a snack, meal component and ingredient in various commercial products. Their consumption is associated with reduced CVD risk and they pose little threat to positive energy balance. However, questions have arisen as to whether product form (e.g. whole nut v. butter) and processing properties (e.g. roasting and adding flavours) may compromise their positive health effects. The present study investigated the effects of peanut form and processing on two CVD risk factors: fasting plasma lipids and body weight. One hundred and eighteen adults (forty-seven males and seventy-one females; age 292 (sd 84)years; BMI 300 (sd 45)kg/m2) from Brazil, Ghana and the United States were randomised to consume 56g of raw unsalted (n 23), roasted unsalted (n 24), roasted salted (n 23) or honey roasted (n 24) peanuts, or peanut butter (n 24) daily for 4 weeks. Peanut form and processing did not differentially affect body weight or fasting plasma lipid responses in the total sample. However, HDL-cholesterol increased significantly at the group level, and total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and TAG concentrations decreased significantly in individuals classified as having elevated fasting plasma lipids compared with those with normal fasting plasma lipids. These observations suggest that the processing attributes assessed in this trial do not compromise the lipid-lowering effects of peanuts, and do not negatively impact body weight. Further studies are warranted to determine the effects of form and processing on other health risk factors.

Source: UG
Effects of perceived workplace politics in hospitals on nurses behavioural intentions in Ghana

AIM: To examine the effects of perceived workplace politics in hospitals on nurses' job satisfaction, commitment, exit intention, job neglect, absenteeism and performance. BACKGROUND: One of the factors contributing to nurses' poor advancement in clinical practice is the existence of petty politics, which has given rise to competing self-interest. However, little evidence exists to inform policy direction on the implication of politics on nurses' behaviour. METHOD: A total of 610 nurses comprising associate and nursing professionals completed a structured questionnaire modelled on workplace politics and its outcome variables. Descriptive statistics and mean comparisons were used to analyse data. A multivariate regression model was computed to examine association between perceived politics and nurses' behavioural intentions. RESULT: Perceived politics potentially leads to decline in job satisfaction, commitment and work performance. However, perceived workplace politics is associated with high intention to leave, negligent behaviour and absenteeism. CONCLUSION: Measures aimed at improving nursing management and health-care delivery should be directed at minimising the use of politics to promote self-interest. IMPLICATION FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Evidence-based best practices in nursing management centred on the creation of an enabling environment for nurses to participate in decision-making should be given critical attention.

Source: UG
Effects of perceived workplace politics in hospitals on nurses' behavioural intentions in Ghana

To examine the effects of perceived workplace politics in hospitals on nurses' job satisfaction, commitment, exit intention, job neglect, absenteeism and performance. Background: One of the factors contributing to nurses' poor advancement in clinical practice is the existence of petty politics, which has given rise to competing self-interest. However, little evidence exists to inform policy direction on the implication of politics on nurses' behaviour. Method: A total of 610 nurses comprising associate and nursing professionals completed a structured questionnaire modelled on workplace politics and its outcome variables. Descriptive statistics and mean comparisons were used to analyse data. A multivariate regression model was computed to examine association between perceived politics and nurses' behavioural intentions. Result: Perceived politics potentially leads to decline in job satisfaction, commitment and work performance. However, perceived workplace politics is associated with high intention to leave, negligent behaviour and absenteeism. Conclusion: Measures aimed at improving nursing management and health-care delivery should be directed at minimising the use of politics to promote self-interest. Implication for nursing management: Evidence-based best practices in nursing management centred on the creation of an enabling environment for nurses to participate in decision-making should be given critical attention. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Source: UG
Effects of perceived workplace politics in hospitals on nurses’ behavioural intentions in Ghana.

AIM: To examine the effects of perceived workplace politics in hospitals on nurses' job satisfaction, commitment, exit intention, job neglect, absenteeism and performance. BACKGROUND: One of the factors contributing to nurses' poor advancement in clinical practice is the existence of petty politics, which has given rise to competing self-interest. However, little evidence exists to inform policy direction on the implication of politics on nurses' behaviour. METHOD: A total of 610 nurses comprising associate and nursing professionals completed a structured questionnaire modelled on workplace politics and its outcome variables. Descriptive statistics and mean comparisons were used to analyse data. A multivariate regression model was computed to examine association between perceived politics and nurses' behavioural intentions. RESULT: Perceived politics potentially leads to decline in job satisfaction, commitment and work performance. However, perceived workplace politics is associated with high intention to leave, negligent behaviour and absenteeism. CONCLUSION: Measures aimed at improving nursing management and health-care delivery should be directed at minimising the use of politics to promote self-interest. IMPLICATION FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Evidence-based best practices in nursing management centred on the creation of an enabling environment for nurses to participate in decision-making should be given critical attention.

Source: UG
The effects of personal and organisational attributes on ethical attitudes of professional accountants: evidence from Ghana

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the effects of personal attributes (greed and desire for personal gains, behaviour of peers and superiors, personal values, family influences and pressures, religious background, ego strength, etc.), organisational attributes (company policies, codes of conduct and visionary leadership, etc). and themoderating role of ethical codes of conduct on the ethical attitudes of professional accountants. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses data from a survey of 340 professional accountants in Ghana, using the ordinary least square regression analysis to test hypothesized relationships. Findings – The results suggest that personal attributes collectively have positive and significant influence on ethical attitudes. Similarly, organisational attributes collectively have positive and significant influence on ethical attitudes. Moreover, ethical codes of conduct moderate the positive relationship between personal and organisational attributes and ethical attitudes of accountants. Originality/value – In the light of the social contingent theory, the findings imply that personal and organisational attributes, when interacted with professional code of conduct strengthens ethical attitudes of accountants. To the best of the knowledge, this is the first paper to have examined the moderating effect of professional code of conduct on ethical attitudes of accountants from a developing country context.

Source: UG
&quot;Effects of Polymeric Coating and Anti-Fungal Treatment on the Shrinkage Characteristics of Pineapple Fruits During Storage&quot;

The combined effect of polymeric coating and antifungal treatment on the shrinkage characteristics of pineapple fruits during postharvest storage were evaluated. A 2×2×10 factorial experiment was performed with polymeric coating (0 and 5%) antifungal treatment (0 and 0.1%) and storage time (0-10 days) as the factors. The shrinkage evolution, shell colour break and crown withering index were evaluated using standard analytical methods. Regression models were developed to predict the valuables and their effect on shrinkage indices. The results showed that the polymeric coating, antifungal treatment, and storage time significantly (p <0.05) influenced shrinkage evolution, shell colour break and crown withering index of the fruits and very high regression coefficients (87.2-99.3%) were noted among the indices. The 5% polymeric coating with fungicide at 0.01% significantly arrested the shrinkage evolution, shell colour break and crown withering index under both low (4oC and ambient (20oC) storage. Shrinkage characteristics of pineapple fruits can therefore be effectively minimized by 5% polymeric coating and 0.01% anti-fungal treatment during postharvest storage.

Source: UG
Effects of pregnancy sickness on infant-weight and maternal weight-gain among Ghanaian women

This study sought to assess the relationship between nausea and vomiting during pregnancy and infant birth-weight and maternal weight-gain. A cohort of 502 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Accra participated in the study. A sub-sample of 128 pregnant women participated in a longitudinal study that involved assessment of maternal weight-gain during pregnancy. The heights and weights of those in this subsample were measured in the first trimester followed by monthly measurements of their weights when they visited the antenatal clinics for care. During this time, information on nausea and vomiting were obtained by interview. The observed prevalence of nausea (loss of appetite with salivation and vomiting) among the pregnant women was 73.31%. Pregnant women who lost appetite with vomiting generally had infants of mean birth-weight significantly lower (p<0.05) than those who did not (2.87 kg±0.39 vs 3.21 kg±0.57, respectively). The mean pregnancy weight-gain of the mothers also followed a similar trend (10.16 kg±1.71 vs 11.05 kg±1.49). Subjects who vomited for more than three months had significantly lower pregnancy weight-gain and infant birth-weight (p<0.05) than those who never vomited or vomited for a lesser extent. There was a significant negative association between birth-weight and nausea r = -0.090 (p < 0.040, n = 502) and between birth-weight and months of vomiting, r = -0.073 (p < 0.030, n = 502). These findings show that nausea and vomiting during pregnancy are associated with a decrease in infant birth-weight and maternal weight-gain. These observations underscore the need for special care for pregnant women who experience nausea and vomiting.

Source: UG
Effects of Pregnancy-Induced Psychological and Emotional Factors on the Occurrence of Preeclampsia/Eclampsia (PE-E) and Haemorrhage

Preeclampsia/eclampsia (PE-E) and haemorrhage are the topmost causes of maternal and perinatal deaths the world over. This study assessed the effects of pregnancy-induced psychological and emotional factors on the occurrence of PE-E and haemorrhage. The study was a prospective cohort involving all pregnant women >28 weeks of gestation reporting for antenatal care (ANC) in seven Hospitals in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The study redesigned the Revised Cognitive Therapy Scale (CTS-R) to suit this study using a five-point score scale. The results show that the predictor variables; fear, anger, sadness, disgust, love, hate, tension, anxiety, depression, and dejection, were all statistically significant and associated with PE-E and haemorrhage except joy, acceptance, and happiness. Pregnant women who experienced high (2) and highest (4) levels of fear had reduced odds of PE-E by 34% and 15.8%, respectively. Those who recorded low levels of love were 9.8 times the odds of PE-E, those with low (1), high (2), higher (3), and highest (4) levels of anxiety had reduced odds of PE-E by 22.2%, 37.3%, 21.3%, and 10% respectively. Pregnant women with low levels of psychological and emotional issues were about 3 times the odds of PE-E compared to those who were normal. In conclusion, the study shows a significant association between preeclamptic/eclamptic pregnant women and different levels of fear, anger, sadness, Love, hate, depression, dejection, anxiety, and tension. It is recommended that Ghana Health Service should institute case specific psychological and emotional counselling as part of ANC services to manage needy cases to avert the effects on pregnancy and birth outcome.

Source: UG
Effects of Pretreatment and Drying on the Volatile Compounds of Sliced Solar-Dried Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) Rhizome

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) rhizomes are mostly used as spice and medicine due to their high aroma intensity and medicinal bioactive compounds. However, the volatile compounds of ginger, partly responsible for its aroma and medicinal properties, can be affected by the pretreatment, drying method, and extraction processes employed. %e objective of this study was to assess the effects of pretreatment and drying on the volatile compounds of yellow ginger variety at nine months of maturation. %e effect of potassium metabisulfite (KMBS) and blanching pretreatment and drying on the volatile compounds of ginger using head space solid-phase microextraction with GCMS/MS identification (HS-SPME/GCMS/MS) was investigated. KMBS of concentrations 0.0 (control), 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, and 1.0% and blanching at 50°C and 100°C were used for pretreatment and dried in a tent-like concrete solar (CSD) dryer and open-sun drying (OSD). %e different concentrations of KMBS-treated fresh ginger rhizomes did not result in any particular pattern for volatile compound composition identification. However, the top five compounds were mostly sesquiterpenes. %e 0.15% KMBS-treated CSD emerged as the best pretreatment for retaining α-zingiberene, β-cubebene, α-farnesene, and geranial. The presence of β-cedrene, β-carene, and dihydro-α-curcumene makes this study unique. %e 0.15% KMBS pretreatment and CSD drying can be adopted as an affordable alternative to preserve ginger.

Source: UG
Effects of protein content on feed intake and performance of grasscutters fed diets containing forage meal

The potential of grasscutters (Thryonomys swinderianus) as a source of animal protein can be exploited with better understanding of its nutrient requirement. This experiment was conducted to determine the protein requirement of growing grasscutters fed formulated diets containing forage meal. Twenty-four growing grasscutters, in groups of four, were randomly allotted to four treatment diets formulated to respectively supply 14, 16, 18 and 20% crude protein (CP). Parameters measured included daily feed intake, daily weight gain (growth rate), final bodyweight, feed conversion ratio and cost-To-gain ratio. Dietary protein significantly (P < 0.05) influenced daily weight gain, as well as the final liveweights of the animals. The mean daily weight gain of the animals fed the 18% CP diet was not significantly (P > 0.05) different from those fed the 20% CP diet (12.8 vs 11.7 g/day), but was significantly higher than animals fed the 16% (6.4 g/day) and 14% (7.0 g/day) CP diets. The mean feed conversion ratios of the animals fed the diets with 18% CP (4.1) was, however, only significantly (P < 0.05) different from animals fed diets with 16% (7.2) and 14% (6.3) CP. Given the overall economic importance of low cost-To-gain ratio, and the profitability of the diets thereof, these results suggest that 18% is the optimum CP level for economically feeding growing grasscutters on formulated diets containing forage meal. © 2019 CSIRO.

Source: UG
The effects of public and private health care expenditure on health status in sub-Saharan Africa: new evidence from panel data analysis.

Background: Health care expenditure has been low over the years in developing regions of the world. A majority of countries in these regions, especially sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), rely on donor grants and loans to finance health care. Such expenditures are not only unsustainable but also inadequate considering the enormous health care burden in the region. The objectives of this study are to determine the effect of health care expenditure on population health status and to examine the effect by public and private expenditure sources. Methods: The study used panel data from 1995 to 2010 covering 44 countries in SSA. Fixed and random effects panel data regression models were fitted to determine the effects of health care expenditure on health outcomes. Results: The results show that health care expenditure significantly influences health status through improving life expectancy at birth, reducing death and infant mortality rates. Both public and private health care spending showed strong positive association with health status even though public health care spending had relatively higher impact. Conclusion: The findings imply that health care expenditure remains a crucial component of health status improvement in sub-Saharan African countries. Increasing health care expenditure will be a significant step in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Further, policy makers need to establish effective public-private partnership in allocating health care expenditures.

Source: UG