ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Exploring clinical communication in a teaching hospital in Ghana

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the clinical communication using Tamale Teaching Hospital as a case. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the Reassure, Explain, Listen, Answer, Take Action and Express Appreciation (RELATE) model and the Four Habits models of Clinical Communication. Findings – The results of the study indicate that leadership conducted staff meetings with some of the components of the RELATE model. These include staff meetings, employee rounding and communication/ notice boards. The results of the study also suggest that much as some parts of the Four Habits model was used in provider–patient communication, certain aspects of the model were absent. The study identified some communication challenges including poor dissemination, lack of unity among some health workers, poor attendance in meetings and, with respect to patients, language barrier, patients’ reluctance to disclose their actual health problems to health providers, lack of privacy and lack of a friendly environment. Practical implications – Providers, especially physicians, should be given training on the local languages in areas where they perform their services. Health service providers should receive as part of their learning in-depth training on the Four Habits model of Clinical Communication, especially the Medical Officers. Originality/value – It is imperative to embrace evidence-based practices/models aimed at securing proper communication in all hospitals but most especially teaching hospitals.

Source: UG
Exploring Consumers’ Intention to Adopt Mobile Payment Systems in Ghana

In this paper, the authors examined consumers’ intention to adopt and use mobile payment methods in Ghana. Data for the study was obtained from a sample of 260 respondents through online and direct survey using structured questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used to analyse the data through SPSS v.22 and SmartPLS v.3. Findings with regards to the determinants of mobile payment system adoption indicate that perceived security, attitude, and perceived usefulness play active roles in consumer decisions to adopt mobile payment methods in Ghana. Also, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have a significant and positive influence on consumer’s attitude towards mobile payment adoption. Further, subjective norm was found to influence perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of mobile payment adoption in Ghana. The study contributes to the literature on mobile payment systems from a developing country context. The study proffered some recommendations.

Source: UG
Exploring contraceptive knowledge and use among women experiencing induced abortion in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana.

Using a qualitative research methodology, twenty-four semi-structured interviews were conducted with women with induced abortion experiences at Korle Bu and Tema Hospitals in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Results suggest that these women tended not to have knowledge of contraceptive methods prior to the abortion, while others were informed but failed to use for a variety of reasons ranging from rumours of side effects to personal negative experiences with modem contraceptive methods. A few women also stated contraceptive failure as a reason for their unintended pregnancies that were later aborted. Peer and reproductive health education must be reinforced in communities in the Greater Accra Region to curb adolescents engaging in early sex and should challenge the existing rumours associated with contraception in Ghana. In addition, family planning services in terms of appropriate methods with no side effects must be made available to women in the reproductive ages.

Source: UG
Exploring Coteaching as a Trend in Higher Education

This qualitative inquiry used the multiple case study and phenomenological designs to explore coteaching experiences of teachers in higher educational institutions. The research utilized the modal purposive and accidental sampling techniques to select five groups of coteachers from five Ghanaian universities. Data obtained via in-depth group interviews and classroom observations were analyzed using content and thematic approaches. The research revealed that the teachers were motivated to accept coteaching responsibility because of the belief that it was an effective practice that met students’ academic needs, and this notion influenced their engagement in coteaching practices described as team teaching and parallel teaching. A low level of commitment was, however, the main challenge confronting the coteachers. The research mainly recommended the use of the two coteaching models for global higher education but suggested that coteachers should have compatible teaching philosophies to perhaps make them more committed to working with one another.

Source: UG
Exploring COVID-19 vaccination behavior: A cross-country study among pregnant and postpartum women in Brazil, Ghana, Kenya, and Pakistan

Pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV2 are more likely to be hospitalized and require ventilation, compared to non-pregnant women. Although the development of the COVID-19 vaccine was regarded as a scientific breakthrough among many, the pace of development in combination with delayed and unclear recommendations for maternal vaccination led to slower vaccine uptake among this population. We explored the decision-making process for COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant and postpartum women in four countries: Brazil, Ghana, Kenya, and Pakistan through 201 in-depth interviews. A grounded theory approach was used for analysis, and a socio-ecological framework was used to synthesize emerging themes. Four levels of influence on vaccine-related attitudes and behaviors were identified: individual, interpersonal, community, and policy. Risk perception and beliefs about vaccines safety were the primary individual-level factors identified. Risk perception of the disease was a common reason for vaccine acceptance, whereas lower risk perception emerged as a reason to not vaccinate. Vaccine safety concerns, for the pregnant woman herself, her pregnancy, and her baby were common across all countries. At the interpersonal level, the influence of the male partner and peers emerged across all countries. While participants identified the partner or spouse was most influential, they also discussed the limited impact the male partner had on decision-making, particularly in Ghana, Kenya, and Pakistan. At the community- level, healthcare providers helped in allaying vaccine safety concerns, and women looked to them for their health expertise and recommendations. At the policy-level, the requirement — real or perceived — of vaccination to access services, travel, work, and education was an important factor in all countries. Vaccine decision-making is complex, multi-faceted, and context-specific. When promoting vaccination among pregnant and postpartum women, engaging influential individuals can support the successful uptake of maternal vaccination.

Source: UG
Exploring customer stewardship behaviors in service firms

Purpose: The existing literature has emphasized the importance of frontline service employees developing a sense of ownership for the overall well-being of customers. However, studies into why frontline service employees develop ownership and responsibility for customers are still lacking. The purpose of this paper is to address the question, “Why do frontline service employees engage in responsible customer service? behaviors and protect the interests of customers in Ghana? Design/methodology/approach – A semistructured interview with 61 frontline service employees was used in the study. This study used a thematic analysis technique to analyze the data. Findings: The findings show that frontline service employees develop a sense of customer stewardship because of organizational values and human resource management initiatives (rewards and in-service training) and ownership and accountability. Originality and Value: Studies on why frontline service employees engage in responsible customer service behaviors and protect the interests of customers is limited. This study addresses this gap in the literature

Source: UG
Exploring diversity among farmers for orienting inter-disciplinary action research on cropping system management in Wenchi, Ghana: the significance of time horizons

This article examines different types of diversity among farm households in Wenchi, Ghana, and their relevance and implications for orienting action research aimed at combating soil fertility decline. Previously reported research suggested that cropping systems and indigenous practices affecting soil fertility differed significantly between and among the native population and migrants. These differences were associated with prevailing land tenure arrangements. This paper refines the native/migrant classification by exploring how it is intertwined with aspects such as ethnicity, gender and wealth. The study revealed that historical, ethnic and gender dimensions of diversity provide additional insights into livelihood patterns and soil fertility management which are relevant for fine-tuning technical and social action research agendas. It is argued that relevant differences between farm households result from the interplay between structural conditions and the strategies of active agents. The implication of the study is that action research efforts to design new technology and social arrangements for addressing soil fertility decline must be re-oriented and tailored further to meet the needs and aspirations of particular sub-groups of migrants and natives. Most significantly, it appears that the feasibility of negotiating alternative land tenure arrangements differs among different groups of migrants depending on whether they regard their stay as permanent or temporal.

Source: UG
Exploring economic and health interventions to support adolescents’ resilience and coping in mining communities: A scoping review

Economic and social disruptions, such as the global COVID-19 pandemic, heighten the vulnerability of adoles cents. These disruptions exacerbate health and economic inequities which are further compounded in informal labour settings such as the mining sector. Therefore, strengthening adolescent resilience and coping are crucial for well-being and equitable health outcomes. However, there is a limited comprehensive literature that syn thesizes adolescent resilience interventions, especially in mining communities. This study presents a scoping review, following Arksey & O’Malley’s (2005) framework, to map existing literature on interventions for adolescent resilience in mining communities. Relevant studies were identified from academic journals and grey literature published between 2012 and 2022. Of the 1286 studies screened, 13 were retained for final analysis. Literature showed that common economic resilience interventions included policy-level advocacy and activism, and predominant health interventions focused on sexual and reproductive health including, HIV counselling, screening, and testing, targeting both individual and community-level change in mining communities. The findings emphasize the necessity for interventions to adopt multi-level, multi-sectoral, and multi-stakeholder approaches, while mainstreaming gender. Future research should prioritize intersectional, gender transformative and community-based interventions to strengthen adolescent resilience in mining communities and advance health equity and rights amongst this last-mile population.

Source: UG
Exploring economic and health interventions to support adolescents’ resilience and coping in mining communities: A scoping review

Economic and social disruptions, such as the global COVID-19 pandemic, heighten the vulnerability of adolescents. These disruptions exacerbate health and economic inequities which are further compounded in informal labour settings such as the mining sector. Therefore, strengthening adolescent resilience and coping are crucial for well-being and equitable health outcomes. However, there is a limited comprehensive literature that synthesizes adolescent resilience interventions, especially in mining communities. This study presents a scoping review, following Arksey & O’Malley’s (2005) framework, to map existing literature on interventions for adolescent resilience in mining communities. Relevant studies were identified from academic journals and grey literature published between 2012 and 2022. Of the 1286 studies screened, 13 were retained for final analysis. Literature showed that common economic resilience interventions included policy-level advocacy and activism, and predominant health interventions focused on sexual and reproductive health including, HIV counselling, screening, and testing, targeting both individual and community-level change in mining communities. The findings emphasize the necessity for interventions to adopt multi-level, multi-sectoral, and multi-stakeholder approaches, while mainstreaming gender. Future research should prioritize intersectional, gender transformative and community-based interventions to strengthen adolescent resilience in mining communities and advance health equity and rights amongst this last-mile population.

Source: UG
Exploring Euphemisms as Taboo Avoidance Strategies in the Mabia Languages

This article investigates the use of euphemisms in mitigating prohibited expressions in three Mabia (Gur) languages: Dagbani, Farefare (also known as Gurenɛ) and Kusaal. In the daily interactions of the Mabia people, they avoid using certain expressions, which are unmentionable in most contexts. These include the expressions for snakes and snakebite, sexual intercourse and genitalia, and death. The mention of the explicit terms for these expressions is face-threatening in Mabia society and can incur various forms of negative social consequences. Thus, instead of using these taboo expressions, speakers employ euphemisms as taboo-avoidance strategies; these euphemistic expressions oil social cohesion and indicate speakers’ communicative competence. The data used in this study were mainly gathered from primary sources. However, we augmented some of the primary data of Dagbani with some secondary sources drawn from N. A. Salifu’s (2012) PhD thesis. We employ politeness theory and ethnography of communication as analytical lenses

Source: UG
Exploring everyday resilience in the creative industries through devised theatre: A case of performing arts students and recent graduates in Ghana

The concept of resilience has become widely used to account for how people respond both to acute crises and, increasingly, to protracted precarity. Yet, cultural studies theorists have also vig orously critiqued resilience discourse as a tool of neoliberal governmentality. In this article, we turn from the discourse of resilience to the practice of resilience. We argue, through the case of theatre students and recent graduates in Ghana, that the practice of resilience can be both individual and collective. Moreover, we show that resilience practices involve the exercise of agency at various scales through the specific practices of coping, reworking, and resisting. Finally, we show the merits of using artistic research methods, such as devised theatre, to unveil the complex ways that creatives practice resilience in the everyday.

Source: UG
Exploring factors having an impact on attitudes and motivations towards volunteering in the undergraduate nursing student population − A comparative study of the UK and Ghana

This study explores attitudes and motivations towards volunteering in nursing students in Ghana compared with nursing students in the United Kingdom (UK). Ghana traditionally follows a western model of nurse education, with students studying programmes commensurate in theory and practice, making Ghana a suitable location for a comparative study. We explored similarities and differences in attitudes and motivation towards volunteering to challenge and inform our common place practice towards nursing pedagogy. Ghanaian students displayed positive attitudes towards volunteering, although these did not translate into increased motivation to volunteer while at university. Students reported financial constraints as reasons for not volunteering as did UK students, although Ghanaian students used available resources for daily living expenses, whereas UK students prioritised available resources to pay down student debt. Structured volunteering was absent from both Ghanaian and UK nursing programmes, despite its potential to increase the variety of social groups or situations to which students are exposed, to increase self-confidence and to encourage greater reflection on practice through doing. Structural challenges within countries may provide a better explanation of variation in student motivation towards vol unteering, than cross-cultural variation in attitudes towards volunteering between countries.

Source: UG
Exploring factors influencing acceptability of online capacity building platform for HIV and AIDS monitoring and evaluation in Ghana

Introduction: Ghana’s multi-sectoral approach towards the management of HIV and AIDS has resulted in many community-level activities and programs aimed at stopping HIV infections and reducing the impact of HIV and AIDS. This study seeks to investigate whether Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) officers in Ghana will be willing to join in an electronic learning platform which is web-based as a means of building M&E capacity. Methods: 123 out of 130 participants were involved in the study. Continuous and categorical variables were analysed using means and proportions. Structural equation Modelling technique was used to determine the factors associated with acceptability/intention to use. Results: The results showed that Attitude toward usage had a positive significant influence on acceptability/intention to use (AITU). In addition, experience with online learning and Internet discussion also had a positive influence on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use re spectively. The overall model shows 71% of variation of M&E officers’ attitude toward usage on acceptability/intention to use online M&E platform as observed by the covariates in the model. Conclusions: Attitude toward usage was observed to be the strongest determinant of the AITU online HIV/AIDS M&E platform for monitoring and evaluation activities.

Source: UG
Exploring Factors Influencing Nurses’ Ethical Decision Making For Postoperative Pain Management in the Upper East Regional Hospital, Bolgatanga

Postoperative pain (POP) remains a challenge for patients although they have the right to adequate pain management. It is unethical if pain is not managed adequately by nurses. However, there is inadequate literature on ethical decision making by nurses on pain management. Thus, this study aimed at exploring the factors influencing ethical decision making for POP management among nurses. The study employed qualitative exploratory descriptive design. Participants were recruited purposively from the surgical wards of the Regional Hospital, Bolgatanga. Semi-structured interview guide was used for data collection and data saturation was reached at the fourteenth participant through individual interviews. Five themes emerged from the data which was analysed using content analysis procedures. The themes were nurses’ knowledge of ethical principles, influence of unit leadership on ethical decision-making, influence of nurses’ relationship with other professionals, institutional factors influencing nurses’ ethical decision-making and intrinsic motivators of pain management. Findings showed that nurses had adequate knowledge of ethical principles and applied them in the management of POP. Personal commitment and empathy for patients were intrinsic factors for ethical decision-making for POP management. Protocols on pain management, disciplinary and ethics committees, and availability of analgesics were perceived to influence ethical decision-making for POP management. Nurses said institution of an ethics committee could help them know about ethical issues. Constructive feedback from unit leaders was also perceived to influence decision making for POP management positively. The study concluded that, there is the need to place premium on pain management while considering it as a right of patients and an ethical issue. Resources needed to provide ethically accepted management of pain should be provided to enhance pain management.

Source: UG
Exploring Factors Influencing Pain Expression and Management among Postoperative Patients at the Tamale Teaching Hospital

The expression and management of postoperative pain (POP) is influenced by multiple factors. The purpose of this study was to explore factors influencing pain expression and management among postoperative patients at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. The study employed a qualitative explorative descriptive design and it was guided by the Social Communication Model of Pain. Purposive sampling technique was used to recruit participants into the study. Data saturation was attained after interviewing the fourteenth participant. All the interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic content approach and five themes were generated. These were; influence of pain experience on pain expression, modes of pain expression, sociocultural influences on pain expression and management, patient’s perspective on pain management and spiritual influence on pain expression and management. Past experience of pain, thoughts, feelings and sensations were identified to influence pain expression among postoperative patients. Postoperative patients expressed their pain through varied ways based on subjective reasons. Majority of the study participants indicated that their pain expression and management was mostly influenced by their sociocultural orientation. Nurses, as frontline caregivers in perioperative settings, need to lead the way in demonstrating sensitivity to the sociocultural disparities of surgical patients in order to ensure competency in care delivery. The study underscored the need for the introduction of guidelines for culturally competent care in order to reduce discrepancies and improve the provision of context appropriate pain care to postoperative patients.

Source: UG