ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Implementation Of SDG 16.1: Analysis Of Ghana’s Efforts To Reduce Sexual Violence

Sexual violence has been classified as a public health problem which happens in various forms and context such as rape, unwanted sexual advances, sexual abuse of vulnerable people, forced marriage or cohabitation, among others. Despite numerous existing instruments, sexual violence still persists, necessitating a more comprehensive guide in 2015 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Target 16.1 of the SDGs specifically seeks to reduce all forms of violence and its related deaths in the world. To achieve this target, some states have designed specific instruments and programmes aimed at reducing sexual violence by 2030, and these frameworks have been tailored into their national policies. To investigate the specific interventions being implemented by Ghana after the SDGs and the progress made so far, this study was conducted using qualitative research methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with selected persons from key institutions such as DOVVSU, CHRAJ, UNFPA, UNICEF and Ark Foundation, as well as with victims of sexual violence. Findings show that before 2015, Ghana has been signatory to seventeen existing international instruments that prohibits sexual violence and has therefore translated some of these legal instruments into national policies and created institutions to spearhead their implementation. After the SDGs were adopted, more instruments and policies have been implemented in the short and medium term to further reduce sexual violence by 2030. The study reveals that recent legislations and commitments towards reducing sexual violence by 2030 are more pronounced than before as more resources have been committed towards this course especially by intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Despite the various efforts, the study identified that new initiatives and policies spearheaded by government are not as progressive as anticipated due to inadequate financial commitments. Meanwhile, initiatives and programs steered by IGOs and NGOs are progressive due to adequate resource allocations and financial commitments. The study concludes that commendable strides have been made from 2015 to 2021 towards reducing sexual violence in Ghana through existing institutions, policies and legal frameworks, but more could be achieved. The study therefore recommends that government should make adequate financial commitment towards gender-related issues, must cut unnecessary bureaucratic processes that impede contributions of development partners and should revise some existing instruments to meet current standards.

Source: UG
Implementation Of SDG 6.2: An Analysis Of Ghana’s Efforts Towards Sustainable Management Of Sanitation

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.2 focuses on attaining access to equitable and adequate sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation by 2030. This particular study is aimed at examining the roles of individual citizens and the state in achieving SDG 6.2 Furthermore, the study is also purposed on assessing the effectiveness in policy implementation and the challenges that befog the implementation of SDG 6.2 in Ghana. In pursuit of these objectives, a qualitative research design was employed, where qualitative data was sourced via the use of interview guide from 15 respondents from key institutions and organisations whose activities relate to SDG 6.2. It emerged from the findings that, citizens role in achieving SDG 6.2 consists of proper disposal of waste, end open defecation, keeping the immediate environment clean and hygienic, etc., whereas that of state’s are to provide dustbin for the citizenry, enforcement of sanitation laws, monitoring and evaluation of SDG 6.2 progress, prioritizing sanitation, engaging the private sector, and coordinating with other agencies such as AMA, Ministry of Health, NCCE, EPA, etc., that will help speed up the SDG agenda. Also, measures put in place thus far in attaining SDG 6.2 in the near future are inadequate, as there is poor awareness of SDG 6.2 in the public domain, insufficient number of dustbins for households, poor coordination among relevant agencies that will help expedite activities, Findings from the study revealed that, the challenges that confront the implementation of SDG 6.2 in Ghana are delay in rubbish collection, poor coordination among government agencies, low private sector participation, and budget constraints. The study recommend that the government has to create awareness through education, partner with a lot of the private sectors, the officers should be constantly monitoring and evaluating their policies and the work on the ground. Keywords: Sustainable Development Goals, Sanitation, Waste Management

Source: UG
Implementation of Single Spine Pay Policy in public sector of Ghana: Analysis and recommendations from organizational development perspective.

With generally lower salaries in the public sector, the Government of Ghana initiated pay policy reforms in 2006 and established the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission by law in 2007. Th is pay policy is an organisational development (OD) intervention that aimed at ensuring internal and external pay equity. Th is process culminated in the design of the single spine pay policy whose implementation commenced in January 2010. Th e implementation has not been without its challenges; this resulted in a calling of a national forum on the sustainability of the new pay policy. It is against this backdrop that this paper sought to review the implementation of the single spine pay policy (SSPP) in the public sector within an OD and intervention perspective. Specifi cally, this paper pointed out that SSPP reforms constitute a re-creation, a reactive but a discontinuous change. As a result, its implementation was explored in the light of Lewinian three-stage model of organizational change; it further assessed the implementation against its main objectives whiles identifying some of its challenges. In addition, recommendations were also presented for further improvement of the pay policy. It was concluded that the implementation has been partially successful and when given the needed support it would achieve its objectives and be sustainable in the long-run.

Source: UG
Implementation of Social Protection Interventions in Africa. &quot;The Trend in the Outcomes of Free Basic Education in Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Uganda&quot;

Social protection interventions have been used as a poverty reduction strategy in many countries. Free Basic Education is one of the social protection interventions implemented in most developing countries. This review assessed the outcome of the implementation of Free Basic Education in Africa, using Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, and Malawi as a test case. Thirty-Seven (37) published documents were used for the study. The study is underpinned by Bagozzi’s Goal Theory and Conceptualized with Knowledge Gaps and Knowledge Management Strategies. The study noted that, the Free Basic Education Policy has increased primary school net enrolment rates in these countries holding all other confounders constant. The study also revealed that, the implementation of the Free Basic Education Policy did not reduce educational expenditure as expected as school authorities continue to levy pupils. The objective of removing financial barriers was therefore not met, and the quality of teaching and learning delivery in most schools has fallen due to high pupils-teacher ratio and other implementation challenges. Based upon these findings, the study concluded that, there is the need for constant stakeholder interaction, efficient financial practices, fiscal space creation, provision of more educational infrastructure, recruitment of additional teachers, measures to ensure quality of teaching and learning delivery and effective monitoring of social protection intervention programmes in Africa.

Source: UG
Implementation of the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study in Ghana

The World Health Organization (WHO) Multicentre Growth Reference Study (MGRS) African site was Accra, Ghana. Its sample was drawn from 10 affluent residential areas where earlier research had demonstrated the presence of a child subpopulation with unconstrained growth. This subpopulation could be identified on the basis of the father's education and household income. The subjects for the longitudinal study were enrolled from 25 hospitals and delivery facilities that accounted for 80% of the study area's births. The cross-sectional sample was recruited at 117 day-care centers used by more than 80% of the targeted subpopulation. Public relations efforts were mounted to promote the study in the community. The large number of facilities involved in the longitudinal and cross-sectional components, the relatively large geographic area covered by the study, and the difficulties of working in a densely populated urban area presented special challenges. Conversely, the high rates of breastfeeding and general support for this practice greatly facilitated the implementation of the MGRS protocol. © 2004, The United Nations University.

Source: UG
Implementation Of WHO SMART Guidelines-Digital Adaptation Kits In Pathfinder Countries In Africa: Processes And Early Lessons Learned.

Background: The adoption of digital systems requires processes for quality assurance and uptake of standards to achieve universal health coverage. The World Health Organization developed the Digital Adaptation Kits (DAKs) within the SMART (Standards-based, Machine-readable, Adaptive, Requirements-based, and Testable) guidelines framework to support the uptake of standards and recommendations through digital systems. DAKs are a software-neutral mechanism for translating narrative guidelines to support the design of digital systems. However, a systematic process is needed to implement and ensure the impact of DAKs in country contexts. Objective: This paper details the structured process and stepwise approach to customize the DAKs to the national program and digital context in 5 countries in Africa with diverse program guideline uptake and significant digital health investments:Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. All these countries have existing digital systems, which have the potential to be updated with the DAKs. Methods: A DAK assessment tool was developed and used to assess guideline digitization readiness and opportunities for system uptake in each country. Multistakeholder teams were established to conduct the content review and alignment of the generic DAK to national guidelines and protocols through a series of stakeholder consultations, including stakeholder orientation, content review and alignment, content validation, and software update meetings. Implementation (Results): Country adaptation processes identified requirements for national-level contextualization and highlighted opportunities for refinement of DAKs. Quality assurance of the content during the content review and validation processes ensured alignment with national protocols. Adaptation processes also facilitated the adoption of the DAKs approach into national guidelines and strategic documents for sexual and reproductive health. Conclusions: Country experiences offered early insights into the opportunities and benefits of a structured approach to digitalizing primary health care services. They also highlighted how this process can be continuously refined and sustained to enhance country-level impact.

Source: UG
Implementation Research in Developed and Developing Countries: an Analysis of the Trends and Directions

The article examines implementation research across developed countries (North America, Europe), developing countries (Asia, Pacific) and Africa. It examines some key trends and directions of implementation research across regions. It revisits policy debate among scholars on approaches to implementation-top-down, bottom-up and mixed, which characterised the developed world. Also, it adds some perspectives on the developing world, including Africa. The paper has three contributions: it highlights trends in implementation research in developed and developing countries. It gives some directions on implementation research in Africa. It recommends that the policy design process should not be neglected. is inimical to implementation.

Source: UG
Implementing a community vector collection strategy using xenomonitoring for the endgame of lymphatic filariasis elimination

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
Implementing a new mathematics curriculum: Mathematics teachers’ beliefs and practices

Mathematics has become a ‘critical filter’ in the social, economic and professional development of individuals and forms a core component of the school curriculum in most countries. It is upon this utilitarian nature of mathematics to the individual and the society as a whole that the school mathematics curriculum has been undergoing a number of restructuring over the last three decades. In Ghana, a new mathematics curriculum was introduced in September 2007 which aims at shifting the teaching and learning of mathematics from a teacher-centered approach to more student-centered and participatory teaching and learning. However, since the introduction of the curriculum no study has specifically examined mathematics teachers’ teaching practices in relation to these new curriculum requirements. This study examines Junior High School (12-14 years) mathematics teachers’ perceived and actual teaching practices in relation to the curriculum requirements. Participants in the study were 41 mathematics teachers’ from 22 Junior High Schools. A Semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data about teachers’ perceived teaching practices, and classroom observation was used to collect qualitative data about actual classroom practices. The key findings include: teachers’ espoused the belief that their teaching practices are consistent with the principles and guidelines of the new mathematics curriculum. Teachers’ perceived teaching practices were not fully consistent with their actual practices. The movement towards a more constructivist approach as outlined in the curriculum was not fully evident in most of the classrooms observed.

Source: UG
Implementing active community-based surveillance-response system for Buruli ulcer early case detection and management in 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
Implementing and Measuring the Level of Laboratory Service Integration in a Program Setting in Nigeria

Background: The surge of donor funds to fight HIV&AIDS epidemic inadvertently resulted in the setup of laboratories as parallel structures to rapidly respond to the identified need. However these parallel structures are a threat to the existing fragile laboratory systems. Laboratory service integration is critical to remedy this situation. This paper describes an approach to quantitatively measure and track integration of HIV-related laboratory services into the mainstream laboratory services and highlight some key intervention steps taken, to enhance service integration. Method: A quantitative before-and-after study conducted in 122 Family Health International (FHI360) supported health facilities across Nigeria. A minimum service package was identified including management structure; trainings; equipment utilization and maintenance; information, commodity and quality management for laboratory integration. A check list was used to assess facilities at baseline and 3 months follow-up. Level of integration was assessed on an ordinal scale (0 = no integration, 1 = partial integration, 2 = full integration) for each service package. A composite score grading expressed as a percentage of total obtainable score of 14 was defined and used to classify facilities (#80% FULL, 25% to 79% PARTIAL and ,25% NO integration). Weaknesses were noted and addressed. Results: We analyzed 9 (7.4%) primary, 104 (85.2%) secondary and 9 (7.4%) tertiary level facilities. There were statistically significant differences in integration levels between baseline and 3 months follow-up period (p,0.01). Baseline median total integration score was 4 (IQR 3 to 5) compared to 7 (IQR 4 to 9) at 3 months follow-up (p = 0.000). Partial and fully integrated laboratory systems were 64 (52.5%) and 0 (0.0%) at baseline, compared to 100 (82.0%) and 3 (2.4%) respectively at 3 months follow-up (p = 0.000). Discussion: This project showcases our novel approach to measure the status of each laboratory on the integration continuum.

Source: UG
Implementing Community-based Health Planning and Services in impoverished urban communities: health workers’ perspective

Background Three-quarters of sub-Saharan Africa’s urban population currently live under slum conditions making them susceptible to ill health and diseases. Ghana characterizes the situation in many developing countries where the urban poor have become a group much afflicted by complex health problems associated with their living conditions, and the intra-city inequity between them and the more privileged urban dwellers with respect to health care accessibility. Adopting Ghana’s rural Community-Based Health Planning and Service (CHPS) programme in urban areas is challenging due to the differences in social networks and health challenges thus making modifications necessary. The Community Health Officers (CHOs) and their supervisors are the frontline providers of health in the community and there is a need to analyze and document the health sector response to urban CHPS. Methods The study was solely qualitative and 19 in-depth interviews were conducted with all the CHOs and key health sector individuals in supervisory/coordinating positions working in urban CHPS zones to elicit relevant issues concerning urban CHPS implementation. Thematic content data analysis was done using the NVivo 7 software. Results Findings from this appraisal suggest that the implementation of this urban concept of the CHPS programme has been well undertaken by the health personnel involved in the process despite the challenges that they face in executing their duties. Several issues came to light including the lack of first aid drugs, as well as the need for the Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses (IMNCI) programme and more indepth training for CHOs. In addition, the need to provide incentives for the volunteers and Community Health Committee members to sustain their motivation and the CHOs’ apprehensions with regards to furthering their education and progression in their careers were key concerns raised. Conclusion The establishment of the CHPS concept in the urban environment albeit challenging has been fraught with several opportunities to introduce innovations which tailor the rural milestones to meet urban needs. Modifications such as adjusting timing of home visits and renting accommodation in the communities for the CHOs have been beneficial to the programme.

Source: UG
Implementing decentralised management in Ghana: The experience of the Sekyere West District health administration

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the barriers to the implementation of management decentralisation of health services and programmes at district level in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach Data for the study were collected through a qualitative technique in the Sekyere West district. Findings The findings are: transfer of authority for management decision making and planning was rarely operational at district level; and control over financial and personnel decisions remained centralised. The paper identified lack of staff capacity, lack of commitment and interorganisational conflict between health managers and local government officials as factors obstructing the implementation of management decentralisation in the district. Originality/value The lesson from the study is that the implementation of health care management decentralisation at district level has stalled because of the combined effect of internal and external constraints. The paper suggests that given the enormity of the problem of paucity of capacity to undertake new service management responsibilities, the process of transferring responsibilities, resources and control to lower level health managements should be gradual and incremental; the sequencing of reform too should be such that district health officers and stakeholders are given adequate training prior to the inauguration of new management reform. © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Source: UG
Implementing efective community-based surveillance in research studies of maternal, newborn and infant outcomes in low resource settings

Background: Globally adopted health and development milestones have not only encouraged improvements in the health and wellbeing of women and infants worldwide, but also a better understanding of the epidemiology of key outcomes and the development of efective interventions in these vulnerable groups. Monitoring of maternal and child health outcomes for milestone tracking requires the collection of good quality data over the long term, which can be particularly challenging in poorly-resourced settings. Despite the wealth of general advice on conducting feld trials, there is a lack of specifc guidance on designing and implementing studies on mothers and infants. Additional considerations are required when establishing surveillance systems to capture real-time information at scale on preg‑ nancies, pregnancy outcomes, and maternal and infant health outcomes. Main body: Based on two decades of collaborative research experience between the Kintampo Health Research Centre in Ghana and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, we propose a checklist of key items to consider when designing and implementing systems for pregnancy surveillance and the identifcation and classif‑ cation of maternal and infant outcomes in research studies. These are summarised under four key headings: under‑ standing your population; planning data collection cycles; enhancing routine surveillance with additional data collec‑ tion methods; and designing data collection and management systems that are adaptable in real-time. Conclusion: High-quality population-based research studies in low resource communities are essential to ensure continued improvement in health metrics and a reduction in inequalities in maternal and infant outcomes. We hope that the lessons learnt described in this paper will help researchers when planning and implementing their studies.

Source: UG