The Effect of Poverty, Household Structure and Child Work on School Enrolment

This study examines the effect of poverty, household structure and child work on child schooling in Ghana across gender and age dimensions using data from the GLSS 4 and 5. We find that there exist variations in the effect of the various explanatory variables on child schooling across gender and age dimensions. Parental education, especially that of the father is important in influencing child schooling. The effect of father’s education on child schooling is higher for boys than for girls and for children in the 15~19 age group than those at lower age groups. However, mother’s education had the greatest influence on girls’ schooling than boys and on children at lower age groups than those in the 15~19 age group. The effect of poverty on child schooling was higher for boys than for girls and for younger children than for older children. Child work significantly reduces enrolment probabilities with the effect being higher for girls than for boys and higher for older children than younger children. The study concludes that, household human and physical capital endowments are important considerations in child schooling decisions. Thus, policies to ensure meaningful access to all must be inherently pro-poor. Keywords: Poverty, Education, Gender, Age, Ghan

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

They patronize herbal medicine, coincidence or planned behaviour: A case of hypertensive patients in Tamale?

AIM: This study assessed, if use of herbal medicine (HM) among hypertensive patients is coincidence or planned. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. METHODS: The study used a cross-sectional survey for collection of data from four (4) herbal medicine clinics in the Tamale metropolis in northern Ghana. RESULTS: The final or overall regression model was significant at R2  = 0.350, F(7, 214) = 16.464, p < 0.001. No sociodemographic characteristic predicted herbal medicine use. Only religion and educational level were associated with herbal medicine use. Attitude (p = 0.002), subjective norms (p = 0.001) and behavioural intention (p = 0.000) significantly predicted HM use. PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Data were collected from respondents only after they had verbally given free and informed consent to take part in the study. The results of this study therefore showed that herbal medicine use among these patients is not coincidence but planned. Health professionals by this study should appreciate the effect of religion and educational background in their health education on Herbal Medicines

Pre-service knowledge, perception, and use of emergency contraception among future healthcare providers in northern Ghana

Abstract Background Emergency contraception, if used properly, can prevent up to over 95 % of unwanted and mistimed pregnancies. However, a number of obstacle including healthcare providers knowledge, perception, and attitude towards emergency contraception (EC) prevent women and adolescents from having access to EC. Methods This was a cross-sectional study among 191 female final year nursing and midwifery students of Tamale Nurses and Midwives Training College in the Northern Region of Ghana. Purposive sampling method was used to sample 100 students from the nursing programme and 91 from the midwifery programme. Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were performed to determine factors associated with awareness about EC and use of EC. Results Over four-fifths, 166(86.91%), of the participants indicated they had heard about EC prior to the study. Majority (80.10%) of the participants correctly indicated the time within which to take emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs). More than half, 105(54.97%), of the participants did not know the appropriate time within which to use IUD as EC. Almost four-fifths, 74(38.74%), of the participants indicated it is morally wrong to use EC and more than half, (n = 104, 54.45%), of them said EC use promotes promiscuity. Only 49(25.65%) participants said they had ever used ECP. Of the number that indicated ever-using ECP, 36(73.47%) cited condom breakage or slippage as the reason for using the method. Conclusion Though there was a relatively high level of EC awareness and knowledge among the students, some students lacked detailed knowledge about the method, especially the use of IUD as EC. We found that it was easy to access EC in the study area but the use of EC was low among the students. Most of the students demonstrated a positive attitude towards EC, but many of them believed EC encourages promiscuous sexual behaviour and that it is morally wrong to use EC. The curriculum for nursing and midwifery education should provide opportunity for detailed information and practical knowledge on EC to demystify negative perceptions and attitudes of nursing and midwifery students towards EC and other forms of contraception and to improve their knowledge on EC

They patronize herbal medicine, coincidence or planned behaviour: A case of hypertensive patients in Tamale?

Abstract Aim This study assessed, if use of herbal medicine (HM) among hypertensive patients is coincidence or planned. Design Cross‐sectional survey. Methods The study used a cross‐sectional survey for collection of data from four (4) herbal medicine clinics in the Tamale metropolis in northern Ghana. Results The final or overall regression model was significant at R2 = 0.350, F(7, 214) = 16.464, p < 0.001. No sociodemographic characteristic predicted herbal medicine use. Only religion and educational level were associated with herbal medicine use. Attitude (p = 0.002), subjective norms (p = 0.001) and behavioural intention (p = 0.000) significantly predicted HM use. Public contribution Data were collected from respondents only after they had verbally given free and informed consent to take part in the study. The results of this study therefore showed that herbal medicine use among these patients is not coincidence but planned. Health professionals by this study should appreciate the effect of religion and educational background in their health education on Herbal Medicines

Working paper agricultural risks, the COVID-19 pandemic, and farm household welfare and diversification strategies in Africa.

Agricultural activities in many African countries are bedevilled by a range of risk factors. Using micro-level household datasets from a range of countries in Africa, we examine the drivers of agricultural risks, while exploring the role of context as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on household welfare, with a focus on farm households relative to their non-farm counterparts. We demonstrate that the probability of experiencing risks related to agriculture is significantly influenced by a range of individual- and farm-level/contextual factors, with these effects showing considerable variations across contexts and countries in Africa. We also find that farm households witnessed important reductions in their incomes during the COVID-19 period in Uganda. The study contributes to the design of evidence-based approaches to reducing farmers' vulnerabilities to agricultural risks and pandemic-related shocks

Do gender wage differences within households influence women's empowerment and welfare? : Evidence from Ghana

Using household data from the latest wave of the Ghana Living Standards Survey, this paper utilizes machine learning techniques – IV LASSO – that allows for the treatment of unconfoundedness in the selection of observables and unobservables to examine the structural effect of gender wage differences within households on women's empowerment and welfare in Ghana. The structural parameters of the IV LASSO estimations show that a reduction in household gender wage gap significantly enhances women's empowerment. Also, a decline in household gender wage gap results meaningfully in improving household and women's welfare. Particularly, the increasing effect on women's welfare resulting from decreases in household gender wage differences is much higher than for the household welfare. The findings showcase the need to vigorously adopt policies that both increase the quantity and quality of jobs for women and address gender barriers that inhibit women from accessing these jobs opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa.peerReviewe

Smallholders in agro-industrial production: Lessons for rural development from a comparative analysis of Ghana's and Indonesia's oil palm sectors

By successfully including smallholders, the oil palm boom in Southeast Asia has contributed significantly to rural economic development and poverty alleviation, notwithstanding its huge environmental costs. Oil palm production in other world regions is currently picking up, including in Africa. Yet it is uncertain whether the positive socioeconomic impacts from Southeast Asia can be replicated elsewhere. Little development gain may thus accompany severe environmental harm if oil palm expansion leads to deforestation. To shed light on the (prospective) role of oil palm for rural development we perform a systematic comparison of Ghana's and Indonesia's oil palm sectors at the macro and micro level, focusing on smallholder inclusion and using a mixed-methods approach. We identify substantial differences in structural conditions and policy foci that have led to two very different oil palm sectors. While the Indonesian experience clearly highlights the development opportunities coming with smallholder inclusion in agro-industrial production, our analysis shows that transferability to the West African context is limited due to regional specificities