Exploring the experiences of National Health Insurance Scheme subscribers and non-subscribers in accessing healthcare within the Accra Metropolitan Area

Maintaining the health and wellbeing of a nation largely depends on the state of health care policies and programs that guarantees citizens access to health care. Policies and social intervention programs such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) should create an enabling operational environment for health institutions. The study examines the experiences of subscribers and non-subscribers of the National Health Insurance Scheme in accessing health care in the Accra Metropolitan Area (AMA) in Ghana. It identifies the challenges in accessing health care, the resources available to individuals and the other strategies individuals employ in accessing health care. A combination of primary and secondary sources was used to collect data for the study. Using a qualitative research design, twelve participants were sampled using a stratified sampling technique. Interviews conducted revealed that many participants had negative experiences in accessing health care with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Delays in registration processes, long queuing systems at health centres and delays in reimbursement of health centres by the government were some of the core challenges that led to these negative experiences in accessing health care. As a result, many people resort to alternative means to cater for their health needs. The study further revealed that some people utilized the formal health care facilities only in critical conditions due to past negative experiences and perceptions around accessing health care with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). However, the NHIS was seen or perceived as an important mechanism for removing financial barrier to achieving equitable access to health care for all citizens in Ghana. The results further showed that the NHIS has improved access and benefits to maternal and child health services. The study concluded by advocating for an improvement and a rebalance of efforts by decision makers to inculcate more health promotion approaches or concepts in making policies concerning public health.Master's ThesisGLODE36

Cigarette smoking among in-school adolescents in Yilo Krobo municipality in the Eastern Region of Ghana

Background: Adolescent cigarette smoking is of public health importance since many adult smokers had initiated the habit as adolescents. This study aims to determine the prevalence of cigarette smoking among in-school adolescents in Yilo Krobo Municipality, Ghana and factors associated with cigarette smoking.Methods: A school-based cross-sectional analytic study was conducted in February 2017 in Yilo Krobo Municipality in the Eastern Region of Ghana. A stratified random sampling method was applied to select 700 students. After obtaining informed consent, structured questionnaires were administered to collect information on demographic characteristics,behaviours, family, peer and school factors. Data was entered into SPSS and analysed with level of significant as p-value of less than 0.05. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis were applied to determine prevalence and risk factors of cigarette smoking.Results: A total of 700 students participated in the study and the prevalence of cigarette smoking was 14.3% (100) and 77.5% (76) were introduced to smoking by their peers. Those who started smoking cigarette at the age of 10 years and below were 32% (32). Factors associated with cigarette smoking were being in JHS 1 (AOR:2.23, p=0.006), closefriends smoking cigarette (AOR: 2.26, p=0.001), having drank alcohol before (AOR: 6.0, p<0.001) and having ever used marijuana (AOR: 6.48, p<0.001). However, recognizing marijuana usage to be wrong was protective against cigarette smoking (AOR: 0.58, p=0.006).Conclusion: Cigarette smoking among in-school adolescents exists in Yilo Krobo Municipality and school-based interventions such as counselling services on substance use should be implemented to address these behaviours.Funding: No external funding was received to conduct the studyKeyword: Cigarette-smoking, Adolescents, Prevalence, Factors, Ghan

Organizational Culture and Brand Equity at Virginia's Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Colleges and universities are increasingly experiencing pressure to distinguish themselves in a competitive higher education marketplace. From their inception, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have navigated distinct challenges and perceptions in comparison to their historically White counterparts as a result of their distinctive missions, including disproportionate access to funding and resources, as well as challenges to their academic rigor. The purpose of this study is to understand perceptions of organizational culture and brand equity, and how those perceptions influence each other at four-year HBCUs in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Using the lens of the constructionist paradigm, the study focuses on staff, faculty, and student insights about culture and brand at each university, as reflected in their interactions with their respective institutions. This multi-site case study was conducted using multiple qualitative methods, including interviews, document analysis, and observation, which created a rich description of organizational culture at each institution and across the selected institutions. Schein's (2016) Model of Organizational Culture, Keller's (1993) Dimensions of Brand Knowledge, and Hatch & Schultz's (2008) Vision-Culture-Image Alignment Model, were utilized to understand both organizational culture at Virginia's four-year HBCUs and what connections exist between culture and institutional brand equity through the eyes of students, faculty, and key administrators. This study identified 10 themes to understand the culture of Virginia's three HBCUs and the phenomenon of brand equity. Sense of history and identity, leadership and governance, strategic planning, and resource dependency emerged as themes that described organizational culture. Student characteristics, lack of quality recognition or recall, and perceived benefits shaped perceptions of brand equity. Finally, the relationship between students, faculty, and staff, relationship with community, and university brand roles surfaced as themes to capture the relationship between culture and brand at the three institutions. Through each of these themes, organizational culture and brand equity were highlighted and connected to emphasize how the three historically black institutions in this study could leverage their cultural identity and branding to manage and change external perceptions, both individually and collectively. This exploration of culture and brand revealed the importance of HBCUs taking control of their institutional narratives, while sustaining an organizational culture that supports students and is responsive to the community and the higher education marketplace long-term. The study also proposes recommendations for research, policy, and practice that better demonstrate the success that HBCUs achieve with students who have been traditionally underserved

Exploring the experiences of National Health Insurance Scheme subscribers and non-subscribers in accessing healthcare within the Accra Metropolitan Area

Maintaining the health and wellbeing of a nation largely depends on the state of health care policies and programs that guarantees citizens access to health care. Policies and social intervention programs such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) should create an enabling operational environment for health institutions. The study examines the experiences of subscribers and non-subscribers of the National Health Insurance Scheme in accessing health care in the Accra Metropolitan Area (AMA) in Ghana. It identifies the challenges in accessing health care, the resources available to individuals and the other strategies individuals employ in accessing health care. A combination of primary and secondary sources was used to collect data for the study. Using a qualitative research design, twelve participants were sampled using a stratified sampling technique. Interviews conducted revealed that many participants had negative experiences in accessing health care with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Delays in registration processes, long queuing systems at health centres and delays in reimbursement of health centres by the government were some of the core challenges that led to these negative experiences in accessing health care. As a result, many people resort to alternative means to cater for their health needs. The study further revealed that some people utilized the formal health care facilities only in critical conditions due to past negative experiences and perceptions around accessing health care with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). However, the NHIS was seen or perceived as an important mechanism for removing financial barrier to achieving equitable access to health care for all citizens in Ghana. The results further showed that the NHIS has improved access and benefits to maternal and child health services. The study concluded by advocating for an improvement and a rebalance of efforts by decision makers to inculcate more health promotion approaches or concepts in making policies concerning public health

Chemical characteristics and health hazards of heavy metals in shallow groundwater: case study Anloga community, Volta Region, Ghana

Abstract Five water samples each were collected from six shallow wells which serve as source of drinking water at different locations within the Anloga community of the Volta Region in Ghana. Samples were analyzed for physicochemical characteristics, and human health risk associated with the consumption of heavy metals in the samples was also assessed. The results showed that pH, EC, water hardness, fluoride and sulfate levels were below the maximum permissible levels recommended by the WHO for drinking but chloride and nitrate levels in well A6 were above their respective WHO limits. Concentration of heavy metals showed Cd and Pd toxicities in some of the wells since their concentrations were higher than the WHO accepted limit for drinking water. Estimated non-carcinogenic health risks of the metals through ingestion were less than 1 in some of the wells, indicating small to no health hazard; however, high non-carcinogenic risk was recorded in well 2, 3 and 5 indicating a potential health hazard to the local residents. Health risk through dermal injection of the metals was found to be less than 1, indicating no health risk associated with water samples via dermal absorption. Cancer risk computed for Cd ranged from 1.82E−02 in well A5 to 9.09E−02 in well A1 and A6, indicating that consumption of water from these wells could result in an excess of 2–9 cancer cases per 100 people. The risk of developing cancer from Pb as a result of consuming water from wells A1, A2 and A5 was estimated to be 3.69E−06

Importance of Surface Functionalization and Purification for Narrow FWHM and Bright Green-Emitting InP CoreMultishell Quantum Dots via a Two-Step Growth Process

Indium phosphide (InP)-based quantum dots (QDs) are widely studied as environmentally friendly light emitters for display applications. However, the synthesis of InP QDs with optical properties that meet high color quality as comparable with cadmium (Cd)- and lead (Pb)-based QDs is challenging. In this article, we present the synthesis of surface-modified bright green luminescence InP core-shell quantum dots (CS-QDs) with the narrowest full width at half-maximum (fwhm) of 33 nm, absolute quantum yield (QY) of 71%, and an absorption spectra valley/depth (V/D) ratio of 0.61 after a size selection purification process. Our approach first emphasizes the heating temperatures for InP growth and second on the importance of surface stabilization of this system. We developed a two-step heating-up process to grow In(Zn)P core and coated inorganic shell with ZnSe/ZnSeS/ZnS composition. In situ surface treatment with zinc chloride (ZnCl2) and 1-octanol was carried out to enhance the PLQY and improve the surface passivation of the CS-QDs. Optical spectroscopy and surface characterization techniques including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and infrared (IR) spectroscopy were used to analyze the properties of the CS-QDs. We suggest that this work motivates future development and optimization of surface chemistry of InP CS-QDs to enable the full access and realization of their luminescence efficiency in high-color-quality cadmium (Cd)-free displays. ©1

Zero Dimensional-Two Dimensional Hybrid Photodetectors Using Multilayer MoS2 and Lead Halide Perovskite Quantum Dots with a Tunable Bandgap

We report high-performance 0D-2D hybrid photodetectors integrated with tunable band gap perovskite (CsPbI3, CsXFAX-1PbI3, and FAPbI3) quantum dots and MOCVD-grown bilayer MoS2. In our hybrid structure, the lead halide PQDs can be utilized as an absorbing layer of light of specific wavelengths and transfer the photogenerated carriers to the MoS2 transport layer. With tunable wavelength lead halide PQDs, the 0D-2D hybrid photodetector shows a high responsivity up to 107 AW-1 and high specific detectivity exceeding 1013 Jones due to the difference in the built-in potential between PQDs and multilayer MoS2 layers. This work proposes the possibility of fabricating high-performance photodetectors by hybridizing PQDs of various band gaps with 2D materials. © 2023 American Chemical Society.FALS

Map of Volta regional location showing study site [Source: Authors own construct].

Map of Volta regional location showing study site [Source: Authors own construct].</p

Effect of tillage and weed control methods’ interaction on soil dry bulk density.

Effect of tillage and weed control methods’ interaction on soil dry bulk density.</p

Graph of infiltration capacity showing the interaction between tillage and weed control methods.

Graph of infiltration capacity showing the interaction between tillage and weed control methods.</p