Perceived Safety of Learning Environment and Associated Anxiety Factors during COVID-19 in Ghana: Evidence from Physical Education Practical-Oriented Program

The outbreak of COVID-19 led to the swift migration to alternate instructional delivery models and pedagogical practices in educational institutions. This study examined the perceived safety of the learning environment and associated anxiety factors among physical education students amidst COVID-19. Using a cross-sectional design, a sample of 638 students drawn purposively and conveniently from a public university in Ghana completed a self-developed questionnaire. Frequency counts, percentages, and ordered logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Findings of the study showed that students perceived the practical lesson environment as unsafe, with self-reported moderate to high levels of anxiety during their practical lessons. The ordered logistic regression results revealed that varied factors such as age, COVID-19 information platforms, certainty about personal safety, and adequacy of preparation to manage COVID-19 cases were associated with anxiety. The study concluded that an unsafe practical physical education learning environment increases the anxiety levels of students. Academic departments/units should provide periodic interventions (e.g., positive self-talk, mental rehearsal, cognitive restructuring) and counseling services for students amidst the ongoing pandemic to help moderate situational-specific anxiety. In addition, key to the management of students’ anxiety is the provision of a safe and supportive school environment, including the provision of adequate personal protective equipment for practical lessons by school authorities

Stress and Its Impact on Academic and Social Life of Undergraduate University Students in Ghana: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Stress is concomitant with students’ life and can have a significant impact on their lives, and even how they go about their academic work. Globally, in every five visits by patients to the doctor, three are stress-related problems. This study examined stress and its impact on the academic and social life among students of a university in Ghana. The descriptive cross-sectional survey design was employed. Using the stratified and simple random (random numbers) sampling methods, 500 regular undergraduate students were engaged in the study. A questionnaire made up of Perceived Stress Scale and Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale was used to gather data for the study. Frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviation, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), with AMOS were used for the analyses. It was found that majority of the students were moderately stressed. Paramount among the stressors were academic stressors, followed by institutional stressors, and external stressors. Stress had a significant positive impact on the academic and social life of students. It was concluded that undergraduate students, in one way or the other, go through some kind of stress during the course of their study. It was recommended that the university, through its Students’ Affairs, and Counselling Sections, continue to empower students on how to manage and deal with stress in order to enhance their academic life

Relationship Between COVID-19 Related Knowledge and Anxiety Among University Students: Exploring the Moderating Roles of School Climate and Coping Strategies

Quansah F, Hagan Jr. JE, Ankomah F, et al. Relationship Between COVID-19 Related Knowledge and Anxiety Among University Students: Exploring the Moderating Roles of School Climate and Coping Strategies. Frontiers in Psychology. 2022;13:1-12.The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in abrupt disruptions in teaching and learning activities in higher education, with students from diverse programs suffering varying levels of anxieties. The physical education field happens to be one of the most affected academic areas due to its experiential content as a medium of instruction. In this study, we investigated the roles of school climate and coping strategies in the relationship between COVID-19 related knowledge and anxiety. Through the census approach, a cross-sectional sample of 760 students was administered a questionnaire in two universities offering Physical Education in Ghana: the University of Education, Winneba, and University of Cape Coast. The outcome of the study found a positive and significant link between COVID-19 knowledge and anxiety. Further, school climate and coping strategies significantly moderated the relationship between students’ COVID-19 knowledge and associated anxiety. The findings have implications for creating a conducive school environment that reduces the risk of COVID-19 infection and through students’ adoption of active coping strategies in an attempt to reduce psychological distress associated with COVID-19 anxiety

Development and Validation of an Inventory for Stressful Situations in University Students Involving Coping Mechanisms: An Interesting Cultural Mix in Ghana

Quansah F, Ankomah F, Hagan Jr. JE, et al. Development and Validation of an Inventory for Stressful Situations in University Students Involving Coping Mechanisms: An Interesting Cultural Mix in Ghana. Psych. 2022;4:173-186.Cognitive and behavioural coping strategies are relevant approaches for individuals such as university students as they attempt to manage stressful situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic and other academic-related pursuits within their social milieu. Although several instruments have been developed to measure the coping situations of such individuals, few studies have developed students’ specific coping inventories, with none in the African context. Of the few that exist, a culturally dominant code such as religion has been ignored by many scholars in the development of coping measures. In this study, a cultural-mix coping inventory was developed and validated using university students in Ghana. Two distinct interrelated objectives were addressed. First, the structure of the coping inventory was identified through principal component analysis. Further confirmatory factor as well as reliability analyses were then performed to provide evidence of construct validity of the scale. The outcome of the study revealed a sixteen-item psychometrically sound coping inventory with a four-dimensional structure, namely, active coping, religious coping, behaviour disengagement, and emotional support. The implications of the results are further discussed in detail

Assessing secondary school students’ digital health literacy, information searching behaviours, and satisfaction with online COVID-19 information in Northern Ghana

Available evidence suggests that managing the complexities of health information and the behaviours associated with information search call for adequate digital health literacy (DHL). Students’ ability to judge the relevance of health-related information largely affects their level of satisfaction with the information. The study assessed DHL, information searching behaviours, and the link between DHL and COVID-19 information. The cross-sectional study utilised the multi-stage sampling technique in the selection of 1392 secondary school students in the Northern Region of Ghana. A DHL questionnaire was used to survey the students. The students displayed inadequate level of DHL concerning the relevance of online information. Predictably, most of them had not searched for information in the past four weeks prior to the data collection. Search engine portals, websites of public bodies, and news portals were the predominant platforms used for information search. Majority of the participants reported not being satisfied with the information they found on the internet about coronavirus. A significant association between DHL levels and utilization of COVID-19 information platforms was identified, such that students who showed high levels of DHL used platforms which had reviewed/professional content compared to those with low levels of DHL. Advanced DHL may serve as a disincentive to the consumption of information from sources which are not credible. There is an urgent call for collaboration among the ministries/agencies responsible for education and health, telecommunication networks, and civil society organisations for interventions aimed at integrating DHL in schools.

Does capitation payment under national health insurance affect subscribers' trust in their primary care provider? a cross-sectional survey of insurance subscribers in Ghana

Contains fulltext : 172339.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Evaluating the moderating role of information seeking platforms on university students' risk perception and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana

Hagan Jr. JE, Quansah F, Ankomah F, Agormedah EK, Srem-Sai M, Schack T. Evaluating the moderating role of information seeking platforms on university students' risk perception and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana. Frontiers in Communication. 2023;8:1-11.**Introduction** The emergence of COVID-19 resulted in heightened usage of online information seeking platforms among students aimed at obtaining information about the virus. This situation further increased the levels of risk perception and anxiety levels as students managed to stay safe. This study examined the roles of information seeking platforms; specifically, social media platforms and professional platforms as moderators of the link between risk perception and anxiety among university students in Ghana. **Methods** Participants were recruited from two universities in Ghana; namely, University of Education, Winneba (UEW) and University of Cape Coast (UCC) through a survey approach. The study conveniently sampled 778 participants who completed a set of questionnaires. **Results** The study results revealed that COVID-19 risk perception was positively related to anxiety. Further, the use of specific online information platforms significantly moderated the link between risk perception and anxiety. Specifically, social media platforms significantly moderated the relationship between COVID-19 risk perception and anxiety level. Primarily, students who utilized social media as a COVID-19 information source reported high anxiety levels in the presence of high-risk perception compared to those who did not use social media. Additionally, professional platform usage acted as a buffer in the positive link between COVID-19 risk perception and anxiety levels. In the presence of high risk perception, students who used professional platforms, compared to those who did not use professional platforms, showed significantly low anxiety levels. **Conclusions** The findings suggest the key role social media and professional platforms played in shaping students' perceptions of COVID-19. These outcomes call for the swift scrutiny of health-related information obtained from social media platforms. Both users and disseminators of health-related information on social media platforms have the responsibility of verifying the credibility of whichever information they post and/or access. Risk perception should also be an integral part of effective risk communication planning in educational institutions during outbreak of diseases

Correction: Provider preference for payment method under a national health insurance scheme: A survey of health insurance-credentialed health care providers in Ghana.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221195.]