Secondary analysis of snake bite data in the Western Region of Ghana: 2006- 2010

Background: A snake bite is an injury caused by a bite from a snake, often resulting in puncture wounds, amputations and sometimes envenomation. Envenoming resulting from snake bite is a particularly important public health problem in rural areas of tropical and sub-tropical countries in Africa. This paper reports the incidence of snake bites and its associated mortality in the Western Region of Ghana.Method: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional review of 2006 - 2010 snake bite secondary data generated by the Western Regional Health Information Office in Ghana. Data was extracted from the District Health Information Management System (DHIMS) database. Data was managed and analyzed using SPSS Version 16.0. Univariate analyses were expressed as percentages and graphs.Results: The year 2009 recorded the highest incidence of Snake bites in the Western Region with Juabeso district recording the highest incidence of snake bites over the study period. Over the period about 55% of the incidence was between 50 – 100 per 100,000 population. The total number of snake bites recorded in the region for the period was 7,275, of which 52% (3,776) were males. About 60% of the patients were of the age group 15-49 years. A total of 12 reported snake bite deaths were recorded, of which 67% were men. This study recommends to the Districts Health Directorates in the Western Region to regularly organize community education on snake bite and the use of protective clothing by the farmers.Funding: None declaredKeywords: Snake bite, Envenomation, Incidence, District Health Information Management System, Western Region, Ghan

Knowledge and prevalence of common sexually transmitted infections among patients seeking care at selected health facilities in Southern Ghana

The burden of Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remains a public health problem that should be addressed considering its effect on society and close association with HIV. This study aimed to determine the knowledge and prevalence of common STIs and associated risk factors among adult patients seeking STI care in health facilities in Ho Municipality. This was an analytical cross-sectional study involving 178 adult clients seeking treatment for suspected STIs, from November 2020 to April 2021. Data on participants’ demographic characteristics, knowledge and health-seeking behaviour for STI therapy was obtained. Urine and blood samples were also taken from each participant for microbiological screening to identify the infecting pathogen and the specific STI. Multiple logistic regression and chi-square analyses were used to test the significance of associations. Of the 178 participants, 71.91% (n = 128) were women and 61.24% (n = 109) were unmarried. About 13% (n = 23) had poor knowledge of STIs. Prevalence of the STIs was 24.72% (n = 44) of which gonorrhoea was the highest 11.24% (n = 20), followed by chlamydia 10.11% (n = 18) and syphilis 7.30% (n = 13). Of all the participants, 3.37% (n = 6) had co-infections with at least 2 pathogens. Infection with all three pathogens was observed in a single participant. Participants who were married were associated with 61% reduced odds of sexually transmitted infection compared to participants who were unmarried (AOR = 0.39; Cl = 0.17–0.89). Participants who smoked had 6.5 times increased odds of the infection compared to nonsmoking participants (AOR = 6.51; Cl = 1.07–39.56). Although knowledge of STIs was high, it did not appear to contribute to lowering of the prevalence. This suggests there may be other factors other than awareness or knowledge driving STIs. There is an urgent need for further studies to ascertain the drivers of STIs beyond knowledge and awareness in the public

Accelerated testing of tidal turbine main bearing in a full scale Nacelle Test Rig

Tidal Energy is one of the growing renewable energy technologies that is aimed at tackling global energy challenges. The Horizontal Axis Tidal Turbine (HATT) is an in-stream Tidal Energy Converter (TEC) which extracts kinetic energy from tidal flows. These tidal turbines face many reliability challenges due to their complexity, harsh operating environment and low accessibility. One of the component contributing significantly to the reliability of a TEC is the bearing supporting the rotating shaft within the nacelle. The reliability assessment of this component is essential during the design process and before their eventual deployments. This work is describes shaft bearing reliability assessment procedures. In recent years, the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s National Renewable Energy Centre has developed a dedicated multi axis test facility for full scale testing of tidal turbine nacelles and components (i.e. Nautilus). This work presents a methodology for testing tidal turbine shaft bearings in a representative manner in the full scale nacelle test rig, Nautilus. Two aspects are considered, namely the damage assessment and the damage replication in an accelerated manner. The damage assessment process considers the global loading on the shaft bearing and a Rigid Dynamics (RD) model has been applied to identify the local bearing loads. Local loads are converted to stress enabling the identification of stress-life relationship and bearing damage. The damage replication process is aimed to evaluate the 20 year damage and the Acceleration by Phase-shift (AbP) method has been developed to accelerate the cumulative damage. The AbP method enables the assessment of performance characteristics of shaft bearings in a laboratory environment, reducing failure rates, validate performance in a cost effective manner by reduced testing times. Within this work, novel processes for shaft bearing reliability assessments and demonstration are suggested and it concludes with the presentation of a recommended test plan for carrying out accelerated tests on a full scale bearin

The Impact of Economic Growth of Middle -Income on Individuals Level of Savings in Ghana

The crucial goal of any economic policy of a country is to have a positive socio-economic impact on the individual citizen of that country. The present research, investigated the relationship that exists between the Middle-Income staus of Ghana and level of savings of individuals.  The research was an exploration in nature, and has adopted the mixed method approach in making an empirical investigation appropriate into Economic Growth and its impact on Middle Income of Individuals level of savings in Ghana. Integration both qualitative and quantitative in the analysis for the research results. By the use of quantitative research approach, statistical analysis of content analysis of findings were applied, since it helped in assessing the associations amongst   Economic Growth variables and Middle Income of Individual Ghanaians.Additionally, a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews and follow-up interviews, which were applied to examine the topic under instigations. The quantitative framework in the research adopted a longitudinal study approach to collect 25 years macroeconomic variables data on Ghana from the year 1990 to 2015 and in the case of the qualitative framework a stratified sample method selected for the research study, since it required equal stratum and avoids selection bias towards determining sample sizes.The results established that, the large number of Ghanaian saved some level of their income, with a high consumption level. In order to maintain this level of savings and encourage more savings in future amongst citizen, it is recommended that, there should be a provision of the basic needs that will facilitate businesses and community activities and make life pleasant.  Again, such basics social services such as water, electricity, good transportation systems should be provided for the citizens in subsidized rate since citizens use lot of their incomes in paying that. Such incomes could be channeled into further savings. Keywords: Foreign Domestic Investment, Gross Domestic Product, Gross Domestic Savings, Ghana Statistic Service, Lower Middle Income, Per Capita Income, Economic Growth DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/15-12-09 Publication date:June 30th 202

Modeling the implications of internal audit effectiveness on value for money and sustainable procurement performance: An application of structural equation modeling

The Government of Ghana spends approximately seventy percent of its annual budget on the procurement of goods, services, and public works. The Public Procurement Acts (Act 663, and Act, 914) were established to regulate public procurement activities and ensure transparency, accountability, and Value for Money (VFM) in the procurement processes. Contrariwise, the extent of misappropriations of public funds in Ghana by public officials has reached an all-time high. To address this concern, our paper is aimed to develop a model to explain the extent to which Internal Audit Effectiveness (IAE) drives VFM, and Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP). This paper is a cross-sectional survey-based study involving public agencies in Ghana. The population of the study comprised 72 District Assemblies across the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions. Stratified sampling technique has been used to randomly select 200 participants comprising internal auditors, procurement officers, accountants, and finance officers for the study. Smart-PLS software and the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach have been used to analyze the survey data, and test the hypotheses of the study. The study has revealed that internal audit competency, internal audit independence, external auditors' role, and top management support are the main determinants of IAE. Again, our mediation analysis has revealed that IAE drives both VFM and SPP. The results have further shown that an increase in VFM positively affects SPP. These results have implications for the reinforcement of internal audit agency regulations of 2003 (Act 658) and public procurement act 2003 (Act 663) and the amended Act 2016 (Act 914). Again, the results have extended exciting knowledge on the IAE by linking it up with SPP and VFM in a developing country context where such studies still remain fuzzy

The implications of energy literacy on energy savings behavior: A model of contingent effects of energy value and attitude

Sustainable energy production and consumption is essential to the realization of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement. According to the International Energy Agency, presently around 755 million people worldwide do not have access to electricity. Understanding the energy literacy and consumption behavior are of substantial importance for providing effective energy education and energy efficiency. This paper aims to develop a baseline model to explain the relationship between energy literacy (EL), attitude towards energy, personal energy value, and energy savings behavior​ (ESB) with a perspective from a Lower Middle-Income Country by integrating Value Belief Norm theory and Theory of Planned Behavior. The positivists’ research paradigm, and quantitative approach guided this paper. Survey based questionnaire has been used to solicit data from 250 professional workers in Ghana with a focus on Hydro-Electricity Power. Our hypotheses have been tested using a Variance Based Structural Equation Modeling and SMART-PLS version 3.3.3. Our indicative results have showed that energy literacy positively affect energy saving behavior. Moreover, attitude towards energy and personal energy value have significantly mediated the relationships between EL and ESB. These results have implications on energy consumption behavior theories and practices in Ghana and the rest of Sub-Saharan African Countries. The newly developed ESB model could be used to explain the drivers of energy savings behavior in lower income economies where such knowledge remains largely unexplored. These results stimulate the need to encourage sustainable energy production and consumption, and re-enforce existing legislature in order to attain the Sustainable Development Goal Seven

Internal audit effectiveness as a boon to public procurement performance: a multi mediation model

AbstractAs part of Governments of Ghana efforts to deal with misappropriation of public sector resources, the Internal Audit Agency Act, 2003 (Act 658) was established to ensure probity, accountability, and transparency in the management of public sector resources, yet there is a high Corruption Perception Index in Ghana as asserted by the Transparent International 2021 release. To address this concern, our paper is aimed to develop a new model to explain the extent to which internal audit effectiveness (IAE) could be used to build strong organizational resilience as a mechanism through which efficiency in public procurement could be achieved while reducing public sector corruption incidence. Data have been collected from a cross-section of public sector workers. The structural equation modeling approach has been used to analyze the survey data. Our results have shown that cultural, and strategic resilience dimensions of organizational resilience significantly mediate the relationship between IAE and procurement performance. These results have implications for re-enforcement of audit regulations to ensure transparency in managing public sector resources with a focus on reducing negative public sector corruption perception

Reducing physical and emotional violence by teachers using the intervention Interaction Competencies with Children – for Teachers (ICC-T): study protocol of a multi-country cluster randomized controlled trial in Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda

Scharpf F, Kirika A, Masath FB, et al. Reducing physical and emotional violence by teachers using the intervention Interaction Competencies with Children – for Teachers (ICC-T): study protocol of a multi-country cluster randomized controlled trial in Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda. BMC Public Health. 2021;21(1): 1930.**Background** Violence has severe and long-lasting negative consequences for children’s and adolescents’ well-being and psychosocial functioning, thereby also hampering communities’ and societies’ economic growth. Positive attitudes towards violence and the lack of access to alternative non-violent strategies are likely to contribute to the high levels of teachers’ ongoing use of violence against children in sub-Saharan African countries. Notwithstanding, there are currently very few school-level interventions to reduce violence by teachers that a) have been scientifically evaluated and b) that focus both on changing attitudes towards violence and on equipping teachers with non-violent discipline strategies. Thus, the present study tests the effectiveness of the preventative intervention Interaction Competencies with Children – for Teachers (ICC-T) in primary and secondary schools in Tanzania, Uganda, and Ghana. **Methods** The study is a multi-site cluster randomized controlled trial with schools (clusters) as level of randomization and three data assessment points: baseline assessment prior to the intervention, the first follow-up assessment 6 months after the intervention and the second follow-up assessment 18 months after the intervention. Multi-stage random sampling will be applied to select a total number of 72 schools (24 per country). Schools will be randomly allocated to the intervention and the control condition after baseline. At each school, 40 students (stratified by gender) in the third year of primary school or in the first year of secondary/junior high school and all teachers (expected average number: 20) will be recruited. Thus, the final sample will comprise 2880 students and at least 1440 teachers. Data will be collected using structured clinical interviews. Primary outcome measures are student- and teacher-reported physical and emotional violence by teachers in the past week. Secondary outcome measures include children’s emotional and behavioral problems, quality of life, cognitive functioning, academic performance, school attendance and social competence. Data will be analyzed using multilevel analyses. **Discussion** This study aims to provide further evidence for the effectiveness of ICC-T to reduce teacher violence and to improve children’s functioning (i.e., mental health, well-being, academic performance) across educational settings, societies and cultures