Challenges Faced by Pregnant Women in Information-Seeking in the Tamale Metropolis

The study explored the stages of pregnancy at which pregnant women seek information from various sources and the challenges pregnant women encounter in seeking information. A Mixed-method approach was used to carry out the study. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 148 pregnant women from three hospitals namely, Tamale Teaching Hospital, Tamale West Hospital, and the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, Interviews were conducted with three midwives, one from each hospital, and a Gynecologist at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. The findings of the study revealed that the main challenges that were identified include lack of funds, non-use of the internet, and attitudes of some midwives. Most pregnant women will prefer staying in the house due to lack of funds which negatively affects their information behaviour. The research made many recommendations, including providing complete and factual information during prenatal care visits, raising awareness of services that are offered, addressing the digital divide, and encouraging culturally appropriate information dissemination strategies. Longitudinal studies are recommended to further understand the changing nature of information-seeking challenges during pregnancy and their impact on health outcomes

Information needs and sources for health-related information among pregnant women in Tamale Metropolis

The purpose of the study is to explore the information needs and sources for health-related information among pregnant women in Tamale Metropolis. A Mixed method approach was used to carry out the study. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 148 pregnant women from three hospitals namely, Tamale Teaching Hospital, Tamale West Hospital and the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, interviews were conducted with three midwives, one from each hospital and a Gynecologist at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. The findings of the study revealed that antenatal lessons were the most used sources of health information, and the least were newspapers and popular magazines. The information needs of pregnant women include a healthy baby and medication among others. The most highly rated need was having a healthy baby and the least was an on-sex relationship. The study recommends that the management of the hospitals set aside an office to be manned by a midwife at the entrance of every antenatal clinic where the midwife would be solely in charge of consultation on health information provision. Also, the government must pay more attention to the free maternal health policy to enhance access to quality healthcare

EXPLORING THE USAGE OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY TOOLS AND THEIR BENEFITS IN BASIC SCHOOLS IN GHANA: A CASE OF AGORPKO D.A. JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN THE SOUTH TONGU DISTRICT, GHANA

This paper seeks to identify the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools available for students. It also investigates how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools benefits students’ in learning in a basic school in Ghana. A total of 60 students from Agorkpo D.A. JHS in the South Tongu District were surveyed. A descriptive design was used for the study. A set of questionnaires was used to collect data from the respondents. The entire questionnaires were retrieved and IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22.0 in combination with the Microsoft excel were used to analyse the data. Simple frequency tables were used to present the data. The study discovered that laptop was the most used ICT tool in the school investigated and the benefits students derive from the use of the ICT tools in the school included support for classroom teaching and learning, facilitation of skills learning, helps in contacting other people (building network) and assisted in vocabulary building. The study recommended that government and other stakeholders should support the school with ICT tools in order to promote teaching and learning

Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction of Employees in the Construction Supply Chain in the Ashanti Region of Ghana

Job satisfaction has received immense attention in organizational research. It is proven as one of the key factors that contribute to productivity. The focus of this study was to examine factors affecting job satisfaction of employees in the local building construction industry in Ghana. Quantitative survey based research approach was used in the study. One hundred and fifty eight (158) employees working in selected construction organisations in the Ashanti Region of Ghana were involved in the study. Primary data was collected through questionnaire instrument and analysed using descriptive statistical tool with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0. The findings indicated that non-wage based factors such as recognition, task itself, work environment, supervision and job security appeared to influence job satisfaction than wage paid to the employees in the construction sector. Managers in construction supply chain should make policies and incorporate factors that allow employees to achieve their high-order individual goals in job design to secure employee’s loyalty and improve productivity. Keywords: Construction Supply Chain, Job Satisfaction, Employees, Building Industry, Ghan

The Belief in and Veneration of Ancestors in Akan Traditional Thought: Finding Values for Human Well-being

Traditional Africans' belief in and veneration of ancestors is an almost ubiquitous, long-held and widely known, for it is deeply entrenched in the African metaphysical worldview itself. This belief in and veneration of ancestors is characterised by strong moral undertone. This moral undertone involves an implicit indication that individual members of communities must live exemplary lives in accordance with the ethos of the community. Living according to the ethos is among the conditions for attaining the prestige of being elevated to an ancestor after one's death. The aim of this paper is to gain an understanding of the metaphysical and moral demands connected to ancestor veneration. With this understanding, the paper suggests values that can promote a better way for humans to coexist, and indicates a moral sense of the responsibility people should hold towards each other. The paper's focal aim is to expose what it considers to be the moral undertones or features associated with a belief in and veneration of ancestors, mainly from traditional Akan perspectives. The paper also considers how principles and values of Akan communitarianism can be espoused to promote human well-being. It is the position of the paper that the metaphysical and, especially, the moral underpinning of ancestor veneration in the traditional Akan society, can provide values that can serve as catalysts for the furtherance of human well-being

Prevalence of asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia following mass testing and treatment in Pakro sub-district of Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Global efforts to scale-up malaria control interventions are gaining steam. These include the use of Long-Lasting Insecticide Nets, Indoor Residual Spraying, Intermittent Preventive Treatment and Test, Treat and Track. Despite these, the drive for malaria elimination is far from being realistic in endemic communities in Africa. This is partly due to the fact that asymptomatic parasite carriage, not specifically targeted by most interventions, remains the bedrock that fuels transmission. This has led to mass testing, treatment and tracking (MTTT) as an alternative strategy to target asymptomatic individuals. We report the impact of MTTT on the prevalence of asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia over a one-year period in Ghana, hypothesizing that implementing MTTT could reduce the rate of asymptomatic parasitaemia. METHODS: A population of about 5000 individuals in seven communities in the Pakro sub-district of Ghana participated in this study. A register was developed for each community following a census. MTTT engaged trained community-based health volunteers who conducted house-to-house testing using RDTs every 4 months and treated positive cases with Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy. Between interventions, community-based management of malaria was implemented for symptomatic cases. RESULTS: MTTT Coverage was 98.8% in July 2017 and 79.3% in July 2018. Of those tested, asymptomatic infection with malaria parasites reduced from 36.3% (1795/4941) in July 2017 to 32.9% (1303/3966) in July 2018 (p = 0.001). Prevalence of asymptomatic parasitaemia among children under 15 years declined from 52.6% (1043/1984) in July 2017 to 47.5% (820/1728) in July 2018 (p = 0.002). Implementing MTTT significantly reduced asymptomatic parasitaemia by 24% from July 2017 to July 2018 after adjusting for age, ITN use and axillary temperature (OR = 0.76, CI = 0.67, 0.85 p ≤ 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study has demonstrated that implementing MTTT is feasible and could reduce the prevalence of asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia in children under 15 years of age. Furthermore, the use of community-based health volunteers could ensure high coverage at lower cost of implementation

The Prevalence and Risk Factors of Hepatitis B Virus Infection Among Dwellers in A Peri-Urban District of Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Study

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a significant health issue affecting about 296 million people worldwide. The disease is of great public health concern in Ghana as the country is within the endemic region of HBV infection. This study sought to determine the prevalence of HBV infection and associated risk factors among dwellers in a peri-urban district of Ghana. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the Sunyani West District of the Bono Region of Ghana. Respondents aged ≥18 years were purposively recruited from the four major towns in the District with health centres. A questionnaire was used to collect data from participants, and a rapid diagnostic test for the sero-presence or otherwise of hepatitis B infection was conducted. A total of 992 respondents took part in the study, with the prevalence of HBV infection using HBsAg as a marker among all the study participants being 2.9% (male 4.0% (12/298), female 2.5% (17/694)). Females aged between 20-29 years had a comparatively higher prevalence of hepatitis B infection than their corresponding males. The intake of alcohol (RR=4.23; 95% CI:2.05-8.74, p <0.000), previously diagnosed of having a sexually transmitted disease (RR= 2.43; 95% CI: 1.03-5.71, p = .04) and having multiple sexual partners (RR= 2.27; 95% CI: 1.11-4.65, p = .02) were the significant risk factors for HBV infection among the study participants. The study showed a low prevalence of HBV infection in the Sunyani West District of Ghana using HBsAg as a serum marker to diagnose the infection. Keywords: Hepatitis, prevalence, risk factors, Sunyani Wes

Who sleeps under bednets in Ghana? A doer/non-doer analysis of malaria prevention behaviours

BACKGROUND: Malaria prevention programmes should be based in part on knowledge of why some individuals use bednets while others do not. This paper identifies factors and characteristics of women that affect bednet use among their children less than five years of age in Ghana. METHODS: Data come from the baseline component of an evaluation of Freedom from Hunger's malaria curriculum. A quasi-experimental design was used to select clients (n = 516) of Credit with Education (an integrated package of microfinance and health education) and non-clients (n = 535). Chi-squares, Fisher's Exact tests and logistic regression were used to compare the characteristics of mothers whose children use bednets (doers) with those whose children do not (non-doers) and to identify factors associated with bednet use among children less than five years of age. RESULTS: The following factors were most closely associated with bednet use: region of residence; greater food security; and caregivers' beliefs about symptoms, causation and groups most vulnerable to malaria. Most respondents knew mosquitoes caused malaria; however, 20.6% of doers and 12.3% of non-doers (p = .0228) thought overworking oneself caused malaria. Ninety percent of doers and 77.0% of non-doers felt that sleeping under a net was protective against malaria (p = .0040). In addition, 16.5% of doers and 7.5% of non-doers (p = .0025) identified adult males as most vulnerable to malaria. CONCLUSION: Greater knowledge about malaria does not always translate into improved bednet use. Though culturally-based ideas about malaria may vary between communities, integrating them into traditional health education messages may enhance the effectiveness of public health efforts

EXPLORING THE USAGE OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY TOOLS AND THEIR BENEFITS IN BASIC SCHOOLS IN GHANA: A CASE OF AGORPKO D.A. JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN THE SOUTH TONGU DISTRICT, GHANA

This paper seeks to identify the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools available for students. It also investigates how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools benefits students’ in learning in a basic school in Ghana. A total of 60 students from Agorkpo D.A. JHS in the South Tongu District were surveyed. A descriptive design was used for the study. A set of questionnaires was used to collect data from the respondents. The entire questionnaires were retrieved and IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22.0 in combination with the Microsoft excel were used to analyse the data. Simple frequency tables were used to present the data. The study discovered that laptop was the most used ICT tool in the school investigated and the benefits students derive from the use of the ICT tools in the school included support for classroom teaching and learning, facilitation of skills learning, helps in contacting other people (building network) and assisted in vocabulary building. The study recommended that government and other stakeholders should support the school with ICT tools in order to promote teaching and learning