Mother Tongue Usage in Ghanaian Pre-Schools: Perceptions of Parents and Teachers

The present study investigated the perceptions of parents and teachers on the use of the mother tongue and their preferred medium of communication and instruction for preschool children at home and in school. The sample was made up of a cross-section of parents and teachers (N=120, Female=80% for teachers and 55% for parents) of children (between ages 2 and 5) in a suburb of the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. A structured questionnaire was administered to the respondents to elicit information on their perceptions on the use of mother tongue in communicating with the children. The results indicated that both parents and teachers appreciate the importance of the mother tongue, with reasons including the promoting of cultural identity, the easy understanding of concepts and for effective communication. An appreciable number of teachers and parents also support the use of mother tongue as the language of instruction in school alongside English language. The two main arguments against the use of the mother tongue in schools are (1) the importance of English language for future learning and status growth and (2) the paucity of teaching and learning materials in the local languages. Parents support the use of mother tongue at home because it enhances children’s connection to their family, relatives, culture, history and identity. Recommendations made, include the provision of instructional materials and trained teachers in local language usage. Keywords: Mother tongue education, Medium of instruction, Ghana

What Works for Parents: How Parents Support Their Children with Math Homework in Rural Ghana

Family and Consumer Sciences programs target families in deprived rural and urban communities with the objective of equipping them with skills to improve family well-being, education, and relationships. In recent years, the focus of FCS in Ghana has been on parental styles and education that foster parents’ involvement in their children\u27s school work. Using a child-parent interactive model, a series of math activities were delivered to children between the ages of 6 and 10 years. Group activities were also facilitated by the FCS staff. Parents used local materials, such as small empty cans, bottles, leaves, stones, sticks, old newspapers, and sand, to explain math concepts. Staff, parents, and children used fun activities and role plays to demonstrate developmental processes that enhance effective child development. The lessons identified were tied to the understanding of appropriate parenting styles that foster acquisition of skills for basic math concepts. Parents reported increased interest and confidence in math and were more proactive in supervising their children to complete their homework. The importance of the model lies in its simplicity in conveying fundamental knowledge that relates to the interwoven aspect of developmental domains to ensure children experience maximal success with math-related activities

Double Jeopardy: HIV-Positive Wives Caring for Their HIV-Positive Spouses in Accra

Given improved medical treatment, AIDS seems no longer like a death sentence in many countries. AIDS patients live longer and are expected to be given the necessary care and support. This study explored the experiences of HIV-positive wives caring for their husbands living with AIDS. Using a qualitative method, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with women living with HIV/AIDS selected from the Fever Unit at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.  The study revealed that although participants demonstrated their willingness to give quality care, care experiences were closely linked to available resources. In other words, care was perceived by all participants as being synonymous with availability of family resources.  Insufficient resources (especially in terms of energy and financial resources) hindered the quality of care provided to HIV positive husbands. The challenge of insufficient financial, time, energy and other resources placed a lot of physical, health, economic and emotional burdens on participants and this affected their capacity to engage fully in daily activities. In conclusion, experiences of wives caring for their husband with AIDS influenced care practices in the home. Insufficient resources (especially in terms of energy and financial resources) hindered the quality of care HIV positive wives provided to HIV positive husbands. It resulted in a compromise of adequate and quality care not only to the sick husband but to the children as well. In the light of these findings, it was recommended that there should be sensitization or education on effective Family Resource Management; stigmatization and fear of HIV/AIDS by the Family and Consumer Sciences Outreach Program, HIV/AIDS advocates, Ghana Health, Ghana AIDS Commission and other relevant stakeholders Further research could also be conducted using a larger sample size to gain insight into the challenges of HIV positive wives when caring for their HIV positive husbands. Keywords: HIV, Wives, Husbands, Care

Where Children Live and Have their Wellbeing; A Study of Housing Conditions and Health in Accra-Ghana.

The study investigates the links between housing conditions and reported health conditions of children in Madina, a suburb of the Greater Accra region of Ghana. The study used purposive sampling and snowballing sampling techniques to sample residents who were parents and guardians (N = 90; 79% = female; age 18 < 50; with children <15 years). Research questions explored include the resident’s perceptions and classification of the housing conditions, their perceptions of the aspects of their housing which affects the health of their children and the children’s health conditions commonly reported to health institutions. Housing conditions were measured with an observation checklist assessing: overcrowding, ventilation, structural problems, and sanitation among others. Health conditions were measured by the reporting of symptoms. Pearson’s correlations, and chi-square tests were used to analyze the relationship between health and housing conditions. The results indicated that majority of respondents (83%) perceived their household conditions as poor. Among others, respondents mentioned poor ventilation, leaking roofs, and poor sanitary conditions as some of the problems they face. About 79% of sampled households reported the occurrence of at least one existing health condition in their children, which they attributed to their housing conditions. These findings highlight the need for housing policies to improve housing conditions in Ghanaian suburbs to strengthen the health and wellbeing among among the residents and especially children. Keywords: Housing Conditions; Health Problems; Urban Areas; Accra Ghana

Prevalence and predictors of mother and newborn skin-to-skin contact at birth in Papua New Guinea

Objective: This study examined the prevalence and predictors of maternal and newborn skin-to-skin contact at birth in Papua New Guinea. Design: Data for the study was extracted from the 2016–18 Papua New Guinea Demographic and Health Survey. We included 6,044 women with birth history before the survey in the analysis. Percentages were used to summarise the prevalence of maternal and newborn skin-to-skin contact. A multivariable multilevel binary logistic regression was adopted to examine the predictors of maternal and newborn skin-to-skin contact. The results were presented using adjusted ORs (aORs), with their respective 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Setting: The study was conducted in Papua New Guinea. Participant: Mothers with children under 5 years. Outcome measures: Mother and newborn skin-to-skin contact. Results: The prevalence of mother and newborn skin-to-skin contact was 45.2% (95% CI=42.4 to 48.0). The odds of mother and newborn skin-to-skin contact was higher among women with primary education (aOR=1.38; 95% CI=1.03 to 1.83), women with four or more antenatal care attendance (aOR=1.27; 95% CI=1.01 to 1.61), those who delivered at the health facility (aOR=1.27; 95% CI=1.01 to 1.61), and women from communities with high socioeconomic status (aOR=1.45; 95% CI=1.11 to 1.90). Conclusion: The study has demonstrated that the prevalence of mother and newborn skin-to-skin contact in Papua New Guinea is low. Factors shown to be associated with mother and newborn skin-to-skin contact were maternal level of education, antenatal care attendance, health facility delivery, and community socioeconomic status. A concerted effort should be placed in improving maternal health service utilisation such as antenatal care attendance and skilled birth delivery, which subsequently lead to the practice of skin-to-skin contact. Also, women should be empowered through education as it has positive impact on their socioeconomic status and health service utilisation

What has women's reproductive health decision-making capacity and other factors got to do with pregnancy termination in sub- Saharan Africa? Evidence from 27 cross-sectional surveys

Introduction: Pregnancy termination is one of the key issues that require urgent attention in achieving the third Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for all at all ages. The reproductive health decision-making (RHDM) capacity of women plays a key role in their reproductive health outcomes, including pregnancy termination. Based on this premise, we examined RHDM capacity and pregnancy termination among women of reproductive age in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Materials and methods: We pooled data from the women's files of the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of 27 countries in SSA, which are part of the DHS programme. The total sample was 240,489 women aged 15 to 49. We calculated the overall prevalence of pregnancy termination in the 27 countries as well as the prevalence in each individual country. We also examined the association between RHDM capacity, socio-demographic characteristics and pregnancy termination. RHDM was generated from two variables: decision-making on sexual intercourse and decision-making on condom use. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted and presented as Crude Odds Ratios (COR) and Adjusted Odds Ratios (AOR) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). Statistical significance was declared p<0.05. Results: The prevalence of pregnancy termination ranged from 7.5% in Benin to 39.5% in Gabon with an average of 16.5%. Women who were capable of taking reproductive health decisions had higher odds of terminating a pregnancy than those who were incapable (AOR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.17-1.24). We also found that women aged 45-49 (AOR = 5.54, 95% CI = 5.11-6.01), women with primary level of education (AOR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.20-1.17), those cohabiting (AOR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.04-1.11), those in the richest wealth quintile (AOR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.02-1.11) and women employed in the services sector (AOR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.27-1.44) were more likely to terminate pregnancies. Relatedly, women who did not intend to use contraceptive (AOR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.39-1.56), those who knew only folkloric contraceptive method (AOR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.18-1.32), women who watched television almost every day (AOR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.20-1.24) and those who listened to radio almost every day (AOR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.04-1.18) had higher odds of terminating a pregnancy. However, women with four or more children had the lowest odds (AOR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.54-0.60) of terminating a pregnancy. Conclusion: We found that women who are capable of taking reproductive health decisions are more likely to terminate pregnancies. Our findings also suggest that age, level of education, contraceptive use and intention, place of residence, and parity are associated with pregnancy termination. Our findings call for the implementation of policies or the strengthening of existing ones to empower women about RHDM capacity. Such empowerment could have a positive impact on their uptake of safe abortions. Achieving this will not only accelerate progress towards the achievement of maternal health-related SDGs but would also immensely reduce the number of women who die as a result of pregnancy termination in SSA

Interview dataset on mothers experiences of preterm infants

The data is part of a study that examined the experiences of and coping resources available to mothers of preterm infants in Accra, Ghana, during the Covid-19 pandemic</h3

Willingness of Rural and Peri-Urban Women Smallholder Farmers to Participate in Home-Grown School Feeding Farming Contracts in Ghana

The Ghanaian government has implemented a Home-Grown School Feeding Program, which mandates that school caterers source food from local producers. The volume of local purchases, however, remains low. This study explores constraints faced by local producers—particularly women—in selling their production to local schools. We present results of an agricultural household survey, which includes questions pertaining to a series of hypothetical school-grower contracts. We find that women state slightly lower willingness to participate in contracts compared to men, something that is partially explained by their differential ability to dictate the management of land and use of household income

Women's autonomy in household decision-making and safer sex negotiation in sub-Saharan Africa: An analysis of data from 27 Demographic and Health Surveys

Women's ability to negotiate the conditions and timing of sex is key to several reproductive health outcomes including family planning and prevention of sexually transmitted infections. We investigated the association between women's autonomy in household decision-making and safer sex negotiation (SSN) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This was a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) of 27 countries in SSA. Data were analyzed using Stata version 16.0 using descriptive statistics, chi square test, and logistic regression models. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05 at 95% confidence interval. The pooled prevalence of SSN in the 27 countries was 77.1%. Compared to women with low autonomy in household decision-making, those with medium (aOR = 1.30; CI = 1.23–1.37) and high levels of autonomy in household decision-making (aOR = 1.28; CI = 1.17–1.40) were more likely to have greater SSN. Those with primary (aOR = 1.35; CI = 1.28–1.41) and secondary/higher education level of education (aOR = 1.68; CI = 1.58–1.79) had higher odds of SSN, compared to those with no formal education. Women who were working had higher odds of SSN (aOR = 1.44; CI = 1.37–1.51) than those who were not working. Women in the middle (aOR = 0.93; CI = 0.87–0.99) and richer (aOR = 0.92; CI = 0.85–0.98) wealth status had lower odds of SSN, compared to those in the poorest wealth status. Women's autonomy in household decision-making is a significant predictor of SSN. Women autonomy in household decision-making programs and interventions should be intensified to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 3.7 and 5 which seek to achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health services and ensure gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030

Mass media exposure and women's household decision-making capacity in 30 sub-Saharan African countries: analysis of demographic and health surveys

Background: Women's household decision-making capacity is an essential component of their empowerment which include decisions related to personal health care, large household purchase and family visitations. Despite research evidence acknowledging mass media’s influences on women’s empowerment, including their ability to take household decisions, empirical data through multi-country comparison on mass media exposure and women’s decision making capacity are sparse. This study sought to assess the association between exposure to mass media (television, radio and newspaper/magazine) and women’s household decision-making capacity in 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Materials and Methods: Data from current Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in 30 countries in SSA from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2016 were used. Binary Logistic Regression analysis was used to assess the association between mass media exposure and women’s household decision-making capacity in SSA. Results were presented using crude odds ratios (COR) and adjusted odds ratios (AOR). Results: Women who watched television almost every day had higher capacity to take household decisions, compared to those who did not watch television at all. Women who read newspaper/magazine less than once a week were less likely to take household decisions compared to those who never read newspaper/magazine. However, there was no association between exposure to radio and household decision-making capacity. Regarding the covariates, age, level of education, wealth index, occupation, and parity showed significant associations with women’s household decision-making capacity. Conclusion: Findings stressed the positive contribution of mass media in enhancing women’s household decision-making capacity in SSA. Viewing television, a model of mass media, is a very powerful conduit to enhance the household decision-making capacity of women. The use of mass media, especially television in communicating the relevance and ways of achieving household decision-making capacity for all women in SSA is paramount and perhaps, in other low and middle-income countries of the world. Interest groups that require greater attention are women with less exposure to television as well as women in their early reproductive age, the poor, women who are not working and rural residents