Ghanaian Communities Research Articles

INVESTIGATING THE GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES OF A LATERITIC SOIL AS A SUB-GRADE MATERIAL FOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION –USING COCONUT HUSK ASH

Waste management world-wide plays a major role in socio-economic development over the years. The increase in population over the years has contributed to the rate at which wastes are generated. One major waste generated in Ghana is coconut shell waste. Out of the world producing of coconut, Ghana is ranked 16 th . The management of these agricultural waste has become a vital challenge to the development to the Ghanaian economy and communities within which these wastes materials are generated. To eliminate the issues related to solid waste management, one advantage is to explore for various ways of utilizing these waste materials. In view of this, lateritic soil was collected from Heaven Nkwanta in the Western region of Ghana. The soil sample was treated with burnt coconut husk ash (CHA) collected from the local coconut sellers from Tarkwa Nsuem Municipality. The lateritic soil was stabilized using 0 %, 2 %, 4 %, 6 %, 8 %, 10 % and 12 % of burnt coconut husk ash. The various test performed include Atterberg limit, Compaction and California Bearing Ratio in accordance with BS: 1377 and AASHTO – M145. The liquid limit was reduced from 47.9 % to 46.0 %, plastic limit was increased from 31.02 % to 34.80 % and plasticity index was also reduced from 16.88% to 11.12 % at 12 % addition of the coconut husk ash (CHA). The maximum dry densities (MDD) ranges between 2.09 % to 2.11 % and optimum moisture content (OMC) ranges from 14.00 % to 14.20 % at 6 % addition of coconut husk ash. The California Bearing Ratio (CBR, soaked) ranges from 64 % to 76 % at 12 % addition of the coconut husk ash (CHA). From the results obtained, coconut husk ash plays an effective role in improving the geotechnical properties of lateritic soils with low California Bearing Ratio (CBR). In conclusion coconut husk ash in this studies is an effective stabilizer for soils with low California Bearing Ratio (CBR).

Development of a HPTLC method to profile the phytochemicals in Allanblackia parviflora (tallow tree) kernel and seed cakes

HPTLC is a useful and practical analytical tool to characterize plant compositions. This study was focused on exploring the results of high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) analysis, particularly as a useful tool for the authentication of Allanblackia parviflora seed and kernel cakes. Bulked samples from sixteen different Ghanaian communities were analysed by HPTLC and their fingerprints were compared. The optimum experimental conditions were established: sample weight of 2.0 g, methanol:water (80:20 v/v) as extraction solvent, 30 min extraction time and twice extraction, ethyl acetate:methanol:water (100:16.5:13.5 v/v) as mobile phase, vanillic acid as derivatisation agent and 7 min of plate heating time after derivatisation. The HPTLC profile generated from extracts across 16 communities and 157 trees was very reproducible and demonstrates the robustness of the technique in characterising the profile.

From fish to cash: Analyzing the role of women in fisheries in the western region of Ghana

Though many publications on women in fisheries in coastal areas are available on a global scale, still little information pertaining to women fisheries in Ghanaian coastal communities exist. This paper is therefore based on the premise that women's roles and contributions to the fishing industry in Ghana are under-recognized, poorly documented and under-acknowledged in management discussions. This study is intended to bring to bear the diverse contributions that women make in Ghanaian fisheries - as womens' needs and interests are often overlooked in interventions and policies. This non-inclusion could lead to policies and interventions missing their target of creating sustainable livelihoods based on marine resources. The objective of this study therefore is to fill an important gap in fisheries management information, critical for decision-making processes geared towards more sustainable ocean-based livelihoods. The primary objective of this paper is to analyse the role of women in fisheries livelihood within the context of their scale of operations and fish distribution networks. Interviews were conducted in two fishing communities in the western region of Ghana to assess the constraints that impede women's development within the fisheries sector, analysing their dependency on the fisheries resource as a livelihood and some interventions proposed for the improvement of their livelihood is discussed.

Saving for one another: the informal economy of subsistence among the urban poor in Ghana

Urban space is monetized. Survival in urban areas is therefore largely dependent on the dictates of methodological individualism, capitalist norms and values, which are invariably linked to rent-seeking and instrumentalism in most urban transactions. The urban poor in Ghana, who are mostly informal sector workers, face enormous challenges in transacting with banks and other financial institutions. This challenge, however, does not prevent them from participating in the money market. They devise strategies of savings and acquiring loans largely on interest-free basis. They also invest in informal activities to financially secure themselves and their future. This paper discusses the mechanisms that regulate the institutionalization of informal savings and investments in urban poor communities in Accra and Winneba in Ghana. It is based on a qualitative research conducted between 2014 and 2016 with 133 participants in four Ghanaian communities using purposive sampling technique. The study employs the concept of equality matching to discuss urban financial common strategies. The paper attempts to debunk the hegemony of the capitalist profit perspective in urban transactions, emphasizing that the urban poor in Ghana mobilize their finances through established social relations with largely no profit-making in mind.

Spirituality and subjective well-being among Ghanaian older adults: optimism and meaning in life as mediators

Objective This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between spirituality and subjective well-being (positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction), and whether this relationship is mediated by optimism and meaning in life. Method Participants were 235 older adults (≥60 years) conveniently sampled from Ghanaian communities. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the direct and indirect relationships. Sobel test was also used to test specific mediating effects of optimism and meaning in life. Results Spirituality was positively related with positive affect and life satisfaction, but negatively related with negative affect. The SEM results revealed that the relationship between spirituality and subjective well-being was indirect. Sobel test showed that the mediating effect of optimism was only statistically significant for negative affect but not positive affect and life satisfaction. In contrast, the mediating effect of meaning in life was statistically significant for the three components of subjective well-being. Conclusion The study has demonstrated that spirituality indirectly influences subjective well-being through optimism and meaning in life. It also showed the relative importance of meaning in life over optimism as a mediator. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings have been discussed.

Facilitators and barriers to making healthy lifestyle choices: a qualitative exploration in a UK-based Ghanaian population

BackgroundBlack and minority ethnic (BAME) communities in the UK are at increased risk of several lifestyle-related health conditions such as hypotension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. However, engaging people from certain ethnic groups in health care and health promotion activities can be challenging. Cultural clashes in health perceptions might act as barriers to following these messages among specific ethnic groups. We aimed to explore perceptions and practices relating to healthy lifestyle amongst Ghanaian communities, one of the largest BAME populations, in the UK. MethodsIn this qualitative study, consenting male and female Ghanaian participants were recruited through church community groups and took part in one of three large focus groups as part of ongoing research. Participants were eligible if they were at least 18 years of age and able to speak fluent English. Ethical approval was received from St Mary's University Research Ethics Committee. A semi-structured interview schedule was used in the audio-recorded focus groups and explored perceptions of healthy eating, healthy weight, and engagement with health care. The focus groups were transcribed verbatim and analysed manually using Framework Analysis as described by Ritchie and Spenser, in order to identify key and subthemes. FindingsThree overarching themes emerged from the data, including cultural eating practices and acculturation, interpretation of national guidelines as “foreign and inapplicable”, and effect of perceived stereotyping and prejudice. Subthemes included disproportionate intake of certain food groups, taste over healthiness of food, unachievability and undesirability of a healthy BMI, and distrust of the health-care system. InterpretationSeveral barriers to engagement in health care and in following a healthy lifestyle were identified in this cultural group. Results suggest the need for a change in approach to engage Ghanaian communities their own healthcare. Findings supported a need for specific, tailored, accessible and non-judgemental delivery of health messages to BAME groups and adds insight on how these barriers can be broken down. However, a small sample size was achieved, and generalisability of findings to other populations is limited. Further research exploring perceptions of different UK-based BAME groups is warranted. FundingNone.

Community perceptions on the role of sexual activity on stroke: a qualitative study exploring the views of Ghanaian local community residents

BackgroundStroke is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Ghana and sometimes comes with multifaceted complications including sexual dysfunction. While evidence is clear that living with stroke can result in sexual dysfunction, there are contradictory views regarding the causal association between sexual activity and stroke. This study explores perceptions of Ghanaian local communities on the role of sexual activity on stroke causation.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional qualitative study. Thirty (30) focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted in five communities across Ghana (Ga Mashie, Tafo, Gyegyeano, Chanshegu and Agorve) between October and November 2017. Data were analysed through a thematic approach.ResultsParticipants generally believed that sexual activity can cause a stroke. They mentioned that the dynamics through which sex can trigger a stroke include sex positions (i.e. having sex while standing and on the floor), high frequency of sex, having sex when older and engaging in indiscriminate sex.ConclusionThis study shows the need to pay critical attention to these community perceptions when developing intervention strategies for stroke in Ghana. This study also highlights that discussion about sexual activity in Ghana is more complex than the current health education programme allows, and so demands a ‘comprehensive sex education approach’ rather than a ‘disease-centered approach’.

How ready are communities to implement actions to improve diets of adolescent girls and women in urban Ghana?

BackgroundGhana has reached an advanced stage of nutrition transition, contributing to an increase in nutrition-related non-communicable diseases, particularly amongst urban women. Community involvement is an important factor in the success of efforts to promote healthy eating. The readiness of populations to accept a range of interventions needs to be understood before appropriate interventions can be implemented. Therefore, this study assessed how ready urban communities are to improve diets of women of reproductive age in Ghana.MethodsUsing the Community Readiness Model (CRM), in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 key informants from various sectors in low income communities across two cities in Ghana: Accra and Ho. The CRM consists of 36 open questions addressing five readiness dimensions (community knowledge of efforts, leadership, community climate, knowledge of the issue and resources). Interviews were scored using the CRM protocol with a maximum of 9 points per dimension (from 1 = no awareness to 9 = high level of community ownership). Thematic analysis was undertaken to gain insights of community factors that could affect the implementation of interventions to improve diets.ResultsThe mean community readiness scores indicated that both communities were in the “vague awareness stage” (3.35 ± 0.54 (Accra) and 3.94 ± 0.41 (Ho)). CRM scores across the five dimensions ranged from 2.65–4.38/9, ranging from denial/resistance to pre-planning. In both communities, the mean readiness score for ‘knowledge of the issue’ was the highest of all dimensions (4.10 ± 1.61 (Accra); 4.38 ± 1.81 (Ho)), but was still only at the pre-planning phase. The lowest scores were found for community knowledge of efforts (denial/resistance; 2.65 ± 2.49 (Accra)) and resources (vague awareness; 3.35 ± 1.03 (Ho)). The lack of knowledge of the consequences of unhealthy diets, misconceptions of the issue partly from low education, as well as challenges faced from a lack of resources to initiate/sustain programmes explained the low readiness.ConclusionsDespite recognising that unhealthy diets are a public health issue in these urban Ghanaian communities, it is not seen as a priority. The low community readiness ratings highlight the need to increase awareness of the issue prior to intervening to improve diets.

Rodent-borne infections in rural Ghanaian farming communities.

Rodents serve as reservoirs and/or vectors for several human infections of high morbidity and mortality in the tropics. Population growth and demographic shifts over the years have increased contact with these mammals, thereby increasing opportunities for disease transmission. In Africa, the burden of rodent-borne diseases is not well described. To investigate human seroprevalence of selected rodent-borne pathogens, sera from 657 healthy adults in ten rural communities in Ghana were analyzed. An in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), for immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to Lassa virus was positive in 34 (5%) of the human samples. Using commercial kits, antibodies to hantavirus serotypes, Puumala and Dobrava, and Leptospira bacteria were detected in 11%, 12% and 21% of the human samples, respectively. Forty percent of residents in rural farming communities in Ghana have measurable antibodies to at least one of the rodent-borne pathogens tested, including antibodies to viral hemorrhagic fever viruses. The high seroprevalence found in rural Ghana to rodent-borne pathogens associated with both sporadic cases and larger disease outbreaks will help define disease threats and inform public health policy to reduce disease burden in underserved populations and deter larger outbreaks.

Contextualizing Schistosoma haematobium transmission in Ghana: Assessment of diagnostic techniques and individual and community water-related risk factors

ObjectivesThe study assessed associations between Schistosoma haematobium infection (presence of parasite eggs in urine or hematuria) and self-reported metrics (macrohematuria, fetching surface water, or swimming) to evaluate their performance as proxies of infection in presence of regular preventive chemotherapy. It also examined community water characteristics (safe water access, surface water access, and groundwater quality) to provide context for schistosomiasis transmission in different types of communities and propose interventions. MethodsLogistic regression was used to assess the associations between the various measured and self-reported metrics in a sample of 897 primary school children in 30 rural Ghanaian communities. Logistic regression was also used to assess associations between community water characteristics, self-reported water-related behaviors and S. haematobium infection. Communities were subsequently categorized as candidates for three types of interventions: provision of additional safe water sources, provision of groundwater treatment, and health education about water-related disease risk, depending on their water profile. ResultsMicrohematuria presence measured with a reagent strip was a good proxy of eggs in urine at individual (Kendall’s τb = 0.88, p < 0.001) and at school-aggregated (Spearman’s rs = 0.96, p < 0.001) levels. Self-reported macrohematuria and swimming were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with egg presence, but self-reported fetching was not. Of the community water characteristics, greater surface water access and presence of groundwater quality problems were significantly associated with increased likelihood of fetching, swimming, and S. haematobium infection. Access to improved water sources did not exhibit an association with any of these outcomes. ConclusionsThe study illustrates that in presence of regular school-based treatment with praziquantel, microhematuria assessed via reagent strips remains an adequate proxy for S. haematobium infection in primary schoolchildren. Community water profiles, in combination with self-reported water-related behaviors, can help elucidate reasons for some endemic communities continuing to experience ongoing transmission and tailor interventions to these local contexts to achieve sustainable control.

Health and Safety Improvement Amongst Ghanaian Communities as A Corporate Social Responsibility of Construction Companies

Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to juxtapose construction site hazards with hazards present in typical Ghanaian communities to engender some safety knowledge transfer from construction companies to project host communities as a corporate social responsibility to the construction companies. Design/Methodology/Approach–Fifty-one volunteers who are health and safety professionals in Ghana part took in the survey to determine the common health and safety hazards present in most Ghanaian communities. The identified hazards were compared to typical construction site health and safety hazards identified from the literature. The survey also sought to establish the general health and safety awareness levels among Ghanaian communities. Findings – Findings of the study reveal that H&S awareness in the Ghanaian community is poor, and therefore needs improvement. It also identified 26 construction hazards that are also common in the Ghanaian communities and established that H&S knowledge in the Ghanaian construction industry is more advanced than that of the Ghanaian community. The findings further reveal that the respondent’s perception of poor health and safety in the Ghanaian community was influence by their job positions in the communities. Originality/Value–The poor state of H&S knowledge among Ghanaian communities has been recognized by various researchers, but this study is the first attempt to compare this state with the construction industry and to present a wide-ranging lesson to be learnt from health and safety improvement in the construction industry.

Evidence of Care of the Aged in Ghanaian Communities—A Scoping Review

Sub-Saharan Africa population is increasing in age with little acknowledgement on the consequences of the issues of ageing. Aim: To explore and describe evidence in published literature on care given to the aged at home and how they prepare for their ageing. Method: The study applied the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) framework for systematic literature reviews using the population, intervention, comparison and outcome (PICO) method to track the eligibility of research questions. This method was the most appropriate for use in exploring the current position in available literature for that of Ghana. The research was performed using five electronic databases from January to July 2017 taking into consideration the set inclusion and exclusion criteria. Only studies written in English were considered and a total of 18 articles met the study criteria. Reviewers extracted primary studies comprising quantitative, qualitative and critical reviews. Result: The literature review showed shortcomings in care for the aged at home. From the search, six core themes were generated: neglect of aged care; aged care for the younger generation; aged living arrangements; government neglect; preparedness; and care of the aged in Ghana. Conclusion: This review offered significant insight into care for the aged in their homes. The inclusive nature of the rigorous approach used provided a good understanding of underlying issues on the needs of the aged. Challenges for future are broadened in scope for more research and effective awareness for interventional projects, services on care given to the aged.

Avoided Family Care, Diverted Intimacy: How People Living with HIV/AIDS Find New Kinship in Two Ghanaian Hospitals

This article aims at nuancing the discussion of processes of globalization and change through ethnographic research on caregiving in Ghana. It points at a cautious but remarkable shift from traditional family care to care outside the family setting and raises the question how this shift is linked to external and internal processes of change. The presentation of an extended case of avoiding family care by people living with HIV/AIDS serves to suggest a more complex interpretation of social change than is implied in the concept of globalization. The stigma attached to HIV/AIDS in Ghana induces infected people to hide their condition from their families and seek help from professionals and fellow sufferers. We describe this process through the examples of two Ghanaian communities and two hospitals where two of the coauthors conducted anthropological fieldwork. In hospitals, people living with HIV/AIDS find new (quasi) relatives, to whom they divulge their secret and with whom they freely discuss their problems; these new relatives are other people living with HIV/AIDS, volunteers, and health workers. Strangers thus become safer and more trusted caregivers than family members. We describe in detail how this development precludes the practice of family care.

Understanding climate resilience in Ghanaian cocoa communities – Advancing a biocultural perspective

This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing conceptual development and practical pursuit of resilience, the ability to absorb and respond to shocks, in an agricultural and climate change context. It builds on work that aims to dissolve the nature-society dualism and naturalisation of power relations inherent in systems thinking by developing and extending a framework originally conceived to integrate research on biological and cultural diversity. The resultant ‘biocultural’ framework examines livelihood practices, institutions, knowledge and beliefs and is applied to a case study of cocoa communities in Ghana's Central Region. Drawing on data collected over three years spanning an El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) related drought event, the analysis demonstrates the utility of an expanded conception of resilience that links livelihood practices, which define the impact and response to droughts, with the constituent knowledge, institutions and beliefs that shape those practices. The study focuses on two key factors that underpin cocoa farmers' resilience to climate shocks: access to wetlands and access to credit. We argue that particular characteristics of livelihood practices, knowledge, belief and institutions, and their interactions, can be both resilience enhancing and undermining, when viewed at different spatial, temporal and social scales. Although such contradictions present challenges to policy-makers engaging with climate resilience, the analysis provides a clearer diagnoses of key challenges to the resilience of agricultural systems and insights into where policy interventions might be most effective.

Mini-grid electricity service based on local agricultural residues: Feasibility study in rural Ghana

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are emphatic on the role of energy for development, with a target to ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services to about 1.3 billion people without electricity access, and to increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. For remote rural communities in developing countries, where grid extension is often expensive, decentralized biomass mini-grids can be a reliable electricity supply solution. This study investigated the technical and financial feasibility of decentralized electrification based on agricultural waste gasification in five Ghanaian communities. Results show that the projected electricity demand of the communities compares favorably with the potential energy generation from available agricultural residues, a situation that we envisage in many rural communities where agriculture is a predominant livelihood activity. As with most biomass electricity analysis, it is not profitable from the perspective of an entrepreneur with 100% private funding; however, by applying a customer tariff equal to the current expenditure on electricity equivalent uses in the communities, a subsidy of about 35% on initial investment would enable a private entrepreneur an internal rate of return of 15%, whereas a 60% subsidy could enable internal rate of return of 25%.

A Storytelling Approach: Insights from the Shambaa

Narrative medicine explores the stories that patients tell; this paper, conversely, looks at some of the stories that patients are told. The paper starts by examining the 'story' told by the Shambaa people of Tanzania to explain the bubonic plague and contrasts this with the stories told by Ghanaian communities to explain lymphatic filariasis. By harnessing insights from memory studies, these stories' memorability is claimed to be due to their use mnemonic devices woven into stories. The paper suggests that stories can be unpatronising, informative, and appropriate vehicles for communicating medical information to all age groups across all cultures.

Taboos as informal institutions of local resource management in Ghana: Why they are complied with or not

The usefulness of taboos as a distinct type of informal institutions for effective and efficient natural resource management is threatened by their erosion as local communities transform. Some resource management taboos have lost their influence on practice in contemporary local communities. Nevertheless, others have survived societal transformation and continue to influence practice. Based on qualitative study of forest and wildlife taboos, farmland taboos, and water taboos in three Ghanaian communities employing the concept of institutional compliance, the paper explores explanations. The findings indicate that due to the adoption of Christianity and other aspects of modernity such as formal education and exposure to foreign culture through modern media, taboos that rely on myths only to achieve compliance have lost their influence on resource use practice in contemporary local communities. To retain their influence on resource use practice in contemporary local communities, resource management taboos need to have instrumental relevance in addition to their mythical relevance.

The contest for mineral wealth: an economic analysis of conflicts in Ghanaian mining communities

The paper uses survey data from 1458 households in 60 communities from 24 districts in 5 regions of Ghana and logistic regression to examine conflicts as a contest for mineral wealth in mining communities, estimates the determinants of conflicts in these mining communities and examines how these contests could erode and/or enhance Ghana’s gains from mining. The paper finds that the likelihood of a conflict occurring in a mining area is about 56.7%. Village effect was found to be a significant positive predictor of mining conflict. Also, improvement in primary education, employment opportunities to community members of ages 25–50, the strength of institutions and the absence of small-scale miners in a mining community reduces the probability of conflicts occurring by 12.8, 35.8, 6.57 and 17.7%, respectively. While an increase in pollution levels increases the likelihood of conflicts occurring by 7.1%, primary occupation in manufacturing and services, and increase in household monthly expenditure significantly increases the likelihood of conflicts within the mining communities as the cost of living increases.

Physicochemical parameters affecting the perception of borehole water quality in Ghana.

Rural Ghanaian communities continue using microbiologically contaminated surface water sources due in part to undesirable organoleptic characteristics of groundwater from boreholes. Our objective was to identify thresholds of physical and chemical parameters associated with consumer complaints related to groundwater. Water samples from 94 boreholes in the dry season and 68 boreholes in the rainy season were analyzed for 18 parameters. Interviews of consumers were conducted at each borehole regarding five commonly expressed water quality problems (salty taste, presence of particles, unfavorable scent, oily sheen formation on the water surface, and staining of starchy foods during cooking). Threshold levels of water quality parameters predictive of complaints were determined using the Youden index maximizing the sum of sensitivity and specificity. The probability of complaints at various parameter concentrations was estimated using logistic regression. Exceedances of WHO guidelines were detected for pH, turbidity, chloride, iron, and manganese. Concentrations of total dissolved solids (TDS) above 172mg/L were associated with salty taste complaints. Although the WHO guideline is 1000mg/L, even at half the guideline, the likelihood of salty taste complaint was 75%. Iron concentrations above 0.11, 0.14 and 0.43mg/L (WHO guideline value 0.3mg/L) were associated with complaints of unfavorable scent, oily sheen, and food staining, respectively. Iron and TDS concentrations exhibited strong spatial clustering associated with specific geological formations. Improved groundwater sources in rural African communities that technically meet WHO water quality guidelines may be underutilized in preference of unimproved sources for drinking and domestic uses, compromising human health and sustainability of improved water infrastructure.

EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES, THE STATE AND HOST COMMUNITIES: A STUDY OF GOLD MINING INDUSTRY IN GHANA. Book by: Agbesinyale, P., Tenkorang, E. Y., Dankwah, M (2012)

The reader cannot fail to acknowledge that a book of this content and caliber was long overdue. The authors touch upon a delicate topic which is of vital importance and they go about that task with striking devotion, appropriate methodology and a befitting discourse. They set the tone by acknowledging the tremendous contribution of some institutions and individuals that contributed to make their work possible and less cumbersome to some extent and that is spread on the pages from the ‘Acknowledgement to the Table of Contents’. The following institutions are mentioned, to be more specific: Oxfam America and its West Africa Regional Office (WARO), the Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire (IFAN), Ghanaian communities and key individuals and also organizations located in Ghana, like WACAM and ISODEC. The preface of the book poses clearly that West Africa and the mining activity have been bed-fellows for centuries and adds that a new dimension was added to that practice in the 1990s, when ‘a gold rush on an industrial scale began’(p.3). The first pages of the work also point out that gold mining is present in two other countries close to Ghana (Mali and Burkina Faso), although the focus of the book is the case of Ghana.