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Background: Poor communication on sexual issues between adolescents and their parents results in high rates of negative sexual practices such as teenage pregnancy. Contributing factors to this poor communication on sexual issues between adolescents and their parents in a high teenage pregnancy setting have not been adequately explored. We sought to fill this gap by examining the factors that predict communication on sexual issues between adolescents and their parents in the Adaklu district of the Volta region of Ghana., Methods: A baseline cross-sectional household survey of 221 adolescents aged 10-19 years in 30 randomly selected communities was used. A well-structured questionnaire was developed. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to examine factors that significantly influenced communication between adolescents and their parents regarding sex., Results: Only 11.3% of adolescents had discussions on sexual issues with both parents while 27.6% of communicated sexual issues with only one parent in Adaklu district. Adolescent males (AOR = 0.21, CI = 0.06-0.75), those aged 10-14 years (AOR = 0.41, CI = 0.04-0.57), non-members of adolescent health clubs (AOR = 0.46, CI = 0.21-1.00), and those living with only a father (AOR = 0.19, CI = 0.06-0.61) had lower odds of communicating with their parents on sexual issues., Conclusions: Adolescent-parental communication on sexual issues in Adaklu district is very low. This situation requires more empowerment of adolescents to enable them to discuss sexual issues with their parents through increased engagement with adolescent health club activities and capacity building capacity of parents with the right information on sexual and reproductive health by health staff within the district. Additionally, parents need to be equipped with communication skills to enable them to communicate effectively with their children., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: The re-emerging of infectious disease outbreaks is a menace in Ghana. As the acceptance of risk communication rises, health workers are using it to control outbreaks. Yet, research in risk communication and health workers' performance remains unexplored in Ghana., Objective: This study explores how risk communication works among nurses and its effect on their task (behaviors that are delineated based on role requirements and identified by a thorough analysis of the job) and contextual performance (behaviors that do not fall within the employee's assigned duties, but are a very important part of job performance). Thus, we adopted the CAUSE model, which proposes that effective risk communication creates five goals (Confidence, Awareness, Understanding, Satisfaction, and Enactment) amongst communicators., Method: This study involves a quantitative approach complemented with qualitative data. It was conducted in three hospitals in Ghana, from which a sample of 398 nurses were selected., Result: The result depicts that risk communication has a significant and positive effect on task performance (β = .65; P < .001), and contextual performance (β = .55; P < .001)., Conclusion: Our study shows that confidence is the strongest predictor of risk communication in influencing task and contextual performance. Yet, risk communication overall improves nurses' task and contextual performance., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The paper examines some morphological processes in the syntactic structure of proverbs in Nzema, a Kwa language spoken predominantly in the South-west part of the Western Region of Ghana, West Africa. The paper focuses on the pragmatic imports of such word formation processes in relation to how they contribute significantly to the understanding of the proverbs. The paper shows the prevalence of word formation processes, such as reduplication, inflections, derivations, lexical borrowing, and compounding in the construction of Nzema proverbs, which essentially help to conceptualise and infer the didactic messages that are communicated via the proverbs. Data were primarily gathered through participant and non-participant observations, including discussions and interviews with competent indigenous Nzema speakers. We extracted additional data from published sources, a compilation of Nzema proverbs and from other literary texts. The paper integrates the assumptions of Goddard's Ethnopragmatic Paradigm and Hockett's Item-and-Arrangement and Item-and-Process Models as theoretical underpinning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nzema refers to both the language and the people who speak it. The language is spoken predominantly among the people who occupy the South-west part of the Western Region of Ghana as well as some parts of Côte d'Ivoire (Annan, 1980, 1994). Nzema forms part of the Niger-Congo Kwa language family. Many studies across languages have had their focus on the basic and extended usages of 'eat' and 'drink' (ingestion) verbs. Among such studies are Prins (1993), Newman (1997), Atintono and Adjei (2008), Aikhenvald (2009), Adjei (2013), Agyepong, Amfo and Osam (2017), and Otoo (2017). Several works, including Agyekum (2002, 2013, 2015a, 2015b, 2016) and Otoo (2018) have also examined the metaphorical extensions of human body parts and verbs of perception. In Nzema, however, studies on cultural schemas and conceptualisations are scanty. This paper, therefore, explores the basic and metaphorical interpretations of the disconnection verb, tu 'to uproot'/'to pull out' in Nzema communication. The paper relies on Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980) with insights from 'Cultural Conceptual Metaphors' (Sharifian, 2011). Data were obtained from spontaneous natural speech contexts among the Nzema. Additional data were gathered by consulting other written sources like Nzema novels and drama books to extract some expressions involving the verb tu. Interviews with knowledgeable Indigenous speakers and my introspection as a native speaker were significantly brought to bear on this study. The paper finds that the basic sense of the verb is possibly projected to describe other abstract notions such as tu ahonle 'heart uproot' (to be afraid); tu ayε ne 'uproot witchcraft' (to drive a demon out of a person), tu belemgbunli 'uproot a chief' (to distool a chief), tu edwε kε sie (to postpone/adjourn a case), among others. The paper shows that the verb tu is 'polysemous', and can participate in causative/inchoative alternation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the effectiveness of government communication on public policy in Ghana using the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) policy as a case. Data was obtained from 412 inhabitants from the Western Region who responded to a set of questionnaires and a structured interview guide. Means, standard deviation, Mann-Whitney U-test, and Kruskal Wallis test were employed for data analysis. The study established that though respondents perceived the PFJ policy as highly relevant to job creation and food production, the overall effect of the policy on job creation was low. No significant differences existed in the views of male and female respondents regarding the perceived effect of the policy on job creation and food production. Government communication strategies to promote awareness, public dialogue, shared understanding, and public support towards the policy were all perceived as moderately effective. However, government communication activities to explain the policy details to the public, mobilize citizens and communities to support the policy, and promote positive behavior change for the policy were perceived as lowly effective by the respondents despite the differences in their ethnic backgrounds. Government press releases and press conferences on the progress of the policy were lowly effective. Though government communication at the implementation stage of the policy was effective, it was generally ineffective during the formulation, monitoring, and evaluation stages of the policy. Measures suggested to sustain the policy include increased commitment from state authorities, increased participation by all stakeholders, improved communication on the policy, grassroots ownership, and de-politicization of the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the relevance of communications strategies in improving domestic funding of orphanages in Ghana and in particular SOS Children Villages. With funding difficulties being faced by both State and non-State actors such United Nations Children's Fund, most of the orphanages are struggling to generate enough funds to take care of the social needs of the orphanages. The study used quantitative (constructivist) and qualitative (motivations, ideas and opinions) methods to address the key objectives of the paper -- funding deficiencies and the critical role of the media and communication strategies in solving the problem. It established the importance of communication strategies using media dependency and advocacy theories for social mobilization and behavioural change. The paper concludes that orphanages need a communication strategic plan for advocacy and resource mobilisation. A key recommendation is for a national policy framework to assist establish an endowment fund for orphanages. Such a national policy should make it mandatory for the Ghanaian media to offer their platforms for advocacy and fundraising activities by the orphanages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origins of marginalization in nursing and the health sector in Ghana can be traced to colonialism and how a colonial era laid a solid foundation for inequities and entrenched disparities, as well as the subsequent normalization of marginalizing acts, in the health sector, particularly for women. Drawing upon varied literature over a 60‐year period and perspectives from feminist theory, this paper considers the lasting impact of Ghanaian women's historical position during the colonial era and within the patriarchal system that ensued. Through this process, it becomes possible to shed light on the crucial role that colonialism has played in women's experiences, perspectives, and health‐seeking behaviors, and the manner in which it has created a healthcare sector that marginalizes women's health. Although women possess valuable knowledge which should be an asset to consider when providing healthcare services, marginalization of that knowledge has become normalized across society and the healthcare system. There is an urgent need to disrupt and challenge this normalization, and to advocate empowerment and recognition of women's valuable knowledge and experiences, providing women a voice in health decision‐making discourses and in the research processes by which we understand and develop healthcare. Through this, healthcare in Ghana could become more empowering, inclusive, and responsive to the unique experiences and needs of Ghanaian women. By understanding something of the historical origins of women's health marginalization within colonialism, nurses can begin to appreciate women's knowledge and integrate it into healthcare strategies that are more gender‐sensitive and equitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public relations is essential in helping to develop, shape, maintain and manage relationships between an organisation and its publics. However, for that to occur PR must play a strategic/managerial role. It is only when the practitioner is involved in strategic management and engages in managerial activities, can PR really excel and add real value to the organisation. The present study presents findings from an investigation of the role of senior PR practitioners in the financial services sector of Ghana. It examines the roles practitioners in the FSS perform, the strategic nature of these roles, and the challenges that affect the performance of the strategic role. The research was inspired by a lack of knowledge on the specific roles performed by PR practitioners in Ghana, which affects the practice of the profession and limits scholars in the country from fully participating in the discussion on the subject. The article reviews literature on roles research from western and African perspectives and empirically analysis two key roles—technician and manager. Data were gathered utilising a one-on-one interview with 22 senior PR practitioners in the financial services sector. The study found little evidence of a separation between the technician and managerial roles. An important finding was that even though practitioners enjoyed access to senior management, they were not involved in the decision-making process. Also, they faced challenges such as lack of understanding by the management of the value of PR. The paper concludes that the lack of involvement in the decision-making process and the challenges faced limits the ability of practitioners to fully perform the strategic role. Significantly, there is a need for scholars in Ghana to examine the perceived value of PR to organisations from the perspective of senior management. The study calls for comprehensive research in this area in relation to the unique characteristic of African PR practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The need for locally-driven, locally-generated evidence to guide health policy and systems decision-making and implementation in West Africa remains urgent. Thus, health policy and systems research (HPSR) is a field with great potential for addressing many of the sub-region's intransigent health challenges. This paper presents an analysis of trends and patterns of peer-reviewed HPSR publications across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to help understand trends and patterns of HPSR publication and the degree of involvement of West African researchers in HPSR evidence generation in the sub-region. Our goal was to use the findings to inform the development of a sub-regional strategy to strengthen HPSR and its use to inform development and improvement of health outcomes.Methods: A scoping review was conducted over a 25-year period from January 1990 to September 2015. Literature searches were conducted in English and French using Google Scholar, PubMed Central and Cairn.info.Results: A total of 258 articles were retrieved. Of these, 246 were statistically analysed, with 54% having West African lead authors. Two thirds of the papers originated from three out of the 15 countries of the ECOWAS, specifically Nigeria (28.86%), Burkina Faso (21.54%) and Ghana (17.07%). Most authors were based in academic institutions and participation of authors from ministries of health, hospitals and non-governmental organisations was limited. English was the predominant language for publication even for papers originating from Francophone West African countries. There has been a progressive increase in publications over the studied period.Conclusion: Despite progressive improvements over time, West Africa remains a weak sub-region in terms of peer-reviewed HPSR publications. Within the overall weakness, there is country-to-country variation. The fact that only a handful of countries accounted for nearly 70% of the total volume of publications in West Africa attests to the great disparities in individual, institutional and contextual capacities for HPSR evidence generation. Bridging the gap between lead institutions (universities and research centres) and the practice community (ministries, hospitals, non-governmental organisations) is indispensable for ensuring the practical use of HPSR evidence. There remains a major need for investments in HPSR capacity building in West Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses historical and contemporary issues regarding communication approaches for educating Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children in Ghana. Discussion of the communication approaches took into account a brief historical background to the development of formal education for DHH children in the country, academic achievement of DHH students at West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) over the past ten years, types of communication approaches for the DHH in Ghana, as well as legislation and relevant policy documents on educating DHH children in Ghana. The paper recommends the sign communication approach and other strategies which the authors believe will aid Ghana achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4 for all DHH individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the clinical communication using Tamale Teaching Hospital as a case. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on the Reassure, Explain, Listen, Answer, Take Action and Express Appreciation (RELATE) model and the Four Habits models of Clinical Communication. Findings: The results of the study indicate that leadership conducted staff meetings with some of the components of the RELATE model. These include staff meetings, employee rounding and communication/notice boards. The results of the study also suggest that much as some parts of the Four Habits model was used in provider–patient communication, certain aspects of the model were absent. The study identified some communication challenges including poor dissemination, lack of unity among some health workers, poor attendance in meetings and, with respect to patients, language barrier, patients' reluctance to disclose their actual health problems to health providers, lack of privacy and lack of a friendly environment. Practical implications: Providers, especially physicians, should be given training on the local languages in areas where they perform their services. Health service providers should receive as part of their learning in-depth training on the Four Habits model of Clinical Communication, especially the Medical Officers. Originality/value: It is imperative to embrace evidence-based practices/models aimed at securing proper communication in all hospitals but most especially teaching hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a growing burden of stroke in low‐middle‐income countries, research on patient's experiences and access to rehabilitation services remains limited. This study explores the experiences of stroke patients in relation to access and use of stroke rehabilitation services, coping strategies and strategies to improve care in Ghana. A cross‐sectional study was conducted. A total of 136 adult stroke patients hospitalised and subsequently discharged in three major referral hospitals in Ghana participated in the study. A paper‐based questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were inputted into STATA version 12, cleaned and analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi‐Square tests. Findings showed that stroke patients experience stroke differently. Early detection (awareness) of stroke symptoms at onset was low (29.4%). Hypertension was the major (58.1%) predisposing risk factor for stroke, followed by diabetes (14.7%). Multiple barriers impede access to outpatient rehabilitation services: high cost of medications (43.4%), transportation constraints (10.3%), long waiting time (6.6%), forgetfulness about appointment (4.4%), limited education on rehabilitation (20.6%), lack of community support (12.5%) and ineffective communication with healthcare providers (5.2%). Recommended strategies to improve access to rehabilitation care included public education on stroke and its associated risk, reduction in the cost of drugs and increased stroke rehabilitation funding by the NHIS, especially for physiotherapy consultation and training support to caregivers on patient care. Given the difference in stroke experience and barriers in accessing rehabilitation care, multi‐level health policy and service delivery reforms are needed to improve access to rehabilitation care, including national public awareness campaigns on early signs of stroke and subsidised cost of stroke rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug use is one of the global public health issues, and its accompanying disorders have consequences on people's mental, physical, and environmental health. Nevertheless, the majority of people who use drugs have never been treated for drug dependence and other health conditions whilst others discontinue their treatment for drug use disorder. Using the health belief model, the study aimed at exploring facilitators and barriers to health-seeking among people who use drugs in the Sunyani Municipality of Ghana. A descriptive study design was used, employing a qualitative approach. In-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 22 participants, including two key informants (male and female). The first group of participants was recruited from the ghetto (an area in the municipality where people who use drugs are usually located). The other group of participants was recruited using hospital-based records. The interview data were transcribed, coded, and analysed for the generation of themes with the aid of Nvivo version 12 pro. The results showed that people who use drugs face health challenges such as drug dependence, malaria, lungs and breathing complications, cardiovascular complications, and skin complications. People who use drugs experienced poor perceived quality of life and low health status. Health-seeking behaviours of interviewees were influenced by the perceived benefit, perceived severity, cues to action, among others. Multiple sources of healthcare were used by the people who use drugs. Whereas ease of communication, perceived severity, benefit, among others were facilitators to their health-seeking behaviours, cost, dwindling social support, lack of knowledge of the condition, and fear of arrest by law enforcement agencies also served as barriers to seeking healthcare at the orthodox health facilities. This paper suggests a holistic approach to help improve the health and health-seeking behaviours of people who use drugs. The researchers wish to indicate that an earlier version of this manuscript has been presented at the University of Ghana as a thesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Ghana, studies documenting the effectiveness of evidence-based specialized training programs to promote respectful maternity care (RMC) practices in healthcare facilities are few. Thus, we designed a four-day RMC training workshop and piloted it with selected midwives of a tertiary healthcare facility in Kumasi, Ghana. The present paper evaluated the impact of the training by exploring midwives' experiences of implementing RMC knowledge in their daily maternity care practices 4 months after the training workshop. Methods: Through a descriptive qualitative research design, we followed-up and conducted 14 in-depth interviews with participants of the RMC training, exploring their experiences of applying the acquired RMC knowledge in their daily maternity care practices. Data were managed and analysed using NVivo 12. Codes were collapsed into subthemes and assigned to three major predetermined themes. Results: The findings have been broadly categorized into three themes: experiences of practising RMC in daily maternity care, health facility barriers to practising RMC, and recommendations for improving RMC practices. The midwives mentioned that applying the newly acquired RMC knowledge has positively improved their relationship with childbearing women, assisted them to effectively communicate with the women, and position them to recognize the autonomy of childbearing women. Despite the positive influence of the training on clinical practice, the midwives said the policy and the built environment in the hospital does not support the exploration of alternative birthing positions. Also, the hospital lacked the required logistics to ensure privacy for multiple childbearing women in the open labour ward. The midwives recommended that logistics for alternative birthing positions and privacy in the ward should be provided. Also, all midwives and staff of the hospital should be taken through the RMC training program to encourage good practice. Conclusion: Despite the report of some RMC implementation challenges, the midwives noted that the 4-day RMC training has had a positive impact on their maternity caregiving practice in the hospital. Policies and programs aimed at addressing the issue of disrespect and abusive practices during maternity care should advocate and include the building of facilities that support alternative birthing positions and privacy of childbearing women during childbirth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ghana's President has used WAR-framed metaphors in announcing and explaining both the notion of COVID-19 and the measures his government outlined to curb its spread. This paper explores the potential effects the various conceptual mappings in the WAR-framed communication by the President had on the general public in dealing with a global pandemic in a local context. This is achieved by linking the mappings in the WAR-framed communication to the attitudes and practices among the Ghanaian public. Data were drawn from 8 presidential COVID-19 updates between March 15 and May 31, 2020. Findings indicate that the use of WAR-framed communication successfully evoked fear among the general population. However, this transcended the virus to COVID-19 patients (and their families), provoking a cause of action among the general public to fight not only the virus but also COVID-19 patients (and their families). This appears to have caused stigmatisation of COVID-19 patients, and led to a situation where COVID-19 positive patients became unwilling to declare their positive status and thus caused further community spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Collaborative clinical facilitation converges key players to guide students individually and within groups towards achieving clinical nursing competence. However, experiences of collaborative clinical facilitation among nurse educators, clinical preceptors and nursing and midwifery students are often fragmented and have been largely unexplored in Ghana. Aim: To describe the experiences of collaborative clinical facilitation among nurse educators, clinical preceptors and final year nursing and midwifery students in Northern Ghana. Setting: The study was conducted at two nursing and midwifery colleges and an academic hospital in Northern Ghana. Methods: A qualitative, descriptive, exploratory design was utilized. Forty-six participants comprising 16 nurse educators, 10 clinical preceptors, 10 nursing students and 10 midwifery students were purposively sampled. Focus groups and in-depth interviews were used to gather data and analysed thematically. Results: Three themes revealed facilitative experiences of collaborative clinical facilitation: team-based clinical mentorship and supervision, personalised preceptorship, and clinical conferences. Two themes emerged inhibitory to collaborative clinical facilitation: staff shortages and lack of timely communication. Conclusion: This study found that team mentorship, preceptorship and conferences fostered collaborative clinical partnerships for students' clinical learning. However, failure to engage in timeous communication in the midst of staff shortages hampered its smooth practice. Orientation workshops need to be organised for key players to share relevant updates and explore ways to navigate the challenges often experienced within the clinical training environment. Contribution: This paper provides insight into the collaborative nature of clinical facilitation; and highlights the need for coordinated clinical placements to enhance students' clinical learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Persons with disabilities have often been overlooked in the context of HIV and AIDS risk prevention and service provision. This paper explores access to and use of HIV information and services among persons with disabilities. Methods: We conducted a multi-country qualitative research study at urban and rural sites in Uganda, Zambia, and Ghana: three countries selected to exemplify different stages of the HIV response to persons with disabilities. We conducted key informant interviews with government officials and service providers, and focus group discussions with persons with disabilities and caregivers. Research methods were designed to promote active, meaningful participation from persons with disabilities, under the guidance of local stakeholder advisors. Results: Persons with disabilities emphatically challenged the common assumption that persons with disabilities are not sexually active, pointing out that this assumption denies their rights and – by denying their circumstances – leaves them vulnerable to abuse. Among persons with disabilities, knowledge about HIV was limited and attitudes towards HIV services were frequently based upon misinformation and stigmatising cultural beliefs; associated with illiteracy especially in rural areas, and rendering people with intellectual and developmental disability especially vulnerable. Multiple overlapping layers of stigma towards persons with disabilities (including internalised self-stigma and stigma associated with gender and abuse) have compounded each other to contribute to social isolation and impediments to accessing HIV information and services. Participants suggested approaches to HIV education outreach that emphasise the importance of sharing responsibility, promoting peer leadership, and increasing the active, visible participation of persons with disabilities in intervention activities, in order to make sure that accurate information reflecting the vulnerabilities of persons with disabilities is accessible to people of all levels of education. Fundamental change to improve the skills and attitudes of healthcare providers and raise their sensitivity towards persons with disabilities (including recognising multiple layers of stigma) will be critical to the ability of HIV service organisations to implement programs that are accessible to and inclusive of persons with disabilities. Discussion: We suggest practical steps towards improving HIV service accessibility and utilisation for persons with disabilities, particularly emphasising the power of community responsibility and support; including acknowledging compounded stigma, addressing attitudinal barriers, promoting participatory responses, building political will and generating high-quality evidence to drive the continuing response. Conclusions: HIV service providers and rehabilitation professionals alike must recognise the two-way relationship between HIV and disability, and their multiple overlapping vulnerabilities and stigmas. Persons with disabilities demand recognition through practical steps to improve HIV service accessibility and utilisation in a manner that recognises their vulnerability and facilitates retention in care and adherence to treatment. In order to promote lasting change, interventions must look beyond the service delivery context and take into account the living circumstances of individuals and communities affected by HIV and disability. Persons with disabilities are vulnerable to HIV infection but have historically been excluded from HIV and AIDS services, including prevention education, testing, treatment, care and support. Fundamental change is needed to address practical and attitudinal barriers to access, including provider training. Rehabilitation professionals and HIV service providers alike must acknowledge the two-way relationship between HIV and disability: people with disability are vulnerable to HIV infection; people with HIV are increasingly becoming disabled. Peer participation by persons with disabilities in the design and implementation of HIV services is crucial to increasing accessibility. Addressing political will (through the National Strategic Plan for HIV) is crucial to ensuring long-term sustainable change in recognizing and responding to the heightened vulnerability of people with disability to HIV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper examines interactions in psychiatric care consultation in selected hospital settings in three Akan-speaking communities in Ghana, based on 45 audio-recorded doctor/nurse--patient interactions. Using a discourse pragmatics approach, we note how language is used in the management of communication in psychiatric consultations, and how the dominance of healthcare practitioners is enacted. Specifically, we focus on some of the strategies used by the participants to manage the multilingual communicative settings, such as code-mixing. Our findings also suggest that the use of proverbs as a diagnostic tool in psychiatric consultations in Ghana needs to be reviewed. We propose that in order for patients to experience consultation sessions that are more interactive, with possible therapeutic benefits, health practitioners need to make considerable efforts to involve the patients in decisions regarding their health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media activism among the youth has been on the increase in Ghana and Africa. In the context of Ghana, the article interrogates the level of involvement of social media and its use by the youth as they relate to freedom of expression; participation in elections; socialization and job opportunities; and the devices used to connect to the internet. This study applied the survey method that randomly sampled 9024 youth across ten geopolitical regions of Ghana. It analysed data using both positivist and contextual analytic lenses after critiquing the relevant literature. The critiques teased out the key questions investigated with findings and discussions providing nuanced outcomes. It emerged that social media promotes freedom of expression and participation in elections; social relations and job opportunities among the youth in Ghana. The findings also reveal a certain paradox of social media and youth involvement in sociopolitical affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose Within human services, client satisfaction is highly prioritised and considered a mark of responsiveness in service delivery. A large body of research has examined the concept of satisfaction from the perspective of service users. However, not much is known about how service providers construct client satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is to throw light on healthcare professionals' perspectives on patient satisfaction, using tuberculosis (TB) clinics as a case study. Design/methodology/approach In-depth interviews were conducted with 35 TB clinic supervisors purposively sampled from six out of the ten regions of Ghana. An unstructured interview guide was employed. The recorded IDIs were transcribed, edited and entered into QSR NVivo 10.0 and analysed inductively. Findings Respondents defined service satisfaction as involving education/counselling (on drugs, nature of condition, sputum production, caregivers and contacts of patients), patient follow-up, assignment of reliable treatment supporters as well as being attentive and receptive to patients, service availability (e.g. punctuality at work, availability of commodities), positive assurances about disease prognosis and respect for patients. Practical implications Complementing opinions of health service users with those of providers can offer key performance improvement areas for health managers. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is a first study that has examined healthcare providers' views on what makes their clients satisfied with the services they provide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores (im)politeness and gender in a specific advice-giving practice of young Ghanaians online. The data is collected from the Facebook fan page of Mama Zimbi, a radio and TV personality from Ghana, and consists of a sample of 400 messages in response to two male and two female advice-seekers' problem messages. The messages are analyzed according to form- and content-based categories, focussing on the directness and content of advice, the content of discursive moves other than advice, and address terms. The results indicate that very direct forms (i.e., imperatives) are the preferred way by both males and females to give advice. Directness, however, cannot be equated with impoliteness or politeness, which rather depends on a combination of the content of advice, further discursive moves and additional elements such as politeness markers. Although there are trends towards more cooperative advice by females and more negative responses directed at males, there are many exceptions to this and no clear gender differences are found. The high number of rude or sarcastic comments most probably serves the function of entertaining readers, while other users try to maintain politeness on the page by giving sincere advice and/or scolding those who insult advice-seekers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to unearth the hidden messages communicated on Ghana's currency - the Ghana cedi's coins and banknotes - outside their monetary value spelled by the number on them. The study employed the theoretical frameworks of ethnography of communication and multimodality, with the aim of unearthing the different modes of communication used on Ghana's currency outside their monetary value, as well as the hidden messages behind these modes of communication. The study employed a purposive sampling of Ghana's cedi in current use, thereby making the study synchronic, as opposed to a diachronic one. Findings reveal that the modes of communication employed on Ghana's cedi coins and banknotes are shape, colour, national symbols, national buildings, national cash crops and minerals, national heroes and heroines and national monuments. Behind these modes are the messages of Ghana's history such as her struggle for independence, her culture such as espoused in music, her economy as espoused in her cash crops such as cocoa and coffee, and in her minerals such as gold, diamonds, and bauxite among others. Homage is also paid to national heroes and heroines such as The Big Six and Yaa Asantewa on Ghana's cedi. National monuments such as The Independence Arch and the Kwame Nkrumah mausoleum remind Ghanaians and others of the nation's struggle for independence and the struggle's leader Kwame Nkrumah. This study shows that beside the monetary value of Ghana's currency, and by extension the currencies of the world, valuable information is communicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines (for the first time) young adult American, Ghanaian, and Black South Africans' perceptions of communication and aging. Irrespective of cultural background, as age of target increased, so did trait attributions of benevolence, norms of politeness and deference, and communicative respect and avoidance; however, attributions of personal vitality and communication satisfaction decreased linearly. Young adults' reported avoidant communication with older people negatively predicted their conversational satisfaction and enjoyment of it. In addition, communicative respect was more strongly predictive of Africans' satisfaction while certain age stereotypes had contrastive effects for the Ghanaian and South Africans' enjoyment of intergenerational communication.

Who most influences youth's AIDS-protective behaviors: peers, adults, or a combination of both? This paper explores interpersonal communication about reproductive health information among Ghanaian youth, and the association of this communication with different types of reported AIDS-preventive behaviors. Contacts of peer educators in Ghana were surveyed at three sites during April 1998. Respondents age 11 to 26 years were included in this analysis (N=490). Youth who talked with both peers and adults (n=90) were 2.08 times more likely (95% CI: 1.23, 3.51) to report having done anything to protect themselves from AIDS than those who talked to no one (n=202), while those who talked with peers only (n=150) were 1.71 times more likely (95% CI: 1.10, 2.64) to have done something to protect themselves from AIDS. Youth who talked with adults only were not significantly more likely to protect themselves from AIDS than those who spoke with no one (n=42). Sexually active youth were more than twice as likely to talk to peers as adults. Specific AIDS-protective behaviors reported by youth differed substantially depending on whether their contact source was peers or adults. Understanding the interelationship between peer and adult influence allows program managers to design increasingly effective programs.

In Ghana many rural illiterate people practise traditional medicine and spread their knowledge through oral communication among themselves. This paper observes that traditional health information which freely circulates, and is actively disseminated by healers in rural communities greatly contributes to the knowledge for preparing home remedies and other traditional interventions. Oral communication can give rise to inaccurate and even dangerous information where charlatans can penetrate and operate within the health system. The Danfa project, which involved verbal teaching of modern health techniques to illiterate herbalists, and educating villagers about improved traditional medical practices, is described as a success story of information provision for illiterates. The experience is applied to propose the modification of some training programmes under the Ministry of Health to produce traditional health care information providers. Repackaged information and the public media are recommended as the most effective method of transferring knowledge to those unable to read.

Rotary International with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) conducted an information campaign from 2000 to 2004 to increase public awareness of aflatoxin in Benin, Ghana and Togo. Key informant interviews with 2416 respondents showed poor baseline knowledge of aflatoxin and its health risks. The campaign included monitoring of aflatoxin contamination in maize grains from market stores in 38 cities and towns. Aflatoxin concentration in contaminated samples ranged from 24 to 117.5 ng g-1 in Benin, from 0.4 to 490.6 ng g-1 in Ghana, and from 0.7 to 108.8 ng g-1 in Togo. The campaign significantly increased public awareness that populations were exposed to high levels of aflatoxin. The number of maize traders who were informed about the toxin increased 10.3 and 3.2 times in Togo and Benin, respectively; at least 33% more traders believed the information in each of Benin and Togo; 11.4 and 28.4% more consumers sorted out and discarded bad grains in Benin and Ghana, respectively. This paper concludes that sustained public education can help reduce aflatoxin contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Nurses' health advocacy (HA) role requires them to speak up for patients, clients, and communities in relation to healthcare. Various studies report the importance of the HA role of the nurse in healthcare. However, nurses' performance in this role is not clear yet. The present study aims to identify and explain how nurses perform their HA role in underserved populations. Design: Qualitative grounded theory by Strauss and Corbin. Methods: Data were gathered from three regional hospitals in Ghana with 24 registered nurses and midwives as participants through purposive and theoretical sampling techniques. Face‐to‐face in‐depth semi‐structured interviews were conducted from August 2019 to February 2020. The data were analysed using Strauss and Corbin's method and Nvivo software. The reporting follows Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research guidelines. Findings: The HA role performance theory emerged from data with role enquiry, role dimension, role context, role influence, role reforms and role performance as building blocks. Data analysis showed that the main concerns of the nurses during their daily practice were mediating, speaking up, and negotiating. Among others, the intervening conditions were clientele influence and interpersonal barriers, whereas the outcome was a balance between role reforms and role performance. Conclusion: Although some nurses proactively initiated biopsychosocial assessment and performed the HA role, most of them relied on clients' requests to perform the role. Stakeholders should prioritise critical thinking during training and intensify mentoring programmes in the clinical areas. Relevance for Clinical Practice: The present study explains the process by which nurses perform their roles as health advocates in their daily activities as nurses. The findings can be used to teach and guide clinical practice for the HA role in nursing and other health care fields. There was no patient or public contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The aim was to explore behavioral factors relating to the prescription and communication of prescription-adherence messages for patients with acute febrile illness, from which to develop a training-and-communication (T&C) intervention to be delivered as part of a clinical trial. Methods The study undertook a content analysis of primary, qualitative data collection using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, informed by the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation (COM-B) theory of behavior, the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), and Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) approach, in health facilities (39 health workers) and communities (66 community members) in the Shai-Osudoku District of Ghana. Results Health workers perceive that prescribers' and dispensers' communication with patients is influenced by the following factors: patient's educational level, existing disease conditions, health worker's workload, patient's religion, language barrier between health worker and patient, outcome of laboratory results, and medicine availability. Community members' adherence to prescription was influenced by the availability of money and affordability of medicine (outside of provision by the national health insurance scheme), the severity of the condition, work schedule, and forgetfulness. Conclusions Our study contributes to knowledge on nesting qualitative methods in a clinical trial and reveals factors that affect the antibiotic prescription communication process. Tailored messages for patient-specific needs can shape antibiotic prescription adherence behavior and ultimately contribute to decreasing the incidence of antibiotic resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having a good knowledge of family planning methods is vital for reducing maternal morbidity and mortality resulting from unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. In this paper, we highlight deaf people’s ability to discern various misconceptions about pregnancy, with the aim of assessing their level of knowledge on pregnancy prevention methods. The article is derived from a sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs assessment involving participants residing in two cities and a senior high school in Ghana. The needs assessment involved three focus groups with 26 participants, a survey with 152 respondents, and an interview with one health professional. Apart from the health professional, all the remaining participants were deaf people. Findings from the study indicated that more than half the participants lacked familiarity with pregnancy prevention methods. The findings of this study confirm other studies that there is a general lack of knowledge on SRH issues among deaf people in Ghana. Thus, although this study focused on prevention of unwanted pregnancy, which is just one component of SRH issues, the study provides insights into the broader SRH needs of the deaf community and calls for making these issues visible for policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) remain a leading global health problem with complex clinical presentations and potentially grim birth outcomes for both mother and fetus. Improvement in the quality of maternal care provision and positive women's experiences are indispensable measures to reduce maternal and perinatal adverse outcomes. Objective: To explore the perspectives and lived experiences of healthcare provision among women with HDP and the associated challenges. Methods: A multi-center qualitative study using in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) was conducted in five major referral hospitals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana between June 2018 and March 2019. Women between 26 and 34 weeks' gestation with confirmed HDP who received maternity care services were eligible to participate. Thematic content analysis was performed using the inductive analytic framework approach. Results: Fifty IDIs and three FGDs (with 22 participants) were conducted. Most women were between 20 and 30 years, Akans (ethnicity), married/cohabiting, self-employed and secondary school graduates. Women reported mixed (positive and negative) experiences of maternal care. Positive experiences reported include receiving optimal quality of care, satisfaction with care and good counselling and reassurance from the health professionals. Negative experiences of care comprised ineffective provider–client communication, inappropriate attitudes by the health professionals and disrespectful treatment including verbal and physical abuse. Major health system factors influencing women's experiences of care included lack of logistics, substandard professionalism, inefficient national health insurance system and unexplained delays at health facilities. Patient-related factors that influenced provision of care enumerated were financial limitations, chronic psychosocial stress and inadequate awareness about HDP. Conclusion: Women with HDP reported both positive and negative experiences of care stemming from the healthcare system, health providers and individual factors. Given the importance of positive women's experiences and respectful maternal care, dedicated multidisciplinary women-centered care is recommended to optimize the care for pregnant women with HDP. Plain language summary: High blood pressure (hypertension) in pregnancy can have severe complications for both mother and fetus including loss of life. The outcome of pregnancy for women who develop hypertension during pregnancy can be improved by ensuring optimal quality of care. In this study, we explored the opinions and experiences of women whose pregnancies were affected by hypertension concerning the care they received during their recent admission at different hospitals in Ghana and the challenges they faced. In four major referral hospitals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, we interviewed the women and had focus group discussions. Women who were pregnant for 26 weeks up to 34 weeks and had hypertension in pregnancy were invited for inclusion in the study. We conducted in-depth interviews with fifty women and three focus group discussions with 22 women. Most women who participated in the study were between 20 and 30 years old, Akans (ethnicity), married/cohabiting, self-employed and secondary school graduates. The women reported both positive and negative experiences of care during their admission at the hospitals. Examples of positive experiences were receiving good quality of care, satisfaction with care, and adequate counselling from the health workers. Examples of negative experiences were poor communication between the providers and affected women, inappropriate attitudes by the healthcare providers, and disrespectful treatment such as verbal and physical abuse. The major factors in the health system that influenced women's experiences of care were lack of logistics, substandard professionalism, inefficient national health insurance system and long delays at health facilities prior to receiving treatment. The individual women's factors that affected the quality of care included financial constraints, psychosocial stress and inadequate knowledge about hypertension during pregnancy. In conclusion, we determined that women with hypertension in pregnancy experience both positive and negative aspects of care and these may be due to challenges associated with the healthcare system, health providers and women themselves. There is the need to ensure optimal quality and respectful maternity care considering the nature of hypertension in pregnancy. These women require dedicated hospital staff with significant experience to improve the quality of care provided to women with hypertension in pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Media studies scholarship in Ghana has disproportionately focused on political communication and press freedom, with few studies taking a feminist approach to understanding the representation of marginalized people in media narratives. Existing scholarship has examined the representation of Ghanaian women in film and music. This study examines the way that women are represented in news media, focusing on one specific incident as a case study. Through framing theory guided by an intersectional African feminist lens, I examine the way that mainstream media represented the lynching of Mariama Akua Denteh. I argue that although news media purport to be objective in news reportage, the patriarchal systems within which media organizations are situated shape the ways in which they report narratives that focus on marginalized communities. I demonstrate how the news frames on the lynching of Madam Denteh demonstrate the marginal position that Ghanaian women occupy and how that can guide us toward deconstructing how intersecting oppressions are treated in narrativizing news stories that focus on marginalized women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With technology being ubiquitous in our daily lives, it is crucial to understand the factors that influence their perceived credibility. In the current research, we focus on the design of Academic Social Networking Sites (ASNSs). In order to facilitate continuous adoption and use of ASNSs, it is important to understand the factors that determine their Perceived Credibility. Using the Persuasive System Design (PSD) framework as a foundation, the study investigated which of these four key constructs (i.e. Perceived Aesthetics, Perceived Usability, Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Primary Task Support) are the most relevant determinants of the Perceived Credibility of ASNSs. In an online survey, the current research assessed this research model. The results of Partial Least Square analyses confirmed that Perceived Aesthetics, Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Primary Task Support are determinants of Perceived Credibility but provided no evidence for Perceived Usability as a determinant. Moreover, the results showed that Perceived Primary Task Support was the most relevant determinant of Perceived Credibility. Implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Effective transfer of research findings to key knowledge users, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries, is not always achieved, despite being a shared priority among researchers, funders, healthcare and community stakeholders and decision‐makers. A constructivist grounded theory study conducted in 2015–2019 in Ghana that explored sickle cell‐related fatigue in adolescence resulted in numerous implications for practice and policy. Peer‐reviewed funding was obtained to support disseminating these findings to relevant stakeholders. Methods: Key steps in implementing this study dissemination project included: (1) identifying and attracting target stakeholders from healthcare and community organizations; (2) tailoring tools for communication of research findings for the stakeholder groups and (3) designing interactive workshops to facilitate knowledge sharing and uptake. Finding: Despite the COVID‐19 pandemic, 50 healthcare and community stakeholders participated in the dissemination workshops. The dissemination activities contributed new layers of understanding to the original research findings through discussions. Through the workshops, participants identified culturally valuable and actionable recommendations that they could take forward to improve care and support for young people with sickle cell disease in Ghana. A follow‐up 6 months post the workshops indicated some positive knowledge usage and benefits. Conclusion: This dissemination project provided a unique opportunity for researchers and stakeholders to share in the interpretation of research findings and to strategically plan recommendations to improve SCD‐focused care and support for young people in Ghana. Further research dissemination should continue to be grounded in locally generated knowledge, include systematic, long‐term evaluation of dissemination outcomes and be adequately financed. Patient and Public Contribution: Public involvement in this study was critical to the research dissemination project. The Sickle Cell Association of Ghana (Kumasi chapter) actively supported the project's development, organization and facilitation. Parent members of the Association, the Association's executive members and volunteers, and the health professionals involved in sickle cell care at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital participated in the project workshops. They contributed to the knowledge transfer and uptake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Patient safety is a global concern for both health professionals and the public. Studies show that evaluating patient safety culture can help improve patient safety outcomes. Nursing care strategically places nurses at the centre of patient safety promotion and their proximity to patients makes them the drivers of patient safety. Managerial decisions regarding patient safety impact greatly on patient safety outcomes in the healthcare organization. This study aimed to assess the managerial patient safety practices that influence adverse event reporting in three hospitals in the Savannah Region of Ghana. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional design was used to collect data from 210 participants in three hospitals. Data were analysed using descriptive, Pearson's correlation and linear regression. Results: It was found that patient safety practices with good positive rating scores were management support (56.6%), managers' expectations (62.8%) and feedback about errors (56.2%). Areas with weak patient safety practices were staffing levels (42.4%), open communication (40.2%) and non-punitive response to errors (36.7%). Again, nurses' attitude towards adverse events reporting was generally low (37.3%). Managerial patient safety practices that had significant associations with adverse events reporting were management support (r =.18, p <.001), open communication (r =.19, p <.001), non-punitive to errors (r =.21, p <.001) and feedback about errors (r =.37, p <.001). Again, the significant predictors of adverse events reporting were feedback about errors (β =. 36, p <.001) and non-punitive response to errors (β =. 21, p <.01). Conclusion: Nurses perceived patient safety culture in their units to be good. Although nurses' attitude towards adverse events reporting was low, the significant predictors of adverse events reporting were feedback about errors and non-punitive response to errors. Therefore, healthcare managers should continually strengthen patient safety to ensure optimal care outcomes. Implications for nursing practice: Feedback on errors and non-punitive response to errors had a great influence on adverse events reporting, managerial failure to provide feedback and a non-punitive work environment could result in under-reporting of adverse events. This can be a major threat to patient safety; hence clinical practice should be aware of this and put in strategies to appropriately address them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extant literature has explored sexuality education from the perspectives of the adolescents, but the views of parents are largely neglected. The few studies that have examined the views of both parents and adolescents are selective in scope, coverage, and assessment. There is thus, a dearth of data on the type of topics discussed and the frequency of parent-adolescent sexual communication. The present study sought to explore adolescents' lived experiences of sexuality education and its impact on their sexual and reproductive health. To achieve this, a qualitative research design with a semi-structured interview was employed to gather data from thirty parents and adolescents in Ablekuma South Metropolis. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used in analyzing the data with each theme showing divergence categories of experiences of sexuality education although the views of both parents and adolescents on each category were similar. Parent-adolescent sex communication showed frequently discussed topics and the less discussed ones. Perceptions of sexuality education revealed both positive and negative perceptions. Perceived impact of sexuality education also brought to light both positive and negative impacts. It is recommended that stakeholders ought to institutionalize diverse behavior change interventions such as interpersonal communication and skills training aimed at empowering both parents and adolescents to communicate explicitly about sexuality rather than using euphemisms and timing techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Countries with high maternal and newborn mortality can benefit from national facility level data that describe intra-facility emergency referral patterns for major obstetric complications. This paper assesses the relationship between referral and facilities' readiness to treat complications at each level of the health system in Ghana. We also investigate other facility characteristics associated with referral. Methods: The National Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care Assessment 2010 provided aggregated information from 977 health facilities. Readiness was defined in a 2-step process: availability of a health worker who could provide life-saving interventions and a minimum package of drugs, supplies, and equipment to perform the interventions. The second step mapped interventions to major obstetric complications. We used descriptive statistics and simple linear regression. Results: Lower level facilities were likely to refer nearly all women with complications. District hospitals resolved almost two-thirds of all complicated cases, referring 9%. The most prevalent indications for referral were prolonged/obstructed labor and antepartum hemorrhage. Readiness to treat a complication was correlated with a reduction in referral for all complications except uterine rupture. Facility readiness was low: roughly 40% of hospitals and 10% of lower level facilities met the readiness threshold. Facilities referred fewer women when they had higher caseloads, more midwives, better infrastructure, and systems of communication and transport. Discussion: Understanding how deliveries and obstetric complications are distributed across the health system helps policy makers contextualize decisions about the pathways to providing maternity services. Improving conditions for referral (by increasing access to communication and transport systems) and the management of obstetric complications (increasing readiness) will enhance quality of care and make referral more effective and efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study explores models of public relations (PR) that inform PR practice in Ghana. The paucity of knowledge and understanding about PR practice in Ghana means that Ghana, and Africa in general, cannot fully contribute to the development of global theory of PR practice. The research was conducted by means of a literature review of PR models and empirical verification through face-to-face-interviews. Qualitative methodology was used to gather data from twenty-two communication practitioners from the financial services sector in Ghana. The results demonstrate that PR in Ghana is dominated by the two-way asymmetrical model and the personal influence model. The study provides insight into the models that inform PR practice in Ghana and demonstrates the need for PR scholars and practitioners in Ghana, and Africa in particular, to work together to develop models that reflect the nature of PR practice on the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Ghana, prostate cancer is more prevalent than all other cancers, with a mortality rate of 75% partly due to late presentation to the health care facilities. Limited health services provision across the country and shortages of skilled nurses place a significant demand on family caregivers who are often ill-equipped for the caring role, resulting in many challenges. As they are expected to provide complex care at home with little resources, information, and support, the healthcare system rarely addresses the challenging needs of these family caregivers. This study explored the challenges encountered by family caregivers of people with prostate cancer. Methods: We conducted interviews using a descriptive phenomenological approach. Twelve family caregivers of prostate cancer patients were selected through a purposive sampling technique at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using Colaizzi's (1978) data analysis approach. Results: Three main themes were identified as critical challenges: education and training needs, resources and caregiver-nurse relationship issues. Under the three main themes emerged seven sub-themes that collectively hindered the family caregiver's ability to meet the care demands. Sub-themes that emerged were; lack of preparedness towards the caring role, lack of knowledge about condition/ treatment, misconception about the condition, lack of accommodation facilities, financial constraints, poor communication, and poor staff attitude. Conclusion: Caregiving is associated with significant challenges that hinder the family caregiver's ability to care for the patient effectively, further diminishing the caregiver's quality of life and patient care. Therefore, healthcare professionals, especially nurses, should consider these challenges family caregivers face and take measures to obviate them through education, preparation and support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article reports on a study that examined the nature of public relations (PR) management in Ghanaian higher education institutions (HEIs), specifically public and private universities. The study aimed to determine the degree to which PR practitioners in Ghanaian HEIs practise excellent PR. The study adopted a qualitative approach in gathering data from 14 PR practitioners purposively sampled from public and private universities. The findings demonstrated that PR practice in Ghanaian HEIs is premised on the technician role with a minimal managerial role. PR practice is also based on one-way communication and PR practitioners do not have much influence on the decision-making process. The implication is that PR practice cannot be highly valued in HEIs unless it fulfils its dual role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inadequate health human resources is a key challenge to advancing child survival in Ghana. Nurses are an essential human resource to target because they represent the largest portion of the health workforce. Building on lessons learned from our pilot pediatric nurse training project and World Health Organization guidelines for transforming and scaling up health professional education, this project aimed to; train 500 pediatric nurse specialists through a one-year training program; develop and integrate a critical mass of pediatric nursing faculty and establish a national standardized pediatric nursing curriculum. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a national pediatric nurse training program in Ghana at the end of 4 years, including eight cohorts with 330 graduates. Methods: This was a mixed-method evaluation with surveys, focus groups and a pre-test/post-test design. Before and after surveys were used to measure knowledge and confidence at baseline and graduation. Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) were used to measure clinical skills at baseline, graduation, and 14 months follow-up. At the end of every module, surveys were used to measure students' satisfaction. Focus groups at graduation qualitatively measured program outcomes. Repeat focus groups and surveys at 14 months after graduation captured the graduates' career progress, experiences reintegrating into the health system and long-term program outcomes. Results: Overall, the graduates completed the program with significantly increased knowledge, confidence, and clinical skills. They also had increased job satisfaction and were able to apply what they learned to their jobs, including leadership skills and gender-sensitive care. Data from 14-month follow-up OSCEs showed that all graduates remained competent in communication, physical assessment, and emergency care, although some obtained a lower mark compared to their performance at graduation. This finding is linked with the observation that the amount of mentorship, support from leadership and equipment that the graduates accessed from their respective facilities varied. Conclusions: Mixed-methods evaluations demonstrated significant increases in knowledge confidence and skills by completing the program and maintenance of skills more than 1 year after graduation. Findings have implications for those working on the design, implementation, and evaluation of nursing education interventions in low- and middle-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about persuasive effects of figures of speech in the English of advertisements in Ghanaian press. In the current study, we focused on this persuasive effect of figures of speech in the English employed in advertisements in newspapers in Ghana. Since advertising is a genre of mass media communication which unearths the exceptional qualities of products and services in a persuasive fashion, it is also a form of marketing communication through which business organizations inform the general public about new or improved commercial endeavors. Therefore, language plays an indispensable role in the transmission of the message. The language of advertising influences the reasoning, thinking, feeling and the general attitude of the audience. The study reported about in this article was underpinned by the Conventional Figurative Language Theory, utilizing the qualitative content analysis approach as the analytical framework. The findings revealed that copywriters of the Ghanaian newspapers employed English figures of speech (tropes and rhetorical figures) in advertisements for persuasive effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advertisements are fashioned in diverse forms, but in most of them, language is absolutely essential. Although visual images, graphic and color designs and other techniques constitute aspects of print advertising, it is the language of the advertisement that enables consumers to identify a product and remember it. Indeed, language has a powerful influence on readers and their behavioral patterns. The English Language is employed in the print media in Ghana as a means of communicating information about goods and services with the goal of persuading the consuming public to take purchasing decisions. In the current article, I applied Aristotle's Rhetorical Theory to the analysis of persuasive elements in the English used in advertisements in Ghanaian newspapers. The qualitative research design was employed in the study as the corpus was solely from written documents. The findings of the study demonstrated that copywriters in the Ghanaian print media employed Aristotle's three artistic proofs, namely, logos, pathos and ethos in the English of advertisements for persuasive effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sexual abstinence is a key component of the strategy to address unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and HIV among youth in sub-Sahara Africa. But contextual pressures make abstaining from sex a formidable task for urban poor youth in the sub-region. Nevertheless, some youth in these settings still manage to resist the pressure to initiate sex early, while others choose abstinence after an initial sexual debut. Few studies in the sub-region have examined sexual abstinence among urban poor youth. We therefore examined the factors that predict primary and secondary sexual abstinence among youth in urban poor Accra. The findings highlight the protective factors associated with sexual intercourse and should help to address the needs of youth at risk of unprotected sex. Methods: The study analysed pooled data from two rounds of the Urban Health and Poverty Survey. The surveys analysed were conducted in 2011 and 2013. The analysis was restricted to unmarried youth between age 20 and 24 years. The total sample comprised 235 female and male youth. We conducted multinomial logistic regression analysis to examine the predictors of primary and secondary abstinence relative to current sexual intercourse. Results: The results showed that being female, sexual communication with only fathers, sexual communication with only friends and slum residence were negatively associated with primary sexual abstinence. Contrarily, being in school, attaching importance to religion, residing in a household that received social support and sexual communication with both parents were positively associated with primary abstinence. Regarding secondary abstinence, only the sexual communication variables had significant effects. Sexual communication with both parents positively predicted secondary abstinence while communication with fathers-only and friends-only had a negative effect. Conclusion: Sexual abstinence is predicted by factors which range from individual through household factors to the locality of residence. Despite the importance of all the predictors, the study found that sexual communication with both parents was the only factor that predicted a higher likelihood of both primary and secondary sexual abstinence. We therefore recommend sexual communication between parents and youth as a key strategy for promoting sexual abstinence among urban poor youth in Accra, Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few evidence‐based interventions exist on how to improve respectful maternity care (RMC) in low‐resource settings. We sought to evaluate the effect of an integrated simulation‐based training on provision of RMC. Methods: The pilot project was in East Mamprusi District in northern Ghana. We integrated specific components of RMC, emphasizing dignity and respect, communication and autonomy, and supportive care, into a simulation training to improve identification and management of obstetric and neonatal emergencies. Forty‐three providers were trained. For evaluation, we conducted surveys at baseline (N = 215) and endline (N = 318) 6 months later, with recently delivered women to assess their experiences of care using the person‐centered maternity care scale. Higher scores on the scale represent more respectful care. Results: Compared to the baseline, women in the endline reported more respectful care. The average person‐centered maternity care score increased from 50 at baseline to 72 at endline, a relative increase of 43%. Scores on the subscales also increased between baseline and endline: 15% increase for dignity and respect, 87% increase for communication and autonomy, and 55% increase for supportive care. These differences remained significant in multivariate analysis controlling for several potential confounders. Conclusions: The findings suggest that integrated provider trainings that give providers the opportunity to learn, practice, and reflect on their provision of RMC in the context of stressful emergency obstetric simulations have the potential to improve women's childbirth experiences in low‐resource settings. Incorporating such trainings into preservice and in‐service training of providers will help advance global efforts to promote RMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research sought to investigate the perceived relevance of cooperative education to final year students of the Communication Studies Department at Central University (CU) in Ghana. The research employed a qualitative approach to examine how interns perceived the relevance of courses offered by the department to the world of work with emphasis on course utility and relatedness. The study was motivated by the perceived difficulties students face transitioning from higher education to full-time employment. A total of 30 students participated in five focus group sessions. Guided by the concept of cooperative education, the study found that students perceive the internship as a worthwhile initiative although the time allocated to it was considered inadequate for students' skills development. The study concludes that the current learning of students is related to their future careers, but, the internship program is poorly designed and needs some modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an overwhelming scientific consensus that global climate is changing with associated devastating, yet differential impacts on different world regions. This, therefore, calls for efforts to improve our understanding of the phenomenon as a way of enhancing mitigation and adaptation measures. Although a lot has been done in this respect, the present study examines the extent to which misnomers associated with the calendar months and local climate events can be employed to convey the phenomenon of climate change to rural agriculturists in the Bolgatanga municipality. The study establishes that the names of the calendar months, which serve as goalposts for local agricultural practices no longer portray their true meaning due to climate change. The study, therefore, recommends the use of nuanced ways of communicating climate change to local agriculturists, using scientific research, lived experiences as well as socially and culturally embedded tools such as misnomers associated with local climate events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While scientific evidence on the human agency of climate change seems compelling, public conviction and capacity to adapt and adopt mitigation measures remain tentative among developing countries and poor populations. It throws into question the presumed essentiality of the media in Africa in increasing public awareness and informing local policy responses. This study pivots on the argument that in order to be effective stewards and purveyors of climate change information, media practitioners must themselves be demonstrably informed and keenly committed. To determine this the study used the KAP survey model to assess the understanding (Knowledge), predisposition (Attitude) and response (Practice) of Ghanaian journalists to reporting climate change. The findings showed high awareness, but low knowledge, high conviction but low engagement of media practitioners and institutions towards addressing the incidence and consequences of climate change. In effect, awareness and empathy are prerequisite factors, but they do not inevitably lead to knowledge and engagement in competently mediating the climate message. The lack of compelling correlations between specific attributes of KAP of climate change also raises doubts about the predictive power of individual vis-à-vis institutional loci of control in defining and driving specific subjects up the news values chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]