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Background: This paper is a qualitative descriptive study of traditional reproductive health (RH) and family planning practices among Ghana's Dagomba. The purpose of the study was to examine the Dagomba traditional knowledge of RH practices and beliefs and their relevance in the context of modern health practices. Methods: Data for this study was gathered through qualitative methods, including individual in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and the use of a qualitative questionnaire among 37 participants. Thematic analysis was undertaken. Results: In examining the Dagomba traditional knowledge of RH practices, it was recognized that the concept of RH extends across the life continuum reaching beyond the sexually active adult population. The RH practices are based on the Dagomba health beliefs and value systems regarding sexuality and the body's functioning. The Dagomba’s health philosophies and practices regarding pregnancy, delivery, breastfeeding, and sexuality have public and preventive health functions, including conflicting positions. The typical traditional RH and FP practices include abstinence, rhythm, prolonged breastfeeding, and postpartum abstinence. Conclusion: We posit that when traditional knowledge of RH is examined critically by modern health experts, it could help us understand why people from different cultures have varying interpretations and uptake of modern RH practices. Thus, we invite biomedical practitioners to be culturally sensitive and incorporate relevant knowledge of traditional RH practices into their current health education efforts. more...

This paper evaluates key aspects of the National Action Research Network on Researching and Evaluating Personal Development Planning and e-Portfolio Practice (NARN). This was a National Teaching Fellowship Scheme funded project which ran from 2007-1010 and involved sixteen English Higher Education institutions (HEIs). The context, purposes, theoretical underpinnings and framework for the NARN are briefly explained before the experience of members is explored through an analysis of their own accounts. The NARN was proposed in response to widespread calls for more research evidence to underpin our understanding and implementation of Personal Development Planning (PDP) and e-Portfolio practices, taking its lead from Clegg's (2004) invitation to produce more researched examples of situated PDP and e-Portfolio practice. The NARN was primarily a capacity-building project aimed at developing a community of PDP and e-portfolio practitioners into practitioner researchers. Borrowing heavily on ideas of community and participative inquiry as well as concepts about developing communities of practice, the project placed an emphasis on promoting collegiality, a sense of belonging and the establishment of the project as a safe space in which to discuss research work. It is evaluated here through the thematic analysis of a particular data set of twelve anonymous accounts provided by project members. The NARN project's emphasis on process rather than product or output, mark it apart from most Higher Education (HE) learning and teaching funded projects. Its success carries an important lesson for fundholders, educational developers and HE managers about the funding of more process-based learning and teaching development in HE. It also provides a possible framework for similar capacity-building projects across other communities. more...