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The Danfa Comprehensive Rural Health and Family Planning Project was a joint effort of the Ghana Medical School, the Ministry of Health, UCLA, and USAID. A health education component was developed as an integral part of program inputs during the initial conceptual phase of the project. As a result non-equivalent experimental and control areas were designated permitting an assessment of program impact during a five-year period (1972-1977) for which baseline and follow-up study data were available. A new cadre of community-based workers (Health Education Assistants) was developed from existing health personnel in the country, and trained in health education and multipurpose health work. Although the HEAs were found to have difficulty in bringing about changes in health practices when other support services were not available, they did have measurable impact on villagers' adoption of family planning methods and a number of specific health practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Danfa Comprehensive Rural Health and Family Planning Project was a joint effort of the Ghana Medical School, the Ministry of Health, UCLA, and USAID. A health education component was developed as an integral part of program inputs during the initial conceptual phase of the project. As a result non-equivalent experimental and control areas were designated permitting an assessment of program impact during a five-year period (1972-1977) for which baseline and follow-up study data were available. A new cadre of community-based workers (Health Education Assistants) was developed from existing health personnel in the country, and trained in health education and multipurpose health work. Although the HEAs were found to have difficulty in bringing about changes in health practices when other support services were not available, they did have measurable impact on villagers' adoption of family planning methods and a number of specific health practices.

Tobacco smoking is fast becoming a public health problem in Ghana and the youth are at a greater risk of becoming victims of it. A survey of nine secondary (high) schools in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana showed that 31.1% of students have smoked before and that 10.3% smoke cigarettes regularly. A significant number of those who had ever smoked (32.6%) came from high socio-economic homes as exemplified by the level of education of the father. Advertising appears to be a factor as to why students start to smoke. Most students (59.4%) appear to know smoking is injurious to health. There is need to motivate secondary school students about not smoking. There is also need to legislate in Ghana to prevent the sale of tobacco products to young people and prohibit smoking in schools and in public places.

A survey, resulted from the immediate need to understand the health behaviour of Southern Ghanaian villagers during an epidemic of guinea worm disease. While such problems are usually studied at a time when the epidemic has abated, this study emphasized getting into the field quickly to obtain data before the epidemic passed. If behaviour models are to have value for programme planning in the developing world, they should be amenable to such quick sample approaches. The study involved a survey on attitudes, beliefs and practices related to gent. Results showed distinctive and somewhat differing perceptions of susceptibility, seriousness, curability and preventability for the two ethnic groups within a single geographic area. The analysis of the survey results permitted suggestion of various educational strategies for both of the groups. This quick survey approach must be more refined before it has wide applicability. There appears to be a significant potential for developing a simplified checklist to be used by health workers in carrying a rapid educational diagnosis of a specific health problem for a given population.

The Danfa Comprehensive Rural Health and Family Planning Project was a joint effort of the Ghana Medical School, the Ministry of Health, UCLA, and USAID. A health education component was developed as an integral part of program inputs during the initial conceptual phase of the project. As a result non-equivalent experimental and control areas were designated permitting an assessment of program impact during a five-year period (1972-1977) for which baseline and follow-up study data were available. A new cadre of community-based workers (Health Education Assistants) was developed from existing health personnel in the country, and trained in health education and multipurpose health work. Although the HEAs were found to have difficulty in bringing about changes in health practices when other support services were not available, they did have measurable impact on villagers' adoption of family planning methods and a number of specific health practices.