Papers by Anthony Acquah Mensah
International Journal for Equity in Health
Background In low-and middle-income countries, migrants are confronted with health needs which af... more Background In low-and middle-income countries, migrants are confronted with health needs which affect the promotion of their well-being and healthy lives. However, not much is known about the health needs of migrant female head porters (Kayayei) in Ghana. This study assesses the health needs of migrant female head porters in the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) and Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA). Methods The study adopted a convergent mixed methods design where both qualitative and quantitative data were used. A representative sample size of 470 migrant female head porters was used for the study. Results The study revealed that ante-natal care, post-natal care, treatment of malaria, treatment of diarrhoea diseases, mental health, sexual health, and cervical cancer were health needs of migrant female head porters. The findings showed that participants from the GAMA significantly have greater cervical cancer needs (71.6% vrs 67.1%, p = 0.001) compared to those from the ...
Archives of Public Health
Archives of Public Health
Background In sub-Saharan African context, effect of system, institutional and client-level facto... more Background In sub-Saharan African context, effect of system, institutional and client-level factors on formal healthcare utilisation among older adults with low income, especially those under a social protection scheme (called Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty [LEAP] programme) is least explored in the literature. However, an adequate understanding of how these factors contribute to formal healthcare utilisation among older adults who are classified as poor (in terms of low income) is important to inform health policy decisions. The aim of this study, therefore, was to examine the contributions of system, institutional and client-level factors in formal healthcare utilisation among older adults with low income under the LEAP programme in Ghana. Methods Data associated with this study were obtained from an Ageing, Health, Lifestyle and Health Services survey conducted between 1 and 20 June 2018 (N = 200) in the Atwima Nwabiagya Municipal and Atwima Nwabiagya North District of Gh...
Cogent Public Health, 2023
Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has... more Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has been a priority for Ghanaian governments. Despite the plethora of studies conducted to explore the various factors that influence enrolment into the scheme, there remains a dearth in the literature with regards to a systematic review of the health- and system-level determinants of NHIS enrolment among older adults in Ghana. This study aimed to synthesize evidence on macro- and meso-level determinants of NHIS enrolment among older adults in Ghana. With literature from data repositories including Wiley Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, Ovid, Science Direct and Sage, we performed a systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Out of 124 studies screened, the systematic review included 11 articles. The study identified 4 macro- and 3 meso-determinants of national health insurance enrolment among older adults in Ghana. Macro-determinants identified were perceived scheme benefits, affordability, proximity to NHIS offices, quality of administrative service delivery. Physical accessibility, quality of care, and staff attitude were identified as meso-determinants. The study recommends improving physical accessibility, quality of care, and staff attitude. Additionally, it suggests addressing perceived scheme benefits and improving the quality of administrative service delivery.
Cogent Public Health, Nov 5, 2022
Safe and adequate water supply and sanitation in schools are pre-requisites for the right to basi... more Safe and adequate water supply and sanitation in schools are pre-requisites for the right to basic education for school children and the achievement of goal 4 and 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Nonetheless, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in schools is fraught with inadequacy of toilet and handwashing facilities, and poor sustainability mechanisms that threaten its success. This paper, therefore, assesses the operation and sustainability of WASH in schools in the Nabdam District of Ghana. Adopting a qualitative approach, thirty-seven semi-structured interviews were held to capture the understanding and experiences of students, head teachers, health officers, officials of the Ghana Health Service and District Education Directorate on the phenomena. Fifteen focus group discussions were further held with students in the basic schools. The findings indicate that WASH is poorly managed even though the schools studied had some established WASH facilities. WASH in the schools was bedeviled with challenges such as inadequate toilets and handwashing facilities, poor funding and ineffective WASH committees. The WASH committees lacked the capacity to raise funds and carry out their duties in accordance with the WASH implementation guidelines. The study recommends that the Ghana Education Service organizes periodic capacity building programs for WASH committees to address this shortcoming. The Ministry of Education should support basic schools in districts in their efforts to provide WASH facilities and fund WASH activities. The study also calls for the formation of student WASH clubs and sanitation brigades to promote the operation and sustainability of WASH in schools.
Background In low-and middle-income countries, migrants are confronted with several healthcare ne... more Background In low-and middle-income countries, migrants are confronted with several healthcare needs which affects the promotion of well-being and healthy lives. However, not much is known about the healthcare needs of migrant female head porters (Kayayei) in Ghana. This study assesses the healthcare needs of migrant female head porters in Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) and Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA). Methods The study adopted a convergent mixed methods design where both qualitative and quantitative data were used. A random sample size of 470 migrant female head porters was used for the study. Results The study revealed that ante-natal care, post-natal care, treatment of malaria, treatment of diarrhoea diseases, mental health, sexual health, and cervical screening were healthcare needs of migrant female head porters. The findings show that participants from the GAMA significantly have greater cervical screening needs (71.6% vrs 67.1%, p = 0.001) compared to thos...
Cogent Public Health, 2022
Safe and adequate water supply and sanitation in schools are pre-requisites for the right to basi... more Safe and adequate water supply and sanitation in schools are pre-requisites for the right to basic education for school children and the achievement of goal 4 and 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Nonetheless, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in schools is fraught with inadequacy of toilet and handwashing facilities, and poor sustainability mechanisms that threaten its success. This paper, therefore, assesses the operation and sustainability of WASH in schools in the Nabdam District of Ghana. Adopting a qualitative approach, thirty-seven semi-structured interviews were held to capture the understanding and experiences of students, head teachers, health officers, officials of the Ghana Health Service and District Education Directorate on the phenomena. Fifteen focus group discussions were further held with students in the basic schools. The findings indicate that WASH is poorly managed even though the schools studied had some established WASH facilities. WASH in the schools was bedeviled with challenges such as inadequate toilets and handwashing facilities, poor funding and ineffective WASH committees. The WASH committees lacked the capacity to raise funds and carry out their duties in accordance with the WASH implementation guidelines. The study recommends that the Ghana Education Service organizes periodic capacity building programs for WASH committees to address this shortcoming. The Ministry of Education should support basic schools in districts in their efforts to provide WASH facilities and fund WASH activities. The study also calls for the formation of student WASH clubs and sanitation brigades to promote the operation and sustainability of WASH in schools.
Cogent Public Health, 2022
Even though studies have established that informal sector workers are prone to occupational-relat... more Even though studies have established that informal sector workers are prone to occupational-related diseases, not much is known about their health-seeking behaviour. This study aims to examine drivers of health-seeking behaviour among informal sector workers in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. A cross-sectional survey was conducted. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 350 informal sector workers. Questionnaires were used to collect the data. The study revealed that 33.5% of the participants practiced good health-seeking behaviour when they developed occupational-related diseases in 2016. The study further revealed that informal sector workers with five or more dependents (AOR: 8.482; CI: 1.265–56.872; p = 0.028) and those who spent more than an hour at a health facility (AOR: 24.040; CI: 8.508–67.927; p < 0.0001) were more probable to exhibit good health-seeking behaviour. Informal sector workers without active National Health Insurance Scheme [NHIS] (AOR: 0.149; CI: 0.052–0.430; p < 0.0001) and employees were less likely to adopt good health-seeking behaviour. Given the limited formal healthcare system and resources available, socio-demographic factors should be taken into consideration when formulating policies to encourage informal sector workers to adopt good health-seeking behaviour
Cogent Medicine, 2021
The formalization of the informal sector in Ghana can never be achieved without planning the work... more The formalization of the informal sector in Ghana can never be achieved without planning the working environment of the informal sector workers. Although studies have touched on various aspects of the informal sector working environment, no review studies are available on the role of planning in the working environment of the informal sector in Ghana. The purpose of this review was to identify the working environment of informal sector workers and highlight the role of planning as a first step in formalizing the sector to improve their working environment. The study is based on descriptive and narrative content analyses of the literature on the working environment of informal sector workers and the role of planning. The analysis revealed that the working environment of the informal sector workers is hazardous, devoid of social protection, and polluted, which poses risks of injuries and diseases to workers thereby undermining their health and well-being. The poor nature of the working environment of the informal sector workers makes the social, spatial, environmental and facilitating roles of planners crucial in the informal sector. Through planning, the informal sector could be sufficiently guided to appreciate the opportunities and challenges in their working environment to find lasting solutions to the inherent health and safety problems. There is a need for government to formulate a national occupational health and safety policy and regulatory framework to regulate the informal sector.
Cogent Medicine, 2021
The incidence of occupational injuries and diseases among informal welders demands an understandi... more The incidence of occupational injuries and diseases among informal welders demands an understanding of a wider perspective that goes beyond the identification of hazards and preventive measures to minimize their effects. The literature on economic cost at the workplace has mainly focused on the formal sector with very little attention to the informal work environment. This paper fills this gap by estimating lost man-days and the economic cost among informal welders. The cross-sectional survey design employing a quantitative approach was used for the study. The data were collected from 220 informal master welders and their apprentices. Musculoskeletal injuries, malaria, hypertension and respiratory diseases were the major injuries and diseases leading to the highest days (35 days and above) lost for masters and apprentices. The master welders spent more days off work than the apprentices because they performed most of the technical work and were exposed to hazards for a longer period. These occupational-related injuries and diseases led to a total economic cost of 7.7% and 9.4% of masters and apprentices' total earnings, respectively. Environmentally safe working conditions of informal welders would reduce the occurrence of injuries and diseases and give them an opportunity to sustain themselves and their dependents and contribute to national development.
BMC Research Notes, 2019
Objective Informal sector workers are exposed to occupational hazards which could escalate their ... more Objective Informal sector workers are exposed to occupational hazards which could escalate their healthcare expenditures. Thus, enrollment in a health protection scheme among informal sector workers is useful for reducing their catastrophic healthcare expenditures. However, there is scant information on factors predicting their enrollment in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in Ghana, a gap this quantitative study aims to fill. A sample of 350 informal sector workers was involved in a cross-sectional survey. Results Approximately 17% of the participants were enrolled in NHIS. Respondents who had worked between 5 and 7 years were significantly more likely to enroll in NHIS compared with those who had worked below 2 years (AOR = 13.159, CI 1.135–152.596, p = 0.039). The study further found that apprentices (AOR = 0.72, CI 0.353–1.056, p = 0.005) were less likely to enroll in NHIS compared with their masters. Participants who were exposed to electrical hazards (AOR = 2.93, CI...
BMC Primary Care
Background We conducted an integrative review in an attempt to methodically and systematically un... more Background We conducted an integrative review in an attempt to methodically and systematically understand the individual (personal factors) that influence National Health Insurance Scheme [NHIS] enrolment among older adults aged 50 years and above. The study was premised on evidence pointing to a state of little or no change in the enrolment rates [especially among older adults], which contrasts with the initial euphoria that greeted the launch of the scheme - which culminated in high enrolment rates. Methods The integrative literature review was conducted to synthesise the available evidence on individual determinants of NHIS among older adults. The methodological approach of the integrative literature review follows a five-stage interdependent and interconnected procedure of problem identification, literature search, data evaluation, data analysis and results presentation. Studies that met the inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed articles published in the English Language, from J...
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Papers by Anthony Acquah Mensah