scholarly journals Work Conditions of the Mortuary Attendant in Ghana: A Qualitative Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 004695802110602
Author(s):  
Anita Fafa Dartey ◽  
John Kwasi Akortiakumah ◽  
Perfert Titiati ◽  
Ebenezer Kwao ◽  
Felix Kwasi Nyande
Keyword(s):  
Formal Education ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Work Conditions ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Job Requirements ◽  
Training Requirements ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Interview Guide

Mortuary workers play a crucial role in healthcare delivery by providing after-life care for dead bodies. Mortuary attendants ensure that corpses are well preserved before handing them over to bereaved families for burial. However, the work of mortuary attendants is a neglected area in most low- and middle-income countries, Ghana inclusive.This study explored the nature, duties and job requirements of mortuary attendants in three regions of Ghana. A descriptive exploratory study that utilised a qualitative approach was conducted. Nineteen mortuary attendants who worked in nine mortuary facilities in three regions were purposively selected and interviewed for the study. Semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded using an interview guide. Verbatim transcription of conversations was done, data were manually coded and analysed thematically. Scientific trustworthiness was ensured through applications of the philosophies of credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability. Three themes were identified: nature of the work of mortuary attendants; qualification and training requirements; and working conditions of mortuary attendants. The emerged sub-themes revealed the critical role played by attendants in preserving the bodies for the families; the majority of attendants got their skills through apprenticeship and challenging work conditions. The lack of structured formal education among mortuary attendants exposes them to occupational hazards and leads to poor service delivery. It is recommended that a formal programme for training, certification and recruitment of mortuary attendants be instituted to equip them with the needed knowledge and skill to enable them to meet the demands of their work.

scholarly journals ‘I Waited for It until Forever’: Community Barriers to Accessing Intellectual Disability Services for Children and Their Families in Cape Town, South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (22) ◽  
pp. 8504
Author(s):  
Siyabulela Mkabile ◽  
Leslie Swartz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Disability Services ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
Children With Intellectual Disability

Background: Intellectual disability is more common in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. Stigma and discrimination have contributed to barriers to people with intellectual disability accessing healthcare. As part of a larger study on caregiving of children with intellectual disability in urban Cape Town, South Africa, we interviewed a sub-group of families who had never used the intellectual disability services available to them, or who had stopped using them. Methods: We employed a qualitative research design and conducted semi-structured interviews to explore the views and perspectives of parents and caregivers of children with intellectual disability who are not using specialised hospital services. We developed an interview guide to help explore caregivers’ and parents’ views. Results: Results revealed that caregivers and parents of children with intellectual disability did not use the intellectual disability service due to financial difficulties, fragile care networks and opportunity costs, community stigma and lack of safety, lack of faith in services and powerlessness at effecting changes and self-stigmatisation. Conclusion: Current findings highlight a need for increased intervention at community level and collaboration with community-based projects to facilitate access to services, and engagement with broader issues of social exclusion.

scholarly journals ‘I Waited for It Until Forever’: Community Barriers to Accessing Intellectual Disability Services for Children and Their Families in Cape Town, South Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siyabulela Mkabile ◽  
Leslie Swartz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Disability Services ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
Children With Intellectual Disability

1) Background: Intellectual disability is more common in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. Stigma and discrimination have contributed to barriers to people with intellectual disability accessing healthcare. As part of a larger study on caregiving of children with intellectual disability in urban Cape Town, South Africa, we interviewed a sub-group of families who had never used the intellectual disability services available to them, or who had stopped using them; 2) Methods: We employed a qualitative research design and conducted semi-structured interviews to explore the views and perspectives of parents and caregivers of children with intellectual disability who are not using specialised hospital services. We developed an interview guide to help explore caregivers’ and parents’ views; 3) Results: Results revealed that caregivers and parents of children with intellectual disability did not use the service due to financial difficulties, fragile care networks and opportunity costs, community stigma and lack of safety, lack of faith in services and powerlessness at effecting changes, and self-stigmatisation; 4) Conclusion: Current findings highlight a need for increased intervention at community level and collaboration with community-based projects to facilitate access to services, and engagement with broader issues of social exclusion.

scholarly journals Foreign aid on economic growth in Africa: A comparison of low and middle-income countries

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aye Mengistu Alemu ◽  
Jin-Sang Lee
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Theoretical Hypothesis

Previous empirical studies on the effects of foreign aid on economic growth have generated mixed results that make it difficult to draw policy recommendations. The main reason for such mixed results is the choice of a single aggregate list of countries, regardless of the disparities in levels of development. This study therefore fills the development gap by disaggregating the African data into a panel of 20 middle- income and 19 low- income African countries over a period of 15 years between 1995 and 2010, and employing a dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM) model to address the dynamic nature of economic growth as well as the problems of endogeneity. The results of this study support the theoretical hypothesis that a positive relationship between aid and GDP growth exists, but only for low-income African countries, not middle-income ones. On the other hand, the study reveals that middle- income African countries tend to experience a greater impact on their economic growth from foreign direct investment (FDI) and natural resources revenues, mainly oil exports. This implies that the frequent criticism that foreign aid has not contributed to economic growth is flawed, at least in the case of low-income African countries. In fact, foreign aid has played a critical role in stimulating economic growth in such countries through supplementing domestic sources of finance such as savings, thus increasing the amount of investment and capital stock in them.

scholarly journals Implementation research training for learners in low- and middle-income countries: Evaluating behavior change after participating in a massive online open course

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Launois ◽  
Dermot Maher ◽  
Edith Certain ◽  
Bella Ross ◽  
Michael J. Penkunas
Keyword(s):  
Professional Practice ◽  
Implementation Research ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
World Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract Background Implementation research (IR) can play a critical role in the delivery of disease control interventions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The growing demand for IR training has led to the development of a range of training programs and university courses, the majority of which can not be accessed by learners in LMICs. This article reports on the evaluation of a massive open online course (MOOC) developed by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases hosted by the World Health Organization on the topic of IR with a focus on infectious diseases of poverty. This study followed Kirkpatrick’s Model to evaluate training programs with a specific focus on post-training changes in behavior. Methods MOOC participants were invited to take part in an anonymous online survey examining their IR knowledge and how they applied it in their professional practice approximately 1-1.5 years after completing the MOOC. The survey contained 43 open-ended, multiple choice and Likert-type questions. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the quantitative data and responses to the open-ended questions were thematically coded. Results A total of 748 MOOC participants responded to the survey. The demographic profile of the survey respondents aligned with that of the MOOC participants, with nearly 70% of respondents originating from Africa. Responses to the quantitative and open-ended survey questions revealed that respondents’ IR knowledge had improved to a large extent as a result of the MOOC, and that they used the knowledge and skills gained in their professional lives frequently. Respondents most often cited changes in their conceptual understanding of IR and understanding of the research process as substantial areas of change influenced by participating in the MOOC. Conclusions These findings indicate that the MOOC was successful in targeting learners from LMICs, in strengthening their IR knowledge and in contributing to their ability to apply it in their professional practice. The utility of MOOCs for providing IR training to learners in LMICs, where implementation challenges are encountered often, makes this platform an ideal standalone learning tool or one that could be combined with other training formats.

scholarly journals Models of care for chronic conditions in low/middle-income countries: a ‘best fit’ framework synthesis

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. e001077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothy Lall ◽  
Nora Engel ◽  
Narayanan Devadasan ◽  
Klasien Horstman ◽  
Bart Criel
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Essential Medicines ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Low Middle Income Countries ◽  
Best Fit ◽  
Best Fit Framework Synthesis

Management of chronic conditions is a challenge for healthcare delivery systems world over and especially for low/middle-income countries (LMIC). Redesigning primary care to deliver quality care for chronic conditions is a need of the hour. However, much of the literature is from the experience of high-income countries. We conducted a synthesis of qualitative findings regarding care for chronic conditions at primary care facilities in LMICs. The themes identified were used to adapt the existing chronic care model (CCM) for application in an LMIC using the ‘best fit’ framework synthesis methodology. Primary qualitative research studies were systematically searched and coded using themes of the CCM. The results that could not be coded were thematically analysed to generate themes to enrich the model. Search strategy keywords were: primary health care, diabetes mellitus type 2, hypertension, chronic disease, developing countries, low, middle-income countries and LMIC country names as classified by the World Bank. The search yielded 404 articles, 338 were excluded after reviewing abstracts. Further, 42 articles were excluded based on criteria. Twenty-four studies were included for analysis. All themes of the CCM, identified a priori, were represented in primary studies. Four additional themes for the model were identified: a focus on the quality of communication between health professionals and patients, availability of essential medicines, diagnostics and trained personnel at decentralised levels of healthcare, and mechanisms for coordination between healthcare providers. We recommend including these in the CCM to make it relevant for application in an LMIC.

scholarly journals Implementation Research Training for Learners in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Evaluating Behavior Change after Participating in A Massive Online Open Course

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Launois ◽  
Dermot Maher ◽  
Edith Certain ◽  
Bella Ross ◽  
Michael J. Penkunas
Keyword(s):  
Professional Practice ◽  
Implementation Research ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
World Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract Background: Implementation research (IR) can play a critical role in the delivery of disease control interventions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The growing demand for IR training has led to the development of a range of training programs and university courses, the majority of which can not be accessed by learners in LMICs. This article reports on the evaluation of a massive open online course (MOOC) developed by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases hosted by the World Health Organization on the topic of IR with a focus on infectious diseases of poverty. This study followed Kirkpatrick’s Model to evaluate training programs with a specific focus on post-training changes in behavior.Methods: MOOC participants were invited to take part in an anonymous online survey examining their IR knowledge and how they applied it in their professional practice approximately 1-1.5 years after completing the MOOC. The survey contained 43 open-ended, multiple choice and Likert-type questions. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the quantitative data and responses to the open-ended questions were thematically coded.Results: A total of 748 MOOC participants responded to the survey. The demographic profile of the survey respondents aligned with that of the MOOC participants, with nearly 70% of respondents originating from Africa. Responses to the quantitative and open-ended survey questions revealed that respondents’ IR knowledge had improved to a large extent as a result of the MOOC, and that they used the knowledge and skills gained in their professional lives frequently. Respondents most often cited changes in their conceptual understanding of IR and understanding of the research process as substantial areas of change influenced by participating in the MOOC.Conclusions: These findings indicate that the MOOC was successful in targeting learners from LMICs, in strengthening their IR knowledge and in contributing to their ability to apply it in their professional practice. The utility of MOOCs for providing IR training to learners in LMICs, where implementation challenges are encountered often, makes this platform an ideal standalone learning tool or one that could be combined with other training formats.

scholarly journals Implementation Research Training for Learners in Low- and Middle-income Countries: Evaluating Behavior Change After Participating in a Massive Online Open Course

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Launois ◽  
Dermot Maher ◽  
Edith Certain ◽  
Bella Ross ◽  
Michael J. Penkunas
Keyword(s):  
Professional Practice ◽  
Implementation Research ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
World Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract Background: Implementation research (IR) can play a critical role in the delivery of disease control interventions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The growing demand for IR training has led to the development of a range of training programs and university courses, the majority of which can not be accessed by learners in LMICs. This article reports on the evaluation of a massive open online course (MOOC) developed by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases hosted by the World Health Organization on the topic of IR with a focus on infectious diseases of poverty. This study followed Kirkpatrick’s Model to evaluate training programs with a specific focus on post-training changes in behavior.Methods: MOOC participants were invited to take part in an anonymous online survey examining their IR knowledge and how they applied it in their professional practice approximately 1-1.5 years after completing the MOOC. The survey contained 43 open-ended, multiple choice and Likert-type questions. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the quantitative data and responses to the open-ended questions were thematically coded.Results: A total of 748 MOOC participants responded to the survey. The demographic profile of the survey respondents aligned with that of the MOOC participants, with nearly 70% of respondents originating from Africa. Responses to the quantitative and open-ended survey questions revealed that respondents’ IR knowledge had improved to a large extent as a result of the MOOC, and that they used the knowledge and skills gained in their professional lives frequently. Respondents most often cited changes in their conceptual understanding of IR and understanding of the research process as substantial areas of change influenced by participating in the MOOC.Conclusions: These findings indicate that the MOOC was successful in targeting learners from LMICs, in strengthening their IR knowledge and in contributing to their ability to apply it in their professional practice. The utility of MOOCs for providing IR training to learners in LMICs, where implementation challenges are encountered often, makes this platform an ideal standalone learning tool or one that could be combined with other training formats.

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