Scholars Journal of Science and Technology

Hand Hygiene Practices among Nurses and Midwives at the Hospital in the Covid-19 Era

Carlos Yeboah — 2023-04-26

The purpose of this study is to assess hand hygiene practices among nurses and midwives at the hospital in this COVID-19 era. The survey employed a health facility-based cross-sectional study design and a simple random sampling technique to recruit respondents. A sample size of 114 nurses and midwives was selected for the study. A structured study questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents. Descriptive statistics were conducted on participants' sociodemographic characteristics and knowledge of COVID-19. A Pearson chi-square test was conducted to determine the strength of the association between sociodemographic variables and knowledge of COVID-19. The Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient is used to establish the correlation between the dependent and the predictor variables. The study demonstrated that nurses and midwives had fair knowledge (51.8%) of the COVID-19 pandemic and hand hygiene practices. The study also indicated that a significant positive correlation existed between nurses' and midwives' knowledge of COVID-19 and the processes of hand hygiene [Spearman (Rho) = 0.681, P = 0.001]. Moreover, a positive correlation was found between nurses' and midwives' knowledge of COVID-19 and hand hygiene compliance [Spearman (Rho) = 0.391, P =.0001] in preventing COVID-19 infection. In the end, it was established that the level of health workers' knowledge of COVID-19 has a significant relationship to hand hygiene processes and compliance with infection prevention control. However, the study recommends that the Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Health and its agencies such as GHS and CHAG, among others, embark on intensive health promotion and educational programs for health care providers to keep them informed about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Relationship between Head Teachers' Leadership Styles and Teachers' Commitment in Ledzokuku Municipality

Ruth Morkor Boye — 2023-04-27

The study made an effort to look at the connection between teacher commitment and leadership philosophies. The study found a substantial and favorable association between overall leadership style and overall commitment, even though it was a weak relationship. A cross-sectional sample method was used in this research. This architecture captures how things are at a certain point in time. The population size is 850, which comprises all head teachers and teachers currently teaching in public basic schools in the Ledzokuku Municipality. The finding further revealed that individually, all the factors of transactional and transformational have a weak but significant positive correlation with the three commitment dimensions except management-by-exception-passive (the negative leadership factor), which has no relationship with affective commitment and a weak and insignificant relationship with normative commitment. Furthermore, the study discovered that a strong leadership style boosts teacher commitment. Furthermore, transactional leadership generates more commitment than transformational or laissez-faire leadership. This means that when head teachers reward teachers, monitor and forecast potential issues in their work, and take remedial action, their commitment rises. Negative leadership styles like laissez-faire and management-by-exception-passive have nothing to do with dedication. This finding suggests that it might be inadequate and deceptive to conclude that transactional leadership style correlates significantly with commitment without an evaluation of all its individual factors.

The impact of school heads' leadership styles on students’ learning in the Sunyani and Sunyani West municipalities

Joseph Effah Boabeng — 2023-02-14

The purpose of the research study is to determine the impact of school heads' leadership styles on students’ learning in the Sunyani and Sunyani West municipalities. The study has shown that the age and academic credentials, as well as the work experience of school heads, however, the crucial factors shaping the style of leadership that they display is likely to infer that senior high school heads become more democratic with age, professional maturity, and experience. The study has shown that students have a high degree of regard for democratic leadership. This was the product of the answers received from the respondents. They argued that teachers and students are encouraged to exchange ideas and views even though the school head has the final say on decisions; teachers and students feel free to participate more in the process; creativity is promoted and rewarded in their schools; heads seek different views and do not attempt to suppress dissident voices or others who give a less common point of view; heads inspire confidence and respect amongst the school community; teachers and students easily address any school issues with their heads; The study also proofs that democratic school heads’ leadership style has some influence. The independent samples t-test analysis demonstrates that there is a significant difference in the views of the male and female teachers on the views that school heads’ leadership style has effects on students’ learning. To effectively conduct an in-depth review of the leadership styles used by the different heads in the selected schools, the researcher chose a descriptive research approach in order to collect quantifiable information for statistical analysis of the population sample. The study recommends that efforts should be made to hold meetings with the schools’ rank and file, including the School Management Committee and Parent-Teacher Association, to address specific issues and discuss ideas that can improve academic achievement.

Academic Performance of Single-Parented Pupils in Public Basic Schools

Daniel Kessie — 2023-04-06

This study examines the academic performance of single-parented pupils in public basic schools in the Berekum Municipality in the Bono region of Ghana by comparing and analyzing pupils’ academic performance in both private and public basic schools. Using a descriptive research design with a stratified purposive sampling technique, an estimated two hundred and thirty-four sixty (234) respondents were estimated. The findings of the study showed some level of academic performance among pupils in private basic schools in Berekum. This was realized when a number of varied questions were posed to pupils. The mean and standard deviation were used to determine the outcome of each response. The highest response among the list of responses was 2.833, representing the mean, and 1.396, representing the standard deviation, indicating a demonstrable skill in basic skills. The result also indicated that single-parented pupils exhibited a high retention span during learning, representing 2.705 for the mean and 1.823 for the standard deviation, respectively. The academic performance of pupils in public basic schools was lower. This was realized when some questions were asked about the level of academic performance in public schools. Their responses were expressed in mean and standard deviation terms for each response. However, the study recommends that the school authorities and community leaders in the study area work together to organize seminars and sensitization programs for parents to enable them to know that their supervision of their children's learning is vital to their academic performance

Economic Effects of Oil and Gas Production and Management on the Ghanaian Economy

Bernardette Naa Hoffman — 2023-05-10

This paper offers a systematic analysis of the likely economic effects of oil and gas production and management on the Ghanaian economy. The paper has been motivated by the fact that some empirical literature report that natural resource endowment has not necessarily led to economic development in many countries. It is with this apprehension of a possible natural resource curse in Ghana, having discovered oil in commercial quantities that the economic effects of oil and gas production and management on the Ghanaian economy are worth considering. The paper provides a basic descriptive analysis of the issues under consideration. It concludes that oil and gas production in Ghana does not provide a magic wand to transforming the economy of Ghana overnight, but the efficient management and application of the revenues from the sale of the resources will provide keys to the economic development of Ghana. Again, to ensure efficient use of the revenues from the resources, the revenues must be spent on specific projects of urgent national importance that could generate more revenue in the end and stand the test of time to help posterity to have a better judgment of the use of the resources found.

Knowledge of HIV Status and Barriers to HIV Testing Services among the Youth

Chukwuma Chinaza Adaobi — 2023-05-01

Globally, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection remains a public health threat and is worse in Sub-Saharan Africa. HIV/AIDS in Ghana is a serious concern and a threat to the youth, which constitute the workforce. Innovative HIV Services have the potential to address low HIV testing rates; however, the dynamics of HIV uptake are not well understood among the youth. This study, therefore, examined the evidence of knowledge of HIV status and barriers to the uptake of HIV Services among the youth in Asutifi North District. The study adopted a quantitative approach by administering questionnaires to 387 youth in the district. Subsequently, the data were coded and analyzed in STATA 14.0 Statistical Software. Findings from the study demonstrated that there was inadequate knowledge of HIV status among the youth, and they preferred to know their HIV status. A high proportion of youth have never heard of HIV Testing and Counseling (HTC) Services. All barriers that prevented the efficient uptake of HIV testing and counseling services included personal level barriers (stigma and discrimination) and health workers' attitudes that hindered the efficient uptake of HTC services. HIV testing and knowing one’s HIV status are most common among married young women (OR = 3.52; p 0.001; 95% CI = 1.80–7.88). The most preferred HIV testing strategy is the "Know Your Status" campaign, while PITC has the potential to improve knowledge of HIV status. The study concludes that among the youth in Asutifi North District, there are low knowledge of HIV status, and personal and health system barriers prevent the uptake of HTC services. Being married among the youth is associated with knowledge of one’s HIV status, especially for young women. The Know Your Status campaign is also the most preferred HIV testing strategy among the youth in Asutifi North District.