Purpose -To achieve Goal 5 of the MDGs, the Government of Ghana introduced the free maternal health service system to break financial barriers of access to maternal care services. In spite of this, facility-based deliveries continue to be low due partly to poor quality of antenatal care that prevents pregnant women from giving birth in hospitals. The aim of this study is to examine factors shaping quality of antenatal care in selected public hospitals in the country. Design/methodology/approach -363 expectant mothers were randomly selected for interview. Women who have previously received antenatal care in the health facilities for at least two occasions were interviewed. Multivariate logistic regression model were computed to examine correlates of antenatal care quality. Findings -The odds of reporting quality of antenatal care as good was higher among women aged between 30 and 34 years. Similarly women with junior/senior high education were more likely to report antenatal care quality as good. Distance to the health facilities generally influence women perception of antenatal care quality but the relative odds of reporting quality of care as good attenuated with proximity to the health facility. Five factors (pleasant interaction with providers, privacy during consultation, attentiveness of providers, adequate facilities and availability of drugs) emerged as statistically significant in explaining antenatal care quality after controlling for selected demographic variables. Originality/value -Results of the study generally demonstrate the need to improve maternal services in public facilities to stimulate utilisation and facility-based deliveries.

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BackgroundApproximately 20–40% of couples in Sub-Saharan Africa suffer infertility. Infertility is best understood as a socially constructed process where the affected couples define their inability to have children as a problem, its nature and then construct an appropriate course of action. Infertility is often associated with psychological distress among affected couples. The Ghanaian society places high values on childbearing, making infertility a major social problem for the affected women. This subject has limited qualitative data in Ghana.ObjectiveTo explore experiences of women in Ashanti region of Ghana regarding infertility and its effect on daily living.MethodA qualitative study utilizing content analysis approach. Purposive sampling of 18 women with infertility who sought infertility treatment as referral cases in Kumasi, Ashanti Region were selected for a semi-structured in-depth interview after giving informed consent.ResultsFour main themes emerged as participants’ perception of infertility and its consequences on their daily lives. These include: “abuse”, “marital instability”, “social isolation”, and “loss of self-esteem.” The most predominant theme was “loss of self-esteem”. Infertility was found to influences both psychological and social well-being of women.ConclusionInfertility imposes significant impairment on the emotional, psychological and social well-being of women in Ghana. These include: isolation, abuse, loss of self-esteem, and marital instability.What is already known? infertility may impose psychological distress on affected couples.What did study adds: This study reveals the extent to which infertility-related distress affects the daily living experience of women in Sub-Saharan Africa, including physical abuse.How this study might affect research, practice, or policy: The severity of the psycho-emotional burden of infertility is worse on women and could be mitigated if treatment costs are subsidized.

Abstract-A myriad of research have listed organisational commitment, reduced employee turnover, increased productivity amongst others, as some of the benefits of employee participation in management. Some studies on employee participation, however,indicates that, employees are generally reluctant to use formal avenues created for them to contribute to management. This is especially so because management mostly uses such formal avenues for a top-down information transfer. Also, employees have the fear of being victimised if they raise issuesof concern thatboarders on the use of finance or on something they assume may be offending to management during such meetings. In Ghana, the high annual accident and injury claims made by employees from the manufacturing industry requires urgent action by manufacturing organisations. Legislature on occupational safety and health (OSH) is scattered, with different oversight agencies, inadequate enforcement,and the absence of laws that require the establishment of a health and safety committee which is standard practice in mostdeveloped jurisdictions.In the light of the weak OSH legal and regulatory framework, coupled with the fact that employees feel reluctant to report their safety predicaments during formal meetings, it is important that management and employees create the necessary environment for employees to participate in safety management. Indeed, studies suggest that the existence of such informal avenues in organisations for employee participation in management decision making will enable open discussions on employee safety issues and therefore lead to the prioritisation of OSH in those organisations. Nevertheless, research indicates that informal participation has received little research attention especially with regards to Ghana. This study makes a case for the use of informal participation in ensuring safety in manufacturing companies in Ghana.

who dedicated his entire life to fight global poverty with science, who contributed to this book in 2019, at a time when the incurable disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) already made writing incredibly difficult for him, who has been a life-long inspiration for the editors of this book, and who has been a good friend to many authors of this book.