This integrative review aimed to identify and synthesize evidence on workplace stress and resilience in the Australian nursing workforce. A search of the published literature was conducted using EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL (EBSCO), PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus. The search was limited to papers published in English from January 2008 to December 2018. The review integrated both qualitative and quantitative data into a single synthesis. Of the 41 papers that met the inclusion criteria, 65.85% (27/41) used quantitative data, 29.26% (12/41) used qualitative data, and 4.87% (2/41) used mixed methods. About 48.78% (20/41) of the papers addressed resilience issues, 46.34% (19/41) addressed workplace stress, and 4.87% (2/41) addressed both workplace stress and resilience. The synthesis indicated that nurses experience moderate to high levels of stress. Several individual attributes and organizational resources are employed by nurses to manage workplace adversity. The individual attributes include the use of work–life balance and organizing work as a mindful strategy, as well as self‐reliance, passion and interest, positive thinking, and emotional intelligence as self‐efficacy mechanisms. The organizational resources used to build resilience are support services (both formal and informal), leadership, and role modelling. The empirical studies on resilience largely address individual attributes and organizational resources used to build resilience, with relatively few studies focusing on workplace interventions. Our review recommends that research attention be devoted to educational interventions to achieve sustainable improvements in the mental health and wellbeing of nurses.

The need to improve the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and rights of women with disabilities is increasingly acknowledged. Unfortunately, women with disabilities in low-and middle-income settings, including Ghana, face several barriers (including structural, financial, physical, social and attitudinal) to accessing SRH services and care. This paper explores the enablers and barriers to accessing SRH services and care among visually impaired women in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions of Ghana. Qualitative data from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were collected from 21 visually impaired women, selected through purposive and snowballing sampling techniques. Thematic analysis was used to develop codes, and data were further grouped into emerging themes. The barriers to accessing SRH services and care were financial difficulties and lack of preferential treatment. The enablers which facilitated access to SRH services and care were the support provided by caregivers and friendly relationships with health providers. To address these challenges and promote access, SRH related policies, services and programmes should be inclusive of the needs of visually impaired women, and measures to remove financial challenges to service utilisation and foster positive relationships with health workers, church and community members should be adopted.

Purpose -While corruption has long been recognized as a destructive social problem, the subject has not yet been given much attention in the literature of the management of procurement of infrastructure projects in Ghana. The purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss corruption practices inherent in public procurement of infrastructural projects in Ghana with the aim of identifying corruption related challenges that must be addressed in order to actualize the expected economic gains of infrastructural projects. Design/methodology/approach -Drawing extensively on existing literature and published data, the methodology adopted for the paper consisted of multi-stage critical review of pertinent literature; review of 2007 Annual Report of the Public Procurement Authority and review of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663). The study assumes value-laden axiological philosophy, where the values and experiences of the authors provided the basis for the discussion. Findings -Conflict of interest, bribery, embezzlement, kickbacks, tender manipulation and fraud are observed corruption practices in the Ghanaian infrastructure projects delivery system. The severity of corruption practices have intensified the search for more innovative means of delivering infrastructure projects that will achieve value for money. In the pursuit to control corruption practices, this would require constitution of a sound procurement system and pro-social equity policies that would foster good governance, corporate social responsibility, transparency, accountability, judicious public expenditure and national progress. The Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663) is observed to proffer solutions for these underlying constructs but not without challenges.Research limitations/implications -The nature of the research is review and explanatory without any empirical analysis to support the discussions and thus the results cannot be generalized on a broader context of public procurement practice in Ghana. Practical implications -Implementation of sound procurement performance measurements would be imperative in the bid to curb corruption practices. The paper suggested a number of business approaches to combat corrupt practices in Ghana, which are explained in terms of political, psychological, technical, operational and retaliatory measures. In this paper, it is proposed that knowledge about and debating corruption related issues is just as important to the modern public procurement as are the abilities to creatively and logically introduce monitoring systems when planning, executing and completing projects. Originality/value -The work is novel providing meaningful insights into conceptual basis for a detailed empirical analysis. Being a pioneering study, further research tailored to compare the extent of corruption practices in various sectors of the economy of Ghana would be novel.

IntroductionThe importance of accessible mental health treatment is a global concern, particularly when one in five people will experience a mental health problem in their lifespan. This is no less important in Ghana; however, no studies have yet attempted to appraise and synthesise the potential enablers and barriers to accessing services in Ghana. The aim of this integrative review is therefore to identify and synthesise existing evidence on the barriers and enablers to accessing mental health services in Ghana.MethodsA search of the published literature was conducted using Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL (EBSCO), Web of Science, and Scopus electronic databases. The search was limited to papers published in English and within 2000–2018. Using pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, two reviewers independently screened the titles and abstracts of the retrieved papers. A data extraction form and a Critical Appraisal Checklist were used to extract and appraise data, respectively. The integrative review incorporates both qualitative and quantitative data into a single synthesis.ResultsOut of 42 papers that met the inclusion criteria, 50% used qualitative methods, 33.3% used mixed methods and 16.7% used quantitative methods alone. The potential barriers in accessing mental health services were attitudinal, knowledge about services, treatment cost, transportation and geographical proximity, as well as perceived efficacy of medication. Similarly, the health systems factors contributing to barriers were low priority, limited funding sources, irregular medicine supply, limited services for marginalised groups and poor state of psychiatric facilities, together with poor management of mental health cadres. The potential enablers for service users involved increased decentralisation and integration, task-shifting and existing support services.ConclusionThe existing evidence on mental health in Ghana is skewed towards weaknesses in the systems and stigma, with rationally little, or no, evidence or emphasis on the effectiveness, or quality of mental health services. These attributes largely neglect the provision of psychiatric services for marginalised mental health service user groups, including children, adolescents, people with disabilities and the elderly.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12961-018-0382-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

PurposeFailure to resolve Ghana's infrastructure deficit, coupled with inability of traditional financing methods to meet current infrastructure demand, have triggered recent studies to explore strategic issues underpinning innovative financing (IF) of infrastructure. The purpose of this study is to explore potential impediments inherent in IF tools available to Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical aspect of the investigation used structured interviews and a survey questionnaire to gather data from project implementation agencies with experience of infrastructure IF. Factor analysis (principal component analysis) established which variables measured aspects of the same underlying dimensions.FindingsA total of three key challenges were identified, and explained in terms of: investment capacity; implementation and revenue mobilization. Findings provide an early failure signal when implementing IF.Practical implicationsConclusions and recommendations are of benefit to various international development partners and governmental and non‐governmental organizations that develop and/or implement infrastructure projects. Further research will seek to explore strategic, innovative solutions to on‐going challenges.Originality/valueKnowledge of the critical challenges facing implementation of IF remain scant and incomplete.