Bridewealth is fundamental to marriage in Africa. Anthropological research provides substantial information regarding characteristics of the bridewealth transaction, but scholars and policymakers know little about its consequences for women in contemporary Africa. We argue that the payment of bridewealth strengthens normative constraints on women's autonomy in the reproductive domain. We test and find support for our argument using a unique vignette experiment conducted with rural women in the Volta Region of Ghana.
Social norms are rules that prescribe and proscribe behavior. The application of norms is conditional. But scholars have little systematic understanding of the factors that affect conditionality. The authors argue that understanding norms requires assessing the costs and benefits of focal and nonfocal behaviors for norm targets, beneficiaries, and enforcers. The authors develop hypotheses about two combinations of these factors; they hypothesize that 1) costs to the norm target of complying with the norm, and 2) behavior by the norm beneficiary that hurts the norm target, weaken the norm. The authors use a vignette experiment to test these hypotheses in the context of bridewealth norms in Africa. The results are consistent with the predictions. The study contributes to the literature on norms by suggesting a systematic approach to understanding norm conditionality.
Diarrhoeal diseases remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in poor urban communities in the Global South. Studies on food access and safety have however not considered the sources of discrete food categories and their propensity to harbour and transmit diarrhoeal disease pathogens in poor urban settings. We sought to contribute to knowledge on urban food environment and enteric infections by interrogating the sources and categories of common foods and their tendency to transmit diarrhoea in low-income communities in Accra. We modelled the likelihood of diarrhoea transmission through specific food categories sourced from home or out of home after controlling for alternate transmission pathways and barriers. We used structured interviews where households that participated in the study were selected through a multi-stage systematic sampling approach. We utilized data on 506 households from 3 low-income settlements in Accra. These settlements have socio-economic characteristics mimicking typical low-income communities in the Global South. The results showed that the incidence of diarrhoea in a household is explained by type and source of food, source of drinking water, wealth and the presence of children below five years in the household. Rice-based staples which were consumed by 94.5% of respondents in the week preceding the survey had a higher likelihood of transmitting diarrhoeal diseases when consumed out of home than when eaten at home. Sources of hand-served dumpling-type foods categorized as “staple balls” had a nuanced relationship with incidence of diarrhoea. These findings reinforce the need for due diligence in addressing peculiar needs of people in vulnerable conditions of food environment in poor urban settlements in order to reap a co-benefit of reduced incidence of diarrhoea while striving to achieve the global development goal on ending hunger.
BackgroundMental health disorders present significant health challenges in populations in sub Saharan Africa especially in deprived urban poor contexts. Some studies have suggested that in collectivistic societies such as most African societies people can draw on social capital to attenuate the effect of community stressors on their mental health. Global studies suggest the effect of social capital on mental disorders such as psychological distress is mixed, and emerging studies on the psychosocial characteristics of collectivistic societies suggest that mistrust and suspicion sometimes deprive people of the benefit of social capital. In this study, we argue that trust which is often measured as a component of social capital has a more direct effect on reducing community stressors in such deprived communities.MethodsData from the Urban Health and Poverty Survey (EDULINK Wave III) survey were used. The survey was conducted in 2013 in three urban poor communities in Accra: Agbogbloshie, James Town and Ussher Town. Psychological distress was measured with a symptomatic wellbeing scale. Participants’ perceptions of their neighbours’ willingness to trust, protect and assist others was used to measure community sense of trust. Participants’ willingness to ask for and receive help from neighbours was used to measure personal sense of trust. Demographic factors were controlled for. The data were analyzed using descriptive and multivariate regressions.ResultsThe mean level of psychological distress among the residents was 25.5 (SD 5.5). Personal sense of trust was 8.2 (SD 2.0), and that of community sense of trust was 7.5 (SD 2.8). While community level trust was not significant, personal sense of trust significantly reduced psychological distress (B = -.2016728, t = -2.59, p < 0.010). The other factors associated with psychological distress in this model were perceived economic standing, education and locality of residence.ConclusionThis study presents evidence that more trusting individuals are significantly less likely to be psychologically distressed within deprived urban communities in Accra. Positive intra and inter individual level variables such as personal level trust and perceived relative economic standing significantly attenuated the effect of psychological distress in communities with high level neighbourhood disorder in Accra.
Background Understanding the influence of participatory video-making on the nutrition-related behavior of video creators may help shape nutrition education interventions. Objective This study assessed the perceived value and influence of a participatory video intervention among participants and stakeholders. Methods A 2018–2019 cluster randomized controlled trial (clinicaltrials.gov NCT03704649) selected 20 schools (10 intervention, n = 181; 10 control, n = 170) in one Ghanaian rural district, enrolled adolescent girls 13–16 years old, and provided a nutrition curriculum. Each intervention school also participated in two series of activities designed to help adolescents plan, film, and screen two nutrition-related videos. The Most Significant Change method involved intervention participants and local stakeholders to assess the value and influence of the intervention – a secondary outcome of the trial. Project staff collected 116 stories of change from the adolescents. Stories described shifts in four domains: participant, peer, and family behavior, and structural changes in the school. Project team used a selection rubric to identify 14 stories that reflected heightened nutrition literacy. Staff conducted interviews with the 14 adolescents whose stories were selected to elaborate on details and perceived resonance. Finally, local stakeholders assessed the stories to identify the four most significant changes of the intervention – one per domain. A separate thematic analysis identified emerging patterns of motivation and action across the 14 interviews. Results The chosen Most Significant Change stories revealed how adolescents found creative solutions to acquire iron-rich foods, encouraged neighbors to eat iron-rich foods, taught their family new agricultural practices, and promoted change in their school canteen. Local stakeholders valued stories that addressed common community nutrition issues in a creative and sustainable way, whereas adolescents prioritized stories that showed a change in health outcomes. Conclusion Stories of change revealed that the intervention promoted a transformative influence; participants modified their eating habits, lifestyle, and their environment.
This study seeks to identify the socio-demographic, reproductive, partner-related, and facility-level characteristics associated with women’s immediate and subsequent use of post-abortion contraception in Ghana. Secondary data from the 2017 Ghana Maternal Health Survey were utilized in this study. The weighted data comprised 1,880 women who had ever had an abortion within the five years preceding the survey. Binary logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the associations between the predictor and outcome variables. Health provider and women’s socio-demographic characteristics were significantly associated with women’s use of post-abortion contraception. Health provider’s counselling on family planning prior to or after abortion and place of residence were associated with both immediate and subsequent post-abortion uptake of contraception. Among subsequent post-abortion contraceptive users, older women (35–49), women in a union, and women who had used contraception prior to becoming pregnant were strong predictors. Partner-related and reproductive variables did not predict immediate and subsequent use of contraception following abortion. Individual and structural/institutional level characteristics are important in increasing women’s acceptance and use of contraception post abortion. Improving and intensifying family planning counselling services at the health facility is critical in increasing contraceptive prevalence among abortion seekers.
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