Competence of teachers towards managing trauma among children with disabilities in Ghana.

Background: Although trauma is one of the leading causes of behaviour problems among children with disabilities, there has been limited scholarly interest in trauma management within the discourse of implementation of inclusive education. Objectives: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) trauma management model was used to study teachers' awareness of trauma management among students with disabilities studying in regular classrooms. Method: A total of 271 teachers were recruited from two municipalities in the central region of Ghana to complete the Teacher Trauma Management Scale developed for this study. The data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis, mean scores, multivariate analysis of variances, and linear regression. Results: The results showed teachers' uncertainty towards trauma management, and a positive correlation was also found between the tenets of the study framework. Conclusion: The study concluded with a recommendation for contextual development of the curriculum to guide teacher training in trauma management. Contribution: Studies on trauma management within the discourse of implementation of inclusive education are scarce. This study extends the literature on inclusive education to teacher development to support trauma management among students with disabilities in regular schools.

The impact of health status on attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination.

Background and Aims: The COVID-19 outbreak has had an overwhelming effect on societies' access to essential services. Human-to-human transmission facilitates the spread of the disease, as do other conditions, such as temperature. Individuals with underlying health conditions are at increased risk of acquiring and suffering the devastating effects of COVID-19. Consequently, vaccine manufacturing was envisaged as a milestone toward "normalizing" the world. While scholarly attention has focused on attitudes toward vaccination, the relationship between health status and attitudes toward vaccination is understudied. This study attempted to fill this knowledge gap by assessing the impact of health status on attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine. Methods: We developed a 26-item questionnaire titled "Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination Scale" for data collection. A total of 1047 school or university staff members from 22 countries completed the questionnaire. The data were initially validated using exploratory factor analysis to determine its structure and subsequently analyzed using SPSS version 28. Two-way factorial analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis were performed to understand the influence of health status on attitudes toward vaccination. Results: The results showed a direct effect of health status on attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination, (Step 1; ß = 0.11, p = 0.001; Step 2: ß = 0.10, p = 0.001). In Step 2 also, vaccination status (ß = 0.22, p = 0.001) and place of residence (ß = -0.08, p = 0.04) also influenced attitudes towards vaccination. Health status also moderated the relation between attitude and education level (F[3, 1038] = 3.04) of participants. Conclusion: Results show possible fear and hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccination among those with underlying health conditions. Therefore, expeditious sensitization programs may be needed to promote the importance of vaccination for developing resistance against COVID-19 and vaccine acceptance. However, such initiatives should target vulnerable groups in society. Policymakers could focus on improving sensitization toward COVID-19 vaccination among those living with underlying health conditions.

Special educators' intentions towards supporting practice of inclusive education for students with disabilities in secondary schools in Ghana.

Background: Although teacher training institutions have introduced courses in inclusive education to equip teachers with the necessary pedagogical skills to teach in diverse classrooms, it has been argued that the services of special educators are essential when it comes to teaching students with disabilities in regular classrooms. Unfortunately, there is scant literature on the views of special educators regarding the enactment of inclusive education in sub-Saharan African countries, such as Ghana. Objective: In an effort towards promoting inclusive education in Ghana, there has been deployment of special educators across Ghana to supervise the implementation of inclusive education in schools. The purpose of this study was to explore the intentions of special educators towards supporting teachers to teach students with disabilities in secondary schools. Method: Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour guided the development of interview guide for data collection for this qualitative study. Twelve special educators were purposively selected and interviewed from five districts in Ghana. Results: The participants expressed their unpreparedness to work in secondary schools because of multiple factors, such as their job description, resistance from teachers, and inadequate teaching and learning materials. Conclusion: This study concludes on the need for policymakers to reconsider the deployment of special educators to cluster of schools or geographical areas in order to supervise the education of children with disabilities.

Barriers to utilization of sexual and reproductive health services among young deaf persons in Ghana.

Despite significant progress made to improve access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to the general populace in Ghana, information on the accessibility of such services to deaf persons is limited. This study investigated access to and utilization of SRH services among young female deaf persons in Ghana. Sixty deaf persons were interviewed from six metropolis/municipalities/districts in three regions of Ghana. The data were collected using focus group discussion and one-on-one interviews. The data were subjected to content analysis, leading to the identification of two broad themes. The study identified barriers at two levels: point of service delivery and barriers at the individual level. For instance, at the point of service delivery, they were claims that deaf women were victims of negative attitudes from health workers. The study concludes on the need for health policymakers to consider collaborating with the Ghana National Association of the Deaf in an effort towards designing inclusive SRH programmes.

Barriers to utilization of sexual and reproductive health services among young deaf persons in Ghana

Despite significant progress made to improve access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to the general populace in Ghana, information on the accessibility of such services to deaf persons is limited. This study investigated access to and utilization of SRH services among young female deaf persons in Ghana. Sixty deaf persons were interviewed from six metropolis/municipalities/districts in three regions of Ghana. The data were collected using focus group discussion and one-on-one interviews. The data were subjected to content analysis, leading to the identification of two broad themes. The study identified barriers at two levels: point of service delivery and barriers at the individual level. For instance, at the point of service delivery, they were claims that deaf women were victims of negative attitudes from health workers. The study concludes on the need for health policymakers to consider collaborating with the Ghana National Association of the Deaf in an effort towards designing inclusive SRH programmes.

Experiences of primary caregivers of children with cerebral palsy across the trajectory of diagnoses in Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a non-progressive disorder of posture or movement caused by a lesion to the developing brain that results in functional limitations. The diagnosis of CP can vary from one child to another, causing family stress because of vague and unknown outcomes of the disorder. Although there are negative attitudes in Ghanaian societies towards primary caregivers and children with disabilities, fewer attempts have been made to understand their experiences. OBJECTIVES: The main aim of this study was to explore the experiences of primary caregivers across the trajectory of the diagnosis (before, during and after) of CP in the setting of a tertiary hospital. METHOD: Using Social Capital Theory as framework, 40 primary caregivers of children with CP, who were receiving treatment at a major referral hospital in Ghana, were interviewed about their experiences before, during and after diagnosis. RESULTS: The results that emerged from the thematic analysis were discussed as follows: experiences before diagnosis, experiences during the diagnosis and experiences after the diagnosis. Particularly, participants discussed their inability to access essential services such as education for their children with CP. CONCLUSION: In light of systemic challenges faced by participants and their children with CP, the need for health policymakers to prioritise the public education about CP, promoting the well-being of caregivers and other implications of the study have been discussed.

Attitudes of health service providers: The perspective of people with disabilities in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana.

INTRODUCTION: Awareness of disability issues has gained considerable interest by advocacy groups in recent years. However, it is uncertain whether attitudes and perceptions of all service providers and society have adjusted accordingly towards the health care of people with disabilities. This study sought to examine the attitudes of health providers from the perspective of people with disabilities in the Kumasi Metropolis. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using semi-structured questionnaires was conducted with people with disabilities (with physical, hearing and visual impairments,) in the Kumasi Metropolis. The study used a multi-stage sampling involving cluster and simple random sampling to select 255 respondents split amongst the following five clusters of communities; Oforikrom, Subin, Asewase, Tafo and Asokwa. Data were analysed using STATA 14 and presented in descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: The study found that 71% of the respondents faced some form of discrimination including the use of derogatory remarks, frustration and unavailable required services on the basis of their disability, the type of services they need and the location. Women were 3.89 times more likely to face discrimination; Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 3.89 (95% confidence interval [CI]; 1.41, 10.76), and visually impaired was more likely to be discriminated at the facility compared with physical disability; AOR = 5.05 (95% CI; 1.44, 17.65). However, respondents with some educational qualification and those who stayed with their family members were less likely to face discrimination; AOR = 0.08 (95% CI; 0.01, 0.39). CONCLUSION: The study recommends the provision of in-service training for service providers to update their knowledge on disability issues and improve access to services for people with disabilities.