Ghana Journal of Development Studies

Medical syncretism in the context of bone (fracture) Setting in Ghana: A descriptive qualitative study

2025-06-04T12:26:55+00:00

This study proposes that culture influences health-seeking behaviour, worldviews, livedexperiences, and people's epistemologies. Thus, this study aims to interrogatethepractice of medical syncretism, a necessary health-seeking behaviour characterizedbypatients patronizing the hospital's services and Traditional Medicine Practitioners (TMPs)to deal with their healthcare needs. This study, therefore, investigates howorthopaedicpatients shuffle between the hospital and traditional bone setters to seek care for theirfractures. The study's specific objectives include interrogating the nature of medical syncretism within the context of bone setting, understanding the factors that underpinthe practice of medical syncretism in fracture care, and the benefits of medical syncretism to primary healthcare in Ghana. It uses a qualitative approach, ethnographyand phenomenology. The study engages with medical syncretismin line withbonesetting, citing evidence from the Volta Region of Ghana. The study reveals that fear of amputation, surgeries, first aid, expertise, technology, good reviewprocesses, social support system, fast healing, and the use of herbs as the basis for medical syncretisminfracture care. The study concludes that collaborative efforts between orthopaedists andtraditional bone setters in fracture management, care, and treatment will ensuresustainable health development in Ghana.

From urban infrastructure to neighbourhood risk: The dompoase landfill in perspective

2025-06-04T12:32:24+00:00

Ghana’s national governance hierarchy has been designed such that city governments tendtohave administrative legitimacy to control peri-urban townships. The urban dominance has beento create a place out of space through the intermediary of infrastructure. This paper adds thetheme of ‘landfilling’ to the debate on urban infrastructure dominance. It examinedhowtheDompoase landfill in Kumasi, an urban infrastructure intended to galvanise enthusiasmtowardsproper waste management (WM), has become the epicentre of neighbourhood risk. Thestudydraws on empirical field data from nearby communities; the results showthe landfill ischaracterised by poor management practices that often contradict public health principles. Poor management practices have resulted in risky neighbourhood environmental conditions, asevidenced by increased clouds of insects, surface water pollution, foul odour, and excessivesmoke pollution. The communities perceive these neighbourhood risks as responsibleforescalating environmentally related health problems across the landfill enclave. Thearticleconcludes that contemporary socio-spatial characteristics of Ghanaian cities are increasinglybecoming incompatible with the reliance on landfills as a waste management option.

Child rights regimes in Ghana: Institutions, policies, programmes and enforcement mechanisms

2025-06-04T12:41:30+00:00

Children are vulnerable and suffer various forms of physical or mental violence, abuse, exploitation, neglect, lack of healthcare, and educational and well-being interference. With40per cent of Ghana's population under 15 years, it is appropriate to promote, protect andenforce child rights regimes. This review uses relevant secondary data frominternational treaties, conventions, legislation, and policies on children’s rights, with a special referencetoGhana using the regime theory. The study reveals that Ghana has signed and ratified 10UnitedNations treaties and eight International Labour Organization conventions to protect andsupportchildren's civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. In addition, there are national legislations, policies and programmes. These include the 1992 Constitution of the Republicof Ghana, the Courts Act 1993 (Act 456) as amended, the Children’s Act of 1998, and the National
Cybersecurity Act 2020 (Act 1038) aspects on Child Online Protection. The study concludes thatthere are major emerging threats and risks to children’s rights and recommends national andinternational measures to address these imminent dangers and ensure children's safety onlineand offline participation in the era of increasing scientific and technological advances.

Hazards and health conditions associated with cook fuel among non-domestic users in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana

2025-06-04T12:45:09+00:00

The increasing use, environmental impacts, health implications, and safety concerns surrounding cooking fuels in non-domestic settings have raised concerns due to the possible or significant public health risks. This study assessed the hazards and health conditions associated with cooking fuel among non-domestic users in the Tamale Metropolis. A cross-sectional research design was employed in the data collection involving 407 respondents. The majority of non-domestic users were from urban communities (93.3%). The respondents who brew pito(100.0%), bake bread (100.0%), and operate restaurants (100.0%) were likely to use more firewood. Most non-domestic users of cook fuel patronise traditional cook fuels. The most preferred cook fuels are firewood (46.9%), charcoal (36.7%) and LPG(5.7%) due to affordability. Emission/inhalation of smoke, burns, tearing of eyes, and irritation of eyes and body were identified as health hazards associated with the use of traditional cook fuels, whilst burns and outbreaks of fires were associated with LPG and electricity. Ghana's government and non-government organisations should invest in the promotion of cleaner cook fuels to save the environment from further distraction.

Ecosystem thinking: The dynamics from ecosystem theory to ecosystem-based management

2025-06-04T12:51:30+00:00

The ecosystem supports human existence on Earth. However, climate change, landdegradation, and human misuse threaten the ecosystem and human sustenance. Hence, ecosystem thinking guides sustainable production and consumption of ecosystem resources to ensure environmental sustainability. This study analysed data gathered from 2002 (people, land management and ecosystemchange), 2004(sand winning, artisanal small-scale mining and smallholder farming), 2006 (forest land degradation, sustainable land management and smallholder cocoafarming), 2008/2009 (literature review on land degradation and forest ecosystem), 2010/2011 field data collection in cocoa-farms and protected forest reserve mosaic, 2015 (anthropic pressures on gallery forest and riparian resources), and agroforestry, agroclimatology, ecotourism and social science philosophy up to 2024 culminatedinto ecosystem thinking. The results and discussions focus on ecosystemtheory andecosystem-based management as significant approaches to establishing ecosystemthinking. In conclusion, ecosystem thinking advocates a holistic science-basedunderstanding of ecosystem components, relationships, and processes for delivering essential ecosystem goods and services for sustainable use, conservation, andintergenerational equity. The study recommends stakeholder collaboration, a goal and plan, sound ecological models, complexity and connectedness, humans-in- ecosystem, adaptability and accountability to make informed decisions that balancehuman needs of the ecosystem with ecological integrity to ensure long-termecosystem health and resilience.

Environmental narratives and representations: A Review

2025-06-04T12:58:49+00:00

The growing global concerns about the environment have to do with sustainability issues. Where the activities of the individual, community, national or international, being it economic, social, political, or cultural, do not post any damage to the environment that will call forcompromise for future generations to look for their means of survival in terms of thequalityand quantity of the environment. However, environmental degradation, pollution, andclimatechange challenges persist locally and globally. Hence, green media content may increasetheaudience's ecological consciousness. Indeed, several authors have highlighted the central role of both print and audio-visual media in bringing environmental issues to public and political attention. This paper aims to compile the insights of various environmental narratives andrepresentations that showcase human-environment relationships over time. As a desk study, the keywords were also the search words for the appropriate literature. It takes theoretical andphilosophical roots from ecocritism. The study reveals that these environmental narratives andrepresentation strategies will go a long way to facilitate public connections, enhance ecological
sensibility, and facilitate behavioural change.

Social movements and their methods: A review

2025-06-04T13:05:01+00:00

Globally, social movements are significant in advocating political, social, economic and environmental policy and programmes, thereby shaping societies. These movements havehistorically employed various methods ranging from peaceful protest to digital activism,
including legal reforms. This desk study examines social movements and their operational processes. Specifically, the study interrogates the types of social movements, their characteristics, key challenges and their coping strategies. The findings established that though social movement’s methods may change over time, technology is the pivot for the movements’ effectiveness, organisation, public support and conformability. The study concludes that social movements' successes depend on attainable goals, established objectives and coping strategies. It is recommended that civil society cultivate decentralised mobilization, engagelocal communities, utilise digital media effectively, and enhance collaboration with various groups to bolster impact and legitimacy. Accomplishing these objectives is vital and can be realisedthrough effective collaboration and inclusivity.

Risk concerns and attitudes of grasscutter farmers in the upper west region of Ghana

2025-06-04T14:48:37+00:00

Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) meat is in high demand in Africa, explainingtheincrease in the rearing business. However, this business comes with various production, marketing, financing, personnel, and legal risks. This study investigates the grasscutter farmers’ concerns and attitudes regarding risks. It employed a quantitative approach, a cross-sectional survey, and a structured questionnaire for grasscutter farmers (N = 52). Data analysis usedcorrelation and multivariate analyses in STATA version 14. The results showed that grasscutterfarmers' risk aversion increases significantly as concerns about the inability to adapt tonewtechnology in grasscutter rearing (r = -0.27; p = 0.05), losses of grasscutters due to mortality(r =-0.28; p = 0.04), feed shortage (r = -0.34; p = 0.02) and aggression of grasscutters (r = -0.40; p=0.01) increase (p ≤ 0.05). In addition, gender, age, educational level, number of dependents, years of rearing experience, farm size, off-farm jobs, and income generated fromgrasscuttersales were significantly associated with farmers’ risk attitude (p ≤ 0.05). The study concludesthat risk concerns, such as farmers’ characteristics, influence risk attitudes. Thestudyrecommends that the government of Ghana should emphasise risk concerns and farmandfarmers’ variables in grasscutter policy directives.

Nexus between property rights, institutions and resource management: A review

2025-06-04T15:08:43+00:00

The nexus between property rights, institutions and resource management is inadequatelyexplored in the literature. Hence, this study reviews the extant literature to answer thequestion: How can governments balance development with environmental protection? Theaimis to improve understanding of property rights, institutions and resource management. It usesaqualitative approach, a cross-sectional study and secondary data. The study reassessespolicy documents, and land, forestry, fisheries, and water management case studies. Inaddition, it synthesises theoretical and empirical perspectives. By so doing, gaps within the propertyrights policy are exposed. The study further shows that property rights have their institutionsand policies, which dictate the management of resources in the environment. Thepaperconcludes that property rights play different roles in directing who can and cannot exploitresources and environmental interventions, including conservation and the distributionof thebenefits of the ecosystem. The paper recommends to governments that protectingtheenvironment and resources requires integrated environmental policy to ensure environmental
sustainability and economic prosperity.

A review of developmental impacts of eco-cultural tourism

2025-06-04T15:16:42+00:00

Eco-cultural tourism creates a new product by combining natural attractions, biodiversity, conservation, human footprints and overall development. This paper reviews existing literatureon the impacts of eco-cultural tourism on rural communities endowed with ecological andcultural attractions in addressing poverty and rural development needs. Specifically, itaddresses the tripartite sustainable development needs, the attractions, in-situ andex-situcommunities and their development issues — this qualitative study employed a desk review. The search engines were Google Scholar, ResearchGate, Scopus, and Web of Science. Theconcepts included eco-cultural tourism, tourism development, and community responses. Thedata analysis used content analysis, identifying similarities and differences. The results indicatethe strength of eco-cultural tourism in creating essential economic opportunities suchas jobs, and boosting other income sources such as carpentry, fishing and social relations for social capital. The environment is conserved and cultural standards are upheld. Nonetheless, thebenefits are unequal, and the culture is priced for commodification. There is amixedcommunity response, such as euphoria for the beneficiaries and apathy/resistancefromthreatened livelihoods. This paper contributes to eco-cultural tourismunderstandingandpromotion, and recommends inclusivity and equitable sharing of the benefits toensurestakeholder commitment and collaboration.