M.Sc.(Med.), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2009 / Introduction: Despite the steady growth of the elderly population in developing countries, this group, remains neglected in health related policies in developing countries, largely due to lack of empirical data on the health problems of elderly. There is need for research and development of convenient and cost effective ways of generating information on the health status of the elderly. Self reports of health are becoming common in health surveys of elderly throughout the world. Despite the considerable use of self reports in developed countries, in developing countries such research is only beginning. Therefore there is need for systematic documentation of factors affecting self reported health status in developing country settings for effective usage of self reports in surveys. Material and methods: The Adult Health and Aging Survey undertaken by Navrongo Health Research Centre, Ghana, as part of WHO SAGE (Study on Global Aging) aimed at generating longitudinal data on health and wellbeing of the elderly in Kassena-Nankana district of Ghana. This survey provides an opportunity to assess consistency between various dimensions of self reported health by comparing measures in an effort to establish the validity of information obtained by self reports. Analysis: Statistical analysis of self reported overall health (SRH), experiences of difficulty encountered in work and day to day activities (Overall Difficulty) and component experiences of health over various domains was carried out using ordered logistic regression and kappa analysis in order to understand what type of relationship exists between different types of measures of health. Overall self reported status of health (SRH) was the main outcome variable and three sets of variables were used as explanatory variables. The first set of variables captured functionality, the second captured psychosocial aspects of health, while the third involved demographic characteristics as possible confounders. Results: An analysis involving 4483 elderly individuals showed that functionality was associated with overall self reported health status in both summary and component forms. Addition of psychosocial domains to the model improved the model when summary functionality was used. However, addition of possible confounders did not improve the model. Conclusion and recommendations: The findings indicate that sex, marital status and ethnic background are important factors to be taken into account while interpreting the responses of self reported health in the Kassena-Nankana district of Ghana. For the current analysis both outcome and explanatory variables were self reported. The findings of the study would get validated with further research into associations between self reported measures and performance based measures and qualitative inquiries on meanings of overall and component health experiences in the same population.

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This research study examined perceptions of contemporary effects of colonialism among education professionals in Ghana, and the extent to which education professionals express awareness of colonialism in Ghanaian school systems and contemporary Ghanaian society. An overview of literature in Critical Race Theory, Social Justice Education Theory, Oppression Theory and Post-Colonial Theory provided the theoretical foundation that was used to guide this study. Five factors emerged from this literature review as a framework for analysis of study data. These five factors included discourse, cultural imperialism, linguistic hegemony, racism and internalized racism, and oppression. The study participants included education policy makers, administrators, counselors, teachers, and teacher educators in the educational system of Ghana. A set of thirty-two individual interviews and six focus groups comprised of twenty-seven participants were conducted in which educators described their perspectives of Ghanaian society and Ghanaian educational systems in their own words in response to a predetermined set of twelve questions. A document analysis established a baseline of data regarding the curriculum of Ghanaian schools as presented in curriculum guides, textbooks, and policy statements, handbooks and reports that describe the educational systems in Ghana today. Ghanaian educators expressed the most awareness of colonial legacies related to cultural imperialism, linguistic hegemony, internalized oppression and discourse. The findings suggest that educational professionals in Ghana demonstrate limited awareness of colonial legacies of racism and internalized racism, sexism, classism, ethnoreligious oppression and neocolonialism.

In January 2019, Ghana launched its Year of Return program to mark 400 years since the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Jamestown, Virginia. The year-long event was described as a spiritual birth right journey for members of the Black diaspora and aimed to boost tourism and migration to the country by posing Ghana as a key destination for the Black diaspora and African Americans in particular. As the Ghanaian state encourages the diaspora to travel and migrate to Ghana to help boost its economy, Ghanaian citizens are looking for opportunities to migrate out of Ghana for better education and employment opportunities. Considering this dichotomy, this thesis explores the differing and often contrasting mobilities apparent in the Black diaspora through the context of the Year of Return program. It is informed by fieldwork conducted via information and communication technologies (ICTs) over the COVID-19 pandemic through participant observation, interviews, and media analysis. This thesis first explores how Ghana's historical relationship with the Black diaspora laid the groundwork for the success of the Year of Return. It then explores how different understandings of Blackness were used by the Ghanaian state to promote connections across the Black diaspora. Finally, it focuses on the differing mobilities characterizing the phenomenon of return to Ghana to inquire into the state of global Black mobility.

Climate change impacts on agriculture have been widely researched in recent years. In Sub-Saharan Africa, many of these studies have focused on spatially aggregate impacts at the country or higher level, and typically do not discuss the heterogeneities of impacts within a region. Thus, there is a growing interest in more localized climate change impacts modeling that could help inform regional adaptation within a country. In this study, we utilize a panel of Ghanaian subnational district-level corn yields matched to weather data that is spatially interpolated from observed station data to identify whether warming impacts exhibit spatial heterogeneities for corn yields. Findings show spatial heterogeneities of yields across main and non-main corn growing areas, as well as various ecological zones and also at the district level. Furthermore, findings indicate that extremely high temperature would have negative impacts on yields in main corn-growing areas, meanwhile, impacts are expected to be insignificant in non-main corn growing areas. This study will be helpful in informing future research as well as food security and stability adaptation decisions related to climate change in Ghana. Keywords: corn, yields, climate, change, zones, Ghana

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