Household food insecurity and its association with psychological well-being of pregnant women in Ghana: the role of selected psychosocial factors
- Authors: Addai, Prince
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Food security -- Ghana Households -- Ghana Self-reliance
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Industrial Psychology)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/12547 , vital:39286
- Description: The inability to get enough food has contributed immensely to dangers confronting pregnant women, especially in the developing countries. Food insecurity has been associated with a variety of negative consequences such as poor health and wellbeing. However, the impact of food insecurity on well-being has not received the needed attention by researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa where the state of food insecurity and its consequence is very pandemic. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of food insecurity on psychological well-being and its components among pregnant women in Northern Ghana and to assess the roles of self-esteem, locus of control, proactivity, and social support on the underlying relationship. The cross-sectional survey was adopted where 386 pregnant women were recruited to complete questionnaires on demographic, some psychological factors, psychological well-being and food insecurity. Dimensionality and Item analyses were conducted to detect complex and poor items and also to ensure unidimensionality. Regression analysis, MANOVA, Baron and Kenney Model of moderation and mediation, the multivariate ANOVA and the Two-way ANOVA were used to test the hypotheses. Results indicated that the measurement and the structural models showed a good fit with the observed data. Results showed that about 37.5% (n=144) out of the 384 pregnant women experienced severe food insecurity. Food insecurity was negatively significantly related with psychological well-being and all its components among pregnant women. Food insecurity elucidated 48.5% of the observed variance of food insecurity. Food insecurity correlated highly to personal growth (β = -.327) element of psychological well-being compared to autonomy (β = -.227), interpersonal relationship (β = -.207), environmental mastery (β = -.168), self-acceptance (β = -.117), and of purpose in life (β = -.107). Self-esteem and locus of control mediated the relationship between food insecurity and psychological well-being. Proactivity and social support also moderated the nexus between food insecurity and psychological well-being. 4 Final Submission of Thesis, Dissertation or Research Report/Project, Conference or Exam Paper Having higher income status and being employed were associated positively with higher psychological well-being. Support was not found for the nexus between marital status and age with psychological well-being. Recommendations are made for pregnant mothers to be supported and empowered to boost their self-esteem and make them proactive.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Addai, Prince
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Food security -- Ghana Households -- Ghana Self-reliance
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Industrial Psychology)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/12547 , vital:39286
- Description: The inability to get enough food has contributed immensely to dangers confronting pregnant women, especially in the developing countries. Food insecurity has been associated with a variety of negative consequences such as poor health and wellbeing. However, the impact of food insecurity on well-being has not received the needed attention by researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa where the state of food insecurity and its consequence is very pandemic. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of food insecurity on psychological well-being and its components among pregnant women in Northern Ghana and to assess the roles of self-esteem, locus of control, proactivity, and social support on the underlying relationship. The cross-sectional survey was adopted where 386 pregnant women were recruited to complete questionnaires on demographic, some psychological factors, psychological well-being and food insecurity. Dimensionality and Item analyses were conducted to detect complex and poor items and also to ensure unidimensionality. Regression analysis, MANOVA, Baron and Kenney Model of moderation and mediation, the multivariate ANOVA and the Two-way ANOVA were used to test the hypotheses. Results indicated that the measurement and the structural models showed a good fit with the observed data. Results showed that about 37.5% (n=144) out of the 384 pregnant women experienced severe food insecurity. Food insecurity was negatively significantly related with psychological well-being and all its components among pregnant women. Food insecurity elucidated 48.5% of the observed variance of food insecurity. Food insecurity correlated highly to personal growth (β = -.327) element of psychological well-being compared to autonomy (β = -.227), interpersonal relationship (β = -.207), environmental mastery (β = -.168), self-acceptance (β = -.117), and of purpose in life (β = -.107). Self-esteem and locus of control mediated the relationship between food insecurity and psychological well-being. Proactivity and social support also moderated the nexus between food insecurity and psychological well-being. 4 Final Submission of Thesis, Dissertation or Research Report/Project, Conference or Exam Paper Having higher income status and being employed were associated positively with higher psychological well-being. Support was not found for the nexus between marital status and age with psychological well-being. Recommendations are made for pregnant mothers to be supported and empowered to boost their self-esteem and make them proactive.
- Full Text:
Financial decision-making of fathers with social grants in Nkonkobe municipality, Eastern Cape province
- Authors: Ketani, Nolubabalo
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Decision making Dependency Public welfare
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Social Work
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11773 , vital:39105
- Description: The aim of this study was to examine the role of fathers receiving social grants in family decision-making processes within households in Nkonkobe Municipality, Eastern Cape Province. The study also investigated how money from social grants is utilised by fathers, taking into consideration, the impact of such decisions on the well-being of family members. A methodological triangulation approach was adopted for data collection. One hundred and seventy questionnaires were administered to beneficiaries of social grants, selected using multi stage sampling. The data was then coded on Microsoft excel package and run using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software for analysis. These yielded quantitative results which were then complemented by qualitative results obtained from 25 in-depth interviews conducted with caregivers residing with respondents. The major findings of the study revealed that most fathers earning social grants, made family decisions with their partners. Co-operative bargaining, resulting in the distribution of power in the decision-making process is relatively more prominent in most poor rural households. The effect of bargaining power emphasises the importance of gender empowerment in family decision-making processes. On the other hand, it is established that economic factors (such as income and employment status and age as a social factor) play a critical role in positioning other household members in decision-making within the family. As a result, children and unemployed household members have very limited decision power. The findings also revealed that social grants are the main source of income, if not, the only source of income in most households. Beneficiaries spend the money received on basic needs such as food, school fees, clothing and health, thus reducing hunger and suffering among beneficiaries. Therefore, social grants play a significant role in improving food security among poor households. Additionally, social grants are not only used for meeting individual needs of target groups of people in the household but for the entire needs of the household. The poverty gap been on the decline and such drop has been significant among poorest of the poor. Consequently, they impact positively beyond individual recipients and thus, strengthening intergenerational relations within poor families. Furthermore, it is established from the study that the role of male caregivers is an important one, and it is anticipated that many fathers will be involved in caregiving in the future. This is due to a variety of social demographic factors such as divorce, substance abuse, incarceration of parents, child abuse and neglect, health problems and death. Consequently, fathers receiving social grants, represent an important resource for poor households, especially for children. In a nutshell, with high incidences of poverty, coupled with HIV/AIDS epidemic, economic hardships, high rate of unemployment, absent parents and orphan crisis; the experiences and contributions of social grant earning fathers in caregiving, need to be acknowledged as they play a significant and benevolent role in well-being of family members, especially in the lives of children from vulnerable and poor homes. It is recommended that government should focus on promoting developmental policies that will contribute to poverty alleviation and reduce income inequalities in rural communities. Intervention plans should seek to develop exit programmes that capacitate households and communities to empower themselves. On the other hand, the development of support for male caregivers in private, public and community initiatives are commended to build capacity and empower fathers to cope with challenges associated with parenting.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Ketani, Nolubabalo
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Decision making Dependency Public welfare
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Social Work
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11773 , vital:39105
- Description: The aim of this study was to examine the role of fathers receiving social grants in family decision-making processes within households in Nkonkobe Municipality, Eastern Cape Province. The study also investigated how money from social grants is utilised by fathers, taking into consideration, the impact of such decisions on the well-being of family members. A methodological triangulation approach was adopted for data collection. One hundred and seventy questionnaires were administered to beneficiaries of social grants, selected using multi stage sampling. The data was then coded on Microsoft excel package and run using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software for analysis. These yielded quantitative results which were then complemented by qualitative results obtained from 25 in-depth interviews conducted with caregivers residing with respondents. The major findings of the study revealed that most fathers earning social grants, made family decisions with their partners. Co-operative bargaining, resulting in the distribution of power in the decision-making process is relatively more prominent in most poor rural households. The effect of bargaining power emphasises the importance of gender empowerment in family decision-making processes. On the other hand, it is established that economic factors (such as income and employment status and age as a social factor) play a critical role in positioning other household members in decision-making within the family. As a result, children and unemployed household members have very limited decision power. The findings also revealed that social grants are the main source of income, if not, the only source of income in most households. Beneficiaries spend the money received on basic needs such as food, school fees, clothing and health, thus reducing hunger and suffering among beneficiaries. Therefore, social grants play a significant role in improving food security among poor households. Additionally, social grants are not only used for meeting individual needs of target groups of people in the household but for the entire needs of the household. The poverty gap been on the decline and such drop has been significant among poorest of the poor. Consequently, they impact positively beyond individual recipients and thus, strengthening intergenerational relations within poor families. Furthermore, it is established from the study that the role of male caregivers is an important one, and it is anticipated that many fathers will be involved in caregiving in the future. This is due to a variety of social demographic factors such as divorce, substance abuse, incarceration of parents, child abuse and neglect, health problems and death. Consequently, fathers receiving social grants, represent an important resource for poor households, especially for children. In a nutshell, with high incidences of poverty, coupled with HIV/AIDS epidemic, economic hardships, high rate of unemployment, absent parents and orphan crisis; the experiences and contributions of social grant earning fathers in caregiving, need to be acknowledged as they play a significant and benevolent role in well-being of family members, especially in the lives of children from vulnerable and poor homes. It is recommended that government should focus on promoting developmental policies that will contribute to poverty alleviation and reduce income inequalities in rural communities. Intervention plans should seek to develop exit programmes that capacitate households and communities to empower themselves. On the other hand, the development of support for male caregivers in private, public and community initiatives are commended to build capacity and empower fathers to cope with challenges associated with parenting.
- Full Text:
Removal rate of endocrine disruptors (phthalates and phenolic compounds) in effluents of selected wastewater treatment plants operated under different treatment technologies in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Salaudeen, Taofeek Gbenga
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Water -- Purification Phenols
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8552 , vital:33113
- Description: The presence of phthalate esters (PAEs) and certain phenolic compounds widely known as endocrine disruptors in environmental waters such as treated wastewaters constitutes health hazard to human and aquatic lives. Unfortunately, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) only partially remove these synthetic chemical compounds from wastewater. In order to forestall the health challenge faced by rural dwellers, which rely on surface water for their daily needs, the present study embarked on investigating these endocrine disruptors in Municipal wastewater in the Amathole and Buffalo Districts in the Eastern Cape, South Africa and their removal rate by different WWTP technologies. One WWTP each from Adelaide, Alice, Bedford, Berlin and Seymour, using activated sludge (AS), trickling filter (TF), and oxidation pond (OP) technology were randomly selected. Some physicochemical parameters of these wastewaters were determined on-site using standard methods and the extraction method for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in water was validated using solid phase extraction (SPE). Extracts were analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). Nine phenolic compounds; phenol (PH), 2-chlorophenol (2-CP), 2,4-dimethylphenol (2,4-DMP), 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), 4-chloro-3-methylphenol (4-C-3MP), 2-nitrophenol (2-NP), 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), pentachlorophenol (PCP), 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) and six priority PAEs namely; dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), di(2-ethyl hexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and di-n-octyl phthalate (DOP) were the investigated EDCs. PAEs were extracted from dried sludge samples in an ultrasonic bath using dichloromethane. Some physicochemical parameters of the wastewater assessed revealed that treatment processes of AS, TF, and OP reduced turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), and electrical conductivity (EC) while dissolved oxygen (DO) was increased. There was no significant influence on temperature and pH across the sampling points. Except for turbidity, the quality of effluent released mostly falls within South Africa standard limits for domestic and recreational water. The nine phenolic compounds were detected across the sampling points for all the WWTPs at different frequencies. The prominent phenolic compounds were 2-NP, 4-C-3MP, PCP, and 2,4-DMP with concentrations ranging from 3.3 (2,4-DMP) – 83.0 μgL-1 (4-C-3MP) in the influents. However, their concentrations in the effluents and receiving water bodies were below tolerable limits of 5 μgL-1 set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the European Union (EU) for domestic use. The removal capacities of the WWTPs varied between 33 and 96 percent. The six PAEs were detected in all water samples from all the WWTPs. DBP was the most abundant compound in all the sampling points and sometimes DEHP in some receiving waters. The maximum detection for DBP in influent, effluent, downstream and sludge were 2,488 μgL-1 (Alice), 26.47 μgL-1 (Adelaide), 115.3 μgL-1 (Seymour) and 1,249 μg/g dw (Alice), respectively. DEHP was the highest detected PAE in the upstream 17.53 μgL-1 (Seymour). There was a notable reduction of all PAEs in the final effluent with a removal efficiency which varied as much as 61.9 – 99.5 percent except for AS in Seymour which operated a single tank system (27.3 - 93.7 percent). Removal mechanisms continued more on adsorption on settling particles and sludge than biodegradation as this study found a high positive correlation between TSS, turbidity and PAEs removal. The concentrations of PAEs detected in the receiving waters were above 1.3 and 3μgL-1 limit standard set by the EU and USEPA, respectively for DEHP in surface water. Similarly, the average concentrations of DBP, BBP, DEHP and DOP which vary as much as 25.97 (BBP) – 1249 μg/g d.w (DBP) in sludge samples were above EU legislation of 100 μg/g d.w. for agricultural use. AS technology, showed a better performance in the removal of PAEs (77 – 99 percent), followed by TF (76 – 98 percent) and OP (61 – 98 percent). In conclusion, the PAE concentration in the WWTP effluents impacted negatively on the receiving water bodies and sewage sludge unlike the phenolic compounds that were notably reduced below the acceptable limits. Perhaps, due to the meagre amounts of the phenolic compounds that was detected entering the WWTPs. In order to avert the potential health risk to aquatic organisms’ and rural dwellers, it is exigent that constituted authorities gather more information on micro-pollutants in the environment as a basis for regulations on the use of these dangerous chemicals in industries.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Salaudeen, Taofeek Gbenga
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Water -- Purification Phenols
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8552 , vital:33113
- Description: The presence of phthalate esters (PAEs) and certain phenolic compounds widely known as endocrine disruptors in environmental waters such as treated wastewaters constitutes health hazard to human and aquatic lives. Unfortunately, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) only partially remove these synthetic chemical compounds from wastewater. In order to forestall the health challenge faced by rural dwellers, which rely on surface water for their daily needs, the present study embarked on investigating these endocrine disruptors in Municipal wastewater in the Amathole and Buffalo Districts in the Eastern Cape, South Africa and their removal rate by different WWTP technologies. One WWTP each from Adelaide, Alice, Bedford, Berlin and Seymour, using activated sludge (AS), trickling filter (TF), and oxidation pond (OP) technology were randomly selected. Some physicochemical parameters of these wastewaters were determined on-site using standard methods and the extraction method for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in water was validated using solid phase extraction (SPE). Extracts were analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). Nine phenolic compounds; phenol (PH), 2-chlorophenol (2-CP), 2,4-dimethylphenol (2,4-DMP), 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), 4-chloro-3-methylphenol (4-C-3MP), 2-nitrophenol (2-NP), 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), pentachlorophenol (PCP), 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) and six priority PAEs namely; dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), di(2-ethyl hexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and di-n-octyl phthalate (DOP) were the investigated EDCs. PAEs were extracted from dried sludge samples in an ultrasonic bath using dichloromethane. Some physicochemical parameters of the wastewater assessed revealed that treatment processes of AS, TF, and OP reduced turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), and electrical conductivity (EC) while dissolved oxygen (DO) was increased. There was no significant influence on temperature and pH across the sampling points. Except for turbidity, the quality of effluent released mostly falls within South Africa standard limits for domestic and recreational water. The nine phenolic compounds were detected across the sampling points for all the WWTPs at different frequencies. The prominent phenolic compounds were 2-NP, 4-C-3MP, PCP, and 2,4-DMP with concentrations ranging from 3.3 (2,4-DMP) – 83.0 μgL-1 (4-C-3MP) in the influents. However, their concentrations in the effluents and receiving water bodies were below tolerable limits of 5 μgL-1 set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the European Union (EU) for domestic use. The removal capacities of the WWTPs varied between 33 and 96 percent. The six PAEs were detected in all water samples from all the WWTPs. DBP was the most abundant compound in all the sampling points and sometimes DEHP in some receiving waters. The maximum detection for DBP in influent, effluent, downstream and sludge were 2,488 μgL-1 (Alice), 26.47 μgL-1 (Adelaide), 115.3 μgL-1 (Seymour) and 1,249 μg/g dw (Alice), respectively. DEHP was the highest detected PAE in the upstream 17.53 μgL-1 (Seymour). There was a notable reduction of all PAEs in the final effluent with a removal efficiency which varied as much as 61.9 – 99.5 percent except for AS in Seymour which operated a single tank system (27.3 - 93.7 percent). Removal mechanisms continued more on adsorption on settling particles and sludge than biodegradation as this study found a high positive correlation between TSS, turbidity and PAEs removal. The concentrations of PAEs detected in the receiving waters were above 1.3 and 3μgL-1 limit standard set by the EU and USEPA, respectively for DEHP in surface water. Similarly, the average concentrations of DBP, BBP, DEHP and DOP which vary as much as 25.97 (BBP) – 1249 μg/g d.w (DBP) in sludge samples were above EU legislation of 100 μg/g d.w. for agricultural use. AS technology, showed a better performance in the removal of PAEs (77 – 99 percent), followed by TF (76 – 98 percent) and OP (61 – 98 percent). In conclusion, the PAE concentration in the WWTP effluents impacted negatively on the receiving water bodies and sewage sludge unlike the phenolic compounds that were notably reduced below the acceptable limits. Perhaps, due to the meagre amounts of the phenolic compounds that was detected entering the WWTPs. In order to avert the potential health risk to aquatic organisms’ and rural dwellers, it is exigent that constituted authorities gather more information on micro-pollutants in the environment as a basis for regulations on the use of these dangerous chemicals in industries.
- Full Text:
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