On the partial impact of uncertainties on the nexus between macroeconomic fundamentals in West Africa.

We investigate the degree of interconnectedness between stock returns and exchange rate returns, and the influence of some selected global uncertainty indices on such a relationship within a time-frequency domain in West Africa through the bi and partial wavelet approaches. The analysis was based on monthly observations from February 2013 to June 2023. The results highlight a negative correlation between stock return and exchange rates.

Bookkeeping practices and SME performance: The intervening role of owners' accounting skills.

Aside from statutory requirements, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) hardly take into consideration reliable accounting systems. Therefore, poor and ineffective bookkeeping has contributed to the collapse of some SMEs. This paper examines the intervening role of owners' accounting skills in the relationship between bookkeeping practices and the performance of SMEs in the Ho Municipal Assembly of Ghana using a sample of 296 SMEs.

Mixed methods study protocol for combining stakeholder-led rapid evaluation with near real-time continuous registry data to facilitate evaluations of quality of care in intensive care units.

Background: Improved access to healthcare in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has not equated to improved health outcomes. Absence or unsustained quality of care is partly to blame. Improving outcomes in intensive care units (ICUs) requires delivery of complex interventions by multiple specialties working in concert, and the simultaneous prevention of avoidable harms associated with the illness and the treatment interventions.

Associations of financial inclusion with physical activity participation in later life.

Background: Physical activity (PA) is a vital modifiable psychosocial intervention for promoting healthy longevity but problematically decreases with age. Innovative community-based strategies are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to improve PA but prior research has seldom considered the interactive effect of financial inclusion, social networks, and sex differences on PA. In this study, we examine the role of sex differences and resourceful social networks in relation to the association of financial inclusion with PA among older Ghanaian people.

COVID-19 and food prices in sub-Saharan Africa.

This study investigated the impact of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak on prices of maize, sorghum, imported rice and local rice in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We estimated dynamic panel data models with controls for macroeconomic setting using general method of moments estimation. The study found that the COVID-19 outbreak led to increases in food prices of the sampled countries.

Financial inclusion and physical health functioning among aging adults in the sub-Saharan African context: Exploring social networks and gender roles.

Background: It remains poorly understood how financial inclusion influences physical health functioning in later life in sub-Saharan African context and whether the association differs by gender and social relationships. We aim 1) to examine the associations of financial inclusion with functional impairment during older age in Ghana; and 2) to evaluate whether gender and social networks modify this association.

Methods: The cross-sectional analyses are based on a sample (N = 1,201) of study participants aged 50 years and over (M = 66.

Capacity of intensive care units in Ghana.

Purpose: To document the equipment, resource and bed capacity of Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in the Republic of Ghana.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional observational study of all operating ICUs in Ghana. Sixteen operating ICUs in 9 hospitals were identified and surveyed (13 adult and 3 pediatric ICUs).

Respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation in critically ill adults in Ghana: A prospective observational study.

Introduction: Respiratory failure is commonly seen in African emergency centres and intensive care units, but little is known about the need for intubation and mechanical ventilation.

Methods: From April to October 2017, we recorded the number of patients intubated and ventilated in the emergency centre and intensive care unit at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana on a daily basis. We assessed patients for presence of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) using the Kigali Modification of the Berlin ARDS criteria.