1. MALARIA IN
LARTEH, GHANA
Afia Mia Bareman
Kwabena Jordan Kamal
Akua Sabrina Montemayor
Kwame Brent Oldham

2. BACKGROUND:
MALARIA IN GHANA
• Malaria is #1 cause of death in
children under 5 years
• Accounts for ~20% of deaths
(WHO, 2015)
• Malaria is #3 cause of death in
Ghana, resulting in 17,400 deaths
annually (WHO, 2015)

3. BACKGROUND:
MALARIA IN GHANA
• Malaria deaths have dropped due to
• Increased amount of testing
• Education
• Informed healthcare workers (Amoo-Sakyi, 2016)

4. HEALTH CONCERNS IN PAST YEAR
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18

5. PREVIOUS MSU RESEARCH
Two years ago:
• Community Labor in Larteh
• Many people know about community labor
• Different opinions on if it works
This year:
• Communication methods for malaria
• Age group differences in opinions and actions to prevent
malaria

6. OUR RESEARCH QUESTION
What are the generational differences in
malaria information delivery and their
implications on malaria perceptions and
prevention actions throughout Larteh, Ghana?

7. HEALTH COMMUNICATION
• Prior focus group studies have investigated emerging
generational differences for health-information needs
• Findings have shown that eHealth provide more-
effective preventive services and health care for
adolescent populations. (Skinner et al., 2003)

8. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
• Twi Lessons
• Literature Reviews
• MountCrest University Lectures
• Integration within Larteh community
• Participant Observation

9. METHODS
• Background Research
• Photovoice
• Focus Groups
• Interviews

10. PHOTOVOICE PROCESS
• Community Participation
• 4 Participants
• 4 Cameras
• 2 Rounds of Pictures

11. PHOTOVOICE ROUND 1

12. FOCUS GROUP
• Invited community to attend
• Discussed 3 Themes
• Found that there may be
differences in age groups,
how they access malaria
information, and how they act
on it

13. QUOTES FROM FOCUS
• How does it make you feel that this [rubbish pile] is by your house?
• “Uncomfortable.....because of the scent….attracts mosquitoes”
• About littering:
• Young man: Older people have to do it. They influence you.
• Mia: So the older people need to not litter…How do you get them to not throw?
• Young Man: You can't tell that to the adults
• Mia: so who will tell the adults?
• Middle-aged woman: the kids can tell the adults
• Young Man: but the kids are scared to tell the adults

14. PHOTOVOICE ROUND 2

15. PHOTOVOICE ROUND 2

16. INTERVIEWS
• One-on-one
• 40 participants
• Ahenase & Kubease
• Health Information
• Generational Attitudes

17. BREAK DOWN OF AGE GROUPS
INTERVIEWED
Young
37%
Middle age
34%
Older
29%

18. 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Internet/Social
Media
School Clinic/Hospital Posters/Adverts Community
Members Door to
Door
TV Radio NGOs
Communication Preferences between Age Groups
Ages 18-25 Ages 26-40 Ages 41+

19. “SOCIAL MEDIA BRINGS PEOPLE
TOGETHER”

20. Yes
53%
No
20%
Sometimes,
improvement
needed
27%
Communal Labor Opinions: Ages 18-25
Yes
69%
No
16%
Sometimes,
improvement
needed
15%
Communal Labor Opinions: Ages 26-40
Yes
73%
No
27%
Sometimes,
improvement
needed
0%
Communal Labor Opinions: Ages 40+

21. “OFFER INCENTIVES FOR
COMMUNAL LABOR, HAVE A BIG
PARTY WITH DANCING AND MUSIC
AND DRINKS”

22. OPINIONS ON THE CHIEF
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Yes No
Do you think the Chief is working to prevent
malaria in Larteh?
Why Yes:
• See communal labor
• See educational meetings
held
• Hear announcements
• Care about the people
Why No:
• Doesn’t live in Larteh
• Not invested in Larteh
• Don’t see communal labor
working

23. OPINIONS ON GOVERNMENT
Why Yes:
• Free Insecticide Treated Nets
• Educational programs
• National Health Insurance
Scheme
Why No:
• Money allocated elsewhere
• No incentives for
dustbins/Zoomlion
• Malaria is still a prevalent
problem 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Yes No
Is the Government working to prevent
malaria?

24. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CHANGE?
Responses:
• Chief
• Assembly men/local government
• National government
“Because we [the youth] are active and know what
is going on around the world”
-21 year old interview participant

25. COMMUNICATION RESULTS
• Younger, middle-aged, older people prefer different ways to learn
about malaria
• Young population prefer internet, social media
• Middle aged prefer TV, radio
• Older aged prefer door to door
• All used health clinic info and megaphone announcements

26. GENERATIONAL RESULTS
• People like community labor and want to see more
• Younger generation is more skeptical about its
effectiveness
• Focus Group Quote, in regards to communal labor:
• “Laws aren't enforced that much so I don't think that
would work.”

27. SPECIFIC IMPLICATIONS
• Larteh has a variety of existing
communication methods being utilized for
health information
• In order to improve malaria prevention, these
methods should be heavily used to promote
malaria information and communal labor
• Improving communication and reaching more
people will mean an improvement in malaria
prevention and treatment

28. BROADER IMPLICATIONS
• Further investigation into the delivery of health
information and education throughout developing
countries
• Use of new technologies to reach an evolving
audience and younger generations
• Utilizing social media as a tool for health information
education and community organization for public
health initiatives

29. LIMITATIONS
• Language barrier
• Sample size
• Condensed time frame
• Translator bias
• Resources limitations

30. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• MountCrest University
• Michigan State University
• Dr. Constance Currier, DrPH, MPH and Linda Gordon, MS,
MA
• Mr. Ahpentang
• Cindy Attrams
• Akua Beatrice
• The community of Larteh

31. CITATIONS
• Amoo-Sakyi, A. (2016). Malaria [Lecture]. MountCrest University. Accra,
Ghana
• World Health Organization. (2015). Ghana: WHO statistical profile. [Fact
Sheet]. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/gho/en/
• Skinner, H., Biscope, S., Poland, B. (2003). How Adolescents Use
Technology for Health Information: Implications for Health Professionals
from Focus Group Studies. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 5(4):
e32. doi: 10.2196/jmir.5.4.e32

32. QUESTIONS?

33. ME DA SE PAA! MKPEGEWOLE PAA!