Date of Graduation

5-2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Nursing

Advisor/Mentor

Agana, Carol

Committee Member/Reader

Ballentine, Hope

Committee Member/Second Reader

Gilmet, Kelsey

Abstract

Objective: To understand the perception of anemia among the women of childbearing age in Bolgatanga, Ghana, and to correlate the reasoning with the high incidence of anemia in the area.

Method: This research was a qualitative study consisting of 67 interviews over the course of the three weeks that were spent in Bolgatanga. 50 of these interviews were women of childbearing age (15-49), 6 were health professionals, and 11 were women older than the age range provided. Interviews were taken from the maternity clinics nearby as well as from women in a rural area that was a 10-minute taxi ride from the place in which the program was held. Quantitative data was collected through 160 hemoglobin tests that were conducted in order to prove that anemia is prevalent within the town of Bolgatanga among women of child-bearing age.

Results: There were many different factors of perception such as the interpretation the women had of anemia as a process, the root cause of anemia, cultural taboos, and perception of facilitators and barriers of access to combat and prevent anemia.

Conclusion: It is imperative to understand the community before conducting public health initiatives to ensure that teachings are accurate and tailored to the culture and mindset of the audience that it is presented to.

Keywords

cultural construct; facilitator; barrier; traditional medicine; nutrition; translation

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