Background Physical inactivity is a risk factor for chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), yet national surveillance of physical activity (PA) levels is not well defined. Though Ghana has a national health policy that emphasizes health promotion and prevention of lifestyle diseases, and an NCD policy with PA recommendations in 2012, it does not have an integrated plan of action to address widespread physical inactivity. Objective This review aims to identify the nature and extent of research in NCDs and PA in Ghana to inform the creation of an integrated action plan to address physical inactivity. The review focuses on four research questions: (1) what is the prevalence and monitoring of NCDs in Ghana from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) reports, (2) what are the key risk factors of NCDs in Ghana, (3) what are the identified indicators and benchmarks that enhance or impede PA participation in Ghana, and (4) what are the active interventions and policy directives for NCDs and PA participation in Ghana. Methods Ghana‐specific articles, reports, and policies related to NCDs and PA were collected traversing 2018–2020. The scoping review included: (1) reviewing articles and documents related to risk factors of NCDs in Ghana, (2) reviewing articles and documents from the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!) monitoring and surveillance template for Ghana; (3) reviewing articles and documents on the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance Ghana Report Card on Physical Activity; (4) the Demographic and Health Survey website and (5) specific searches for World Health Organization reports. Results A total of 1763 records were identified through keyword search. Based on eligibility criteria, 4 were relevant to question 1, 23 to question 2, 16 to question 3, and 11 to question 4. For question 1, international benchmark surveys revealed that physical inactivity accounts for 20% of NCD related deaths in Ghana. For question 2, 8 records (34.8%) focused on hypertension, 5 (21.74%) body composition and obesity, 4 (17.4%) cardiovascular diseases, 3 (13.0%) on diabetes, 1 (4.4%) on stroke, and 2 (8.7%) on other risk factors. For question 3, 6 records (37%) focused on overall PA, 3 (19%) on the built environment, 2 (12%) active transportation, 2 (12%) on physical inactivity or sedentary behaviors, 2 (12%) on influence of family and peers, and 1 (6%) on active play. For question 4, though multiple national policies exist, including a minimum weekly level of compulsory physical education per week in the school curriculum, data monitoring and surveillance on PA participation are scarce. Conclusion Based on the scoping review of articles traversing 2018–2020, this review revealed minimal research on these topics. Data on PA participation is non‐existent due to lack of conscious monitoring mechanisms, integrated plan of action, intervention strategies and policy directives. A national research agenda is imperative to better understand the relationship and clear connection ...

IntroductionGhana like other African countries is facing multiple health threats due to expansion of urban populations. Globally, the urbanization phenomenon has received considerable attention and modest steps have been undertaken to address it. Ghana is stalling on implementation of policies and interventions targeted at alleviating the menace.ObjectivesThis review examined research evidence, interventions, and policies relating to urbanization and threats to health and well-being of people living in Ghana. The review focused on three areas including urbanization threats to health and well-being, health risks associated with urbanization, and interventions and policies.Materials and MethodsThe search spanned from year 2000 to February 2022 covering documents related to urbanization, health, and well-being. Databases used for the search include African Journals Online, Annual Reviews (Biomedical, Life & Physical sciences, Social Sciences), BioMedCentral, BioOne, BLDS digital library, Cambridge University Press, ClinicalKey, CINAHL, University of Ghana Digital Collections/UGSpace, JSTOR, Medline and Wiley Online Library.ResultsEnvironmental risk factors, urban planning, water-related, behavior-related, and socioeconomic factors were important urbanization threats to health and well-being. Health risks identified include airborne diseases, waterborne diseases, malaria, and non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and lung cancer. Additionally, there is evidence of non-implementation and/or non-enforcement of existing interventions and policies.Conclusion and RecommendationEvidence from this rapid review shows that urbanization impacts on health and well-being of people in Ghana. Urbanization threats that expose populations to health risks could be reduced through commitment to implementation, surveillance and monitoring of policies and interventions. Communities and individuals must be equipped to take control of their health and well-being.

IntroductionThe purpose of this brief report is to describe how a structured sport-based positive life skills program can be used in promoting the development of entrepreneurial skills of youth in Ghana.MethodsA total of 29 youth participated in the study with 11 as the control group and the remaining 18 as the intervention group. The students in the intervention together with 5 parents participated in a weekend mapping camp. Data for the study was collected with the Youth Experience Survey for Sport to measure the Life skills and entrepreneurship skills using a quasi experimental pre and post test control group design.ResultsThe youth in the intervention group reported important physical and personal benefits and entrepreneurial skills such as cooperation (teamwork), risk taking, creativity, leadership, cognitive development, and positive engagement in physical activity which they did not previously have. The results are similar to existing published papers giving this report a commendable validity and reliability.DiscussionSimilar to the previously published papers, the perceived gains in this report also show that exposing youth to a structured sport-based positive life skills program produce both physical benefits and development of lifelong skills necessary to develop skills necessary for entrepreneurial endeavors. When this intervention is upscaled in Ghana the country could offset high youth unemployment with its associated challenges.