The Role of Grandmothers and Older Women in the Survival of Children with Kwashiorkor in Urban Accra, Ghana

Douglass, Richard L.; McGadney-Douglass, Brenda F.

doi:10.1080/15427600701853764

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Their study shows the power and influence of Ghanaian older women on maternal and child health issues. Although Jansen's () study was conducted in rural Ghana, the practice is not different in urban areas (Douglass & McGadney‐Douglass, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parents’ experiences of caring for preterm infants after discharge with grandmothers as their main support

Adama

Bayes

Sundin

2017

Journal of Clinical Nursing

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parents’ experiences of caring for preterm infants after discharge with grandmothers as their main support

Adama

Bayes

Sundin

2017

Journal of Clinical Nursing

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“…We conclude that collective mothering and co-mothering increases the availability and effectiveness of problem solving options and also the family's resources to the advantage of whole (Douglass et al 2007;Douglass and McGadney-Douglass 2008). Without exception, the conclusion of the younger women who were the mothers of the malnourished children was that if not for the contributions of grandmother or auntie, the child would probably have died.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…A description of human and economic resources of the family unit These themes embraced all of the circumstances of the recognition, referral, care and keeping of the malnourished children, the children's growth and development, and individual roles of each of the adults who were involved. The questions that we pursued focused on the specific roles, responsibilities and the decisions of the adults in a malnourished child's life that led to the survival of the children (McGadney-Douglass et al 2000;Douglass and McGadney-Douglass 2008). Documentation was a significant part of the effort.…”

Section: Methods: Study 2-kwashiorkor Grandmothers and Child Survivmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is paradoxical that this endemic form of malnutrition persists within communities in Ghana despite abundant food supplies and political stability. Kwashiorkor currently accounts for about 3.5% of under age-five mortality in Ghana and persists despite over 80 years of British and post-colonial programs directed to improve childhood nutrition (Douglass and McGadney-Douglass 2008;Fenn et al 2005;McGadney-Douglass et al 2005Douglass et al 2007). The difficulty with curbing this form of malnutrition, as well as other childhood mortality in Africa, often has as much to do with ignorance or bad decisions, as it is associated with poverty or the lack of food, as noted by Williams in 1933.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…At the micro-level, all accounts of indigenous survival of malnourished children and families from violent ethnic conflicts have been the focus of our work in Ghana since 1999 (Apt et al 2004;Douglass et al 2007;Douglass and McGadney-Douglass 2008;McGadney-Douglass 2006a, b;McGadneyDouglass et al 1999McGadneyDouglass et al , 2005McGadneyDouglass et al , 2006. In this paper, we will present illustrations from these studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Collective Familial Decision-Making In Times Of Trouble: Intergenerational Solidarity in Ghana

McGadney-Douglass

Douglass

2008

J Cross Cult Gerontol

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In post-colonial populations the retention of the nuclear family concept of collectivism as the basis for decision-making is associated with familial and cultural survival. Collectivism within familial contexts provides intergenerational access to experience, information, resources, and sound decision making during times of conflict or dealing with the consequences of poverty. In contemporary Ghana inter-ethnic wars and conflict have marginalized minority groups, causing substantial internal displacement of people. Poverty and cultural issues have caused a persistently high level of child malnutrition and mortality in all areas of Ghana, including urban centers where appropriate food is in abundance. In each of these circumstances the senior women, particularly the grandmothers, have been found to be essential for child survival, protecting the family from dissolution, and ensuring intergenerational cultural transmission. This paper discusses the place of collective decision-making processes of older African women in two studies in Ghana that assessed the: (1) indigenous methods used for understanding and arresting violent ethnic conflict by internally displaced women who survived the 1994/95 Guinea Fowl War; and (2) parenting and grandparenting strategies from families who insured the survival of children suffering from kwashiorkor, a severe form of childhood malnutrition. In this paper, findings from qualitative interview data will include narratives and illustrative cases.

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Childbearing and Economic Work: The Health Balance of Women in Accra, Ghana

Waterhouse

Hill

Hinde

2015

Matern Child Health J

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Objectives This study aims to investigate (1) whether the health of working women with young children differs from that of working women without young children, and (2) which social factors mediate the relationship between economic and maternal role performance and health among mothers with young children. Methods The analyses uses panel data from 697 women present in both waves of the Women’s Health Study for Accra (WHSA-I and WHSA-II); a community based study of women aged 18 years and older in the Accra Metropolitan Area of Ghana conducted in 2003 and 2008–2009. Change in physical and mental health between the survey waves is compared between women with a biological child alive at WHSA-II and born since WHSA-I and women without a living biological child at WHSA-II born in the interval. To account for attrition between the two survey waves selection models were used with unconditional change score models being used as the outcome model. Results We found in our sample of working women that those who had a child born between WHSA-I and WHSA-II who was still alive at WHSA-II did not experience a change in mental or physical health different from other women. Among working women with young children, educational status, relationship to the household head and household demography were associated with change in mental health at the 5 % level, whilst migration status and household demography was associated with change in physical health scores. Conclusion The results suggest there are no health penalties of combining work and childbearing among women with young children in Accra, Ghana.

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The Role of Grandmothers and Older Women in the Survival of Children with Kwashiorkor in Urban Accra, Ghana

Cited by 11 publications

References 9 publications

Parents’ experiences of caring for preterm infants after discharge with grandmothers as their main support

Parents’ experiences of caring for preterm infants after discharge with grandmothers as their main support

Collective Familial Decision-Making In Times Of Trouble: Intergenerational Solidarity in Ghana

Childbearing and Economic Work: The Health Balance of Women in Accra, Ghana

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