Dr. John K. Ganle (Snr. Lecturer)

   Dr. John K. Ganle

   (Snr. Lecturer)

   jganle@ug.edu.gh

   zabzugu.gan@gmail.com

   Tel: +233249957505

 

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION
• D.Phil (Public Health), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
• M.Phil (International Development - Health Specialization), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
• MSc (International Development - Health Specialization), University of Bristol, United Kingdom
• BA (Geography & Rural Development), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

 

TEACHING
Undergraduate (Bachelor of Public Health)
GSPH 213: Introduction to Public Health Ethics
GSPH 208: Population, Health and Development
GSPH 448: Right for the Health of Women and Children

 

Postgraduate (Master of Public Health)
PFRH 608: Gender and Health

 

PhD (Public Health)
PFRH 708: Innovative Interventions in Women’s Health

PFRH 704: Critical Issues in Population and Reproductive Health (Co-taught)

 

RESEARCH

Ganle’s research combines social science and public health theories and methods to examine questions related to:

• Maternal and child health
• Women’s reproductive health
• Abortion and contraceptive behaviour
• Disability, sexuality and reproductive health
• Gender and health, including gender-based violence
• Population and development, including aging and health
• Community engagement and trust building in public health/biomedicine.

Within the last four years, Ganle’s research has particularly focused on disability, sexuality, and reproductive healthcare. His first disability-related research project in 2015 examined barriers women/girls with disabilities face accessing sexual, reproductive and maternity care services. The outcome of this project let to a second project, which aimed to address modifiable barriers to accessing sexual, reproductive and maternity care services among women with disabilities. This second project received funding from USAID Systems for Health (2016-2017), and aimed to increase access to family planning services and skilled maternity care for disabled women/girls through local health system strengthening and community-based referral support. Ganle’s third disability-related project (2017-2019) aimed to explore the intersectionality between disability, sexuality and reproductive health, and ways to better respond to the sexual/reproductive and maternity healthcare needs of disabled women/girls. This project, which was supported through an early career fellowship from the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, was also interested in developing new theoretical and methodological approaches to studying disability and sexuality. Beginning from May 2020, Ganle started implementing a two-year Royal Society/African Academy of Sciences funded research project that aims to Test the effect of an integrated intervention to promote access to sexual/reproductive health and rights among disabled women/girls in Ghana. Ganle is committed to a long-term research career in Africa, with a particular focus on sexual, reproductive and maternal and child healthcare for underserved groups.

 

FUNDED RESEARCH

 

On-going Research Projects

  1. Testing the effect of an integrated intervention to promote access to sexual/reproductive health and rights among disabled women/girls
  • PI: Dr. John Ganle
  • Co-Investigators: Dr. Samuel Dery and Charlotte Ofori
  • Funding: The Royal Society/African Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Future Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR) Fellowship Scheme
  • Duration: 2years (2020 - 2022).
  1. Identifying and developing low-cost and acceptable family planning interventions and service delivery models for urban slums in Ghana.
  • PI: Dr. John Ganle
  • Co-Investigators: Dr. Leonard Baatiema
  • Funding: International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP)
  • Duration: 2years (2020 - 2022)
  1. Exploring the experience of people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana
  • PI: Prof. Tom Shakespeare
  • Co-Investigators: Dr. John Ganle, Dr. Morgon Banks, Prof. Hannah Kuper
  • Funding: DFID
  • Duration: 18months (2020-2021)
  1. Developing Best Practices in Community engagement for Genomics and Biobanking in Africa.
  • PIs: Dr. Paulina Tindana & Dr. Anita Ghansah
  • Co-Investigators: Dr. John Ganle & Dr. Patricia Akweongo
  • Funding: NIH
  • Duration: 4years (2018 - 2021)

 

Completed Research Projects

  1. Trust in medicine after the EVD epidemic: Street-level health bureaucrats, the institutionalization of care, and the creation of preparedness in Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Ghana
  • PI: Professor Dr. Ulrike Beisel (Germany)
  • Ghana PI: Dr. John Ganle
  • Co-PIs: Dr. Sung-Joon Park (Germany), Dr. Sylvanus Spencer (Sierra Leone), Dr. Grace Akello-Ayebare (Uganda), and Esther Yei Mokuwa (Sierra Leone).
  • Funding: German Research Foundation
  • Duration: 36months (2016 - 2019).

 

  1. Disability and reproduction in Africa: developing the theoretical, methodological and evidence base for inclusive reproductive healthcare in Ghana.
  • PI: Dr. John Ganle
  • Funding: Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS)
  • Duration: 3years (2017 - 2019).
  1. Increasing Use of Modern Contraceptives and Skilled Delivery Services among Persons with Disability in the Northern Region of Ghana.
  • PI: Dr. John Ganle
  • Co-Investigators: Prof. Richard Adanu, Prof. Augustine Ankomah, and Dr. Ernest Maya.
  • Funding: USAID Systems for Health Innovation Grants
  • Duration: 12months (2016 - 2017).
  1. Microfinance, Poverty Reduction and Access to Maternal Healthcare Rural Women in Ghana and Kenya.
  • PI: Dr. John Ganle
  • Co-Investigators: Professor Grace Wamue-Ngare (Kenyatta University), Dr. Alexander Segbefia (KNUST), Mr. Kwadwo Afriyie (KNUST) and Dr. Pauline Kamau (Kenyatta University).
  • Funding: Association of African Universities
  • Duration: 18months (2015- 2016).

 

PUBLICATIONS

Journal articles

  1. Ganle JK, Baatiema L, Quansah R Danso-Appiah A (2020). Barriers facing persons with disability in accessing sexual and reproductive health services in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review. PLoS ONE.
  2. Ganle JK, Apolot RR, Rugoho T, Sumankuuro J (2020). ‘They are my future’: childbearing desires and motivations among women with disabilities in Ghana - implications for reproductive healthcare. Reproductive Health, 17:151, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-020-01000-y.
  3. Sumankuuro J, Wulifan JK, Angko W, Crockett J, Derbile EK, Ganle JK (2020). Predictors of maternal mortality in Ghana: evidence from the 2017 GMHS Verbal Autopsy data. International Journal of Health Planning & Management, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.3054
  4. Asiedu A, Asare YB, Dwumfour-Asare B, Baafi B, Adam A, Aryee ES, Ganle JK (2020). Determinants of modern contraceptive use: A cross-sectional study among market women in the Ashiaman Municipality of Ghana. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 12:100184.
  5. Baatiema L, de-Graft Aikins A, Sarfo SF, Abimbola S, Ganle JK, Somerset S (2020). Improving the quality of care for people who had a stroke in a low-/middle-income country: A qualitative analysis of healthcare professionals’ perspectives. Health Expectations,  DOI: 10.1111/hex.13027.
  6. Bonful HA, Addo-Lartey A, Aheto JMK, Ganle JK, Sarfo B, Aryeetey R (2020). Limiting spread of COVID-19 in Ghana: Compliance audit of selected transportation stations in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. PLoS ONE, 15(9): e0238971. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0238971
  7. Jeil BE, Kabila A & Ganle JK (2020) “We are free when water is available”: gendered livelihood implications of sporadic water supply in Northern Ghana. Local Environment, 25:4, 320-335, DOI: 10.1080/13549839.2020.1744118
  8. Ganle JK, Amoako D, Baatiema L & Ibrahim M (2019). Risky sexual behaviour and contraceptive use in contexts of displacement: insights from a cross-sectional survey of female adolescent refugees in Ghana. International Journal for Equity in Health 18:127; https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-019-1031-1.
  9. Ganle JK, Tiwaa Busia TN, Baatiema B (2019). Stocking and over-the-counter sale of misoprostol for medical abortion in Ghana’s community pharmacies: comparison of questionnaire and mystery client survey. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, doi: 10.1111/ijpp.12593.
  10. Tibambuya AB, Ganle JK, and Ibrahim M (2019). Anaemia at antenatal care initiation and associated factors among pregnant women in West Gonja District, Ghana: a cross-sectional Study. The Pan African Medical Journal, 33:325. doi:10.11604/pamj.2019.33.325.17924.
  11. Ganle JK & Bedwei-Majdoub VM (2019). Discontinuation of Exclusive Breastfeeding in Ghana: A Longitudinal, One-Group Observational Study of Postnatal Mothers with Children 0–6 Months old. Journal of Human Lactation, DOI: 10.1177/0890334419871012.
  12. Ganle JK, Boakye PP, and Baatiema L (2019). Childhood obesity in urban Ghana: evidence from a cross-sectional survey of in-school children aged 5–16 years.
    BMC Public Health, 1:1561, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7898-3
  13. Beisel U & Ganle JK (2019). The Release of Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes in Burkina Faso: Bioeconomy of Science, Public Engagement and Trust in Medicine. African Studies Review, 62(3):164-193.
  14. Ganle JK, Kombet ML, & Baatiema L (2019). Factors influencing the use of supervised delivery services in Garu-Tempane District, Ghana. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 19:141. DOI: 10.1186/s12884-019-2295-6.
  15. Ganle JK, Mahama SM, Maya E, Manu A, Torpey K & Adanu R (2019). Understanding factors influencing home delivery in the context of user‐fee abolition in Northern Ghana: Evidence from 2014 DHS. International Journal of Health Planning & Management, 2019;1–17.
  16. Dery I & Ganle JK (2019). ‘‘Who knows, you may overpower him’’: Narratives and experiences of masculinities among the Dagaaba youth of northwestern Ghana. Journal of Men’s Studies.
  17. Abdul Alhassan M, Gyasi RM, Segbefia YA, Forkuor D, & Ganle JK (2018). Internalised and Social Experiences of HIV-Induced Stigma and Discrimination in Urban Ghana. Global Social Welfare, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-018-0111-2
  18. Ganle JK, Busia TN & Maya E (2018). Availability and prescription of misoprostol for medical abortion in community pharmacies and associated factors in Accra, Ghana. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, DOI: 10.1002/ijgo.12717.
  19. Atuahene DM, Arde-Acquah S, Atuahene NF, Adjuik M, Ganle JK (2017): Inclusion of Men in Maternal and Safe Motherhood Services in Inner-city Communities in Ghana: evidence from a descriptive cross-sectional survey. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 17:419, DOI 10.1186/s12884-017-1590-3
  20. Afriyie K, Ganle JK & Santos E (2017), ‘The floods came and we lost everything’: weather extremes and households’ asset vulnerability and adaptation in rural Ghana. Climate and Development, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2017.1291403.
  21. Baatiema L, Sumah AM, Tang PN, & Ganle JK (2016). Community health workers in Ghana: the need for greater policy attention. BMJ Global Health; 1:e000141. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2016-000141.
  22. Kabila A, Ganle JK &  Afriyie K (2016). The germs are not harmful’: health risk perceptions among consumers of peri-urban grown vegetables in Kumasi, Ghana. GeoJournal, 81(4): DOI 10.1007/s10708-016-9747-6.
  23. Ankomah A, Ganle JK, Lartey YM, Kwara A, Nortey AP, Okyerefo MPK and Laar KA (2016). ART access-related barriers faced by HIV-positive persons linked to care in southern Ghana: a mixed method study. BMC Infectious Diseases; 16:738 DOI 10.1186/s12879-016-2075-0
  24. Ganle JK, Otupiri O, Obeng B, Edusie KA, Ankomah A & Adanu R (2016). Challenges women with disability face in accessing and using maternal healthcare services in Ghana. PLoS ONE, 11(6): e0158361. doi:10.1371/journal. pone.0158361.
  25. Ganle JK, Dery I & Manu (2016). ‘If I go with him, I can’t talk with other women’: understanding women’s resistance to men’s involvement in maternal and child healthcare in Northern Ghana. Social Science & Medicine, 166:195-204.
  26. Ganle JK, Obeng B, Yeboah YJ, Tagoe-Darko E, & Mensah MC (2016). Disparities in abortion experience and access to safe abortion services in Ghana: evidence from a descriptive retrospective survey. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 20(2): 43-52.
  27. Ganle JK & Dery I (2015). ‘What men don’t know can hurt women’s health: a qualitative study of the barriers to and opportunities for men’s involvement in maternal healthcare in Ghana. Reproductive Health, 12:93.
  28. Ganle JK, Obeng B, Segbefia YA, Mwinyuri V, Yeboah YJ, & Baatiema L (2015). How intra-familial decision-making affects women’s access to, and use of maternal healthcare services in Ghana: a qualitative study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 15:173.
  29.  Ganle JK (2015). Ethnic disparities in utilisation of maternal healthcare services in Ghana: Evidence from the 2007 Ghana maternal health survey. Ethnicity and Health, DOI: 10.1080/13557858.2015.1015499.
  30. Ganle JK (2015). Hegemonic Masculinity, HIV/AIDS Risk Perception, and Sexual Behaviour Change among Young People in Ghana. Qualitative Health Research, 1-19, DOI: 10.1177/1049732315573204.
  31. Ganle JK (2015). Why Muslim women in northern Ghana do not use skilled maternal healthcare services at health facilities: A qualitative study. BMC International Health & Human Rights, 15(10): DOI 10.1186/s12914-015-0048-9.
  32. Ganle JK, Parker M, Fitpatrick R, & Otupiri E (2015). Addressing Health System Barriers to Access to and Use of skilled delivery services: Perspectives from Ghana. International Journal of Health Planning and Management, DOI: 10.1002/hpm.2291.
  33. Ganle JK, Otupiri E, Parker M & Fitpatrick R (2015). Socio-cultural barriers to accessibility and utilization of maternal and newborn healthcare services in Ghana after user-fee abolition. International Journal of Maternal and Child Health, 3(1): 1-14.
  34. Kabila A, Ganle JK & Adaborna E (2015). Coliform contamination of peri-urban grown vegetables and potential public health risks: evidence from Kumasi, Ghana. Journal of Community Health, 40(5): DOI 10.1007/s10900-015-0109-y.
  35. Ganle JK, Afriyie K & Segbefia YA (2015). Microcredit: empowerment and disempowerment of rural women in Ghana. World Development, 66:335-345.
  36. Ganle JK, Parker M, Fitpatrick R & Otupiri E (2014). A qualitative study of health system barriers to accessibility and utilization of maternal and newborn healthcare services in Ghana after user-fee abolition. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 14:425.
  37. Ganle JK, Parker M, Fitpatrick R, & Otupiri E (2014). Free maternity care and equity of access to maternal health services in Ghana: a descriptive study. International Journal for Equity in Health, 13;89.
  38. Ganle JK (2014). Addressing Socio-cultural Barriers to Maternal Healthcare in Ghana: Perspectives of Women and Healthcare Providers. Journal of Women’s Health Issues & Care, 3:6.
  39. Ganle JK (2014). Chasing out traditional birth attendants in Ghana – implications for maternal and newborn health. The Journal of Global Health, 4(2): 39-42.
  40. Ganle JK (2014). Reaching out to a community to improve maternal health in Ghana: the story of one midwife. Global Health Science & Practice, 2(3): 366-369.
  41. Ganle JK, Tagoe-Darko E & Mensah CM (2012). Youth, HIV/AIDS Risks and Sexuality in Contemporary Ghana: Examining the Gap between Awareness and Behaviour Change. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2(21): 88-99.
  42. Ganle JK (2012). “Today we have development but mosquitoes are everywhere’’: Development, Environmental Change and Malaria in a Rural District of Ghana. Human Welfare, 1:71-90.

 

Book Chapters

  1. 42. Ganle JK & Krampah E (2018). Mistreatment of Women in Health Facilities by Midwives during Childbirth in Ghana: Prevalence and Associated Factors, IN Selected Topics in Midwifery Care, http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82432
  2. Laar AK, Ganle JK, Owusu, Tenkorang E, Tuakli-Wosornu Y, Soyiri I, Okyerefo M, Senah K (forthcoming). Representing health: an Afrocentric perspective. In: Practicing health geography: The Africa story Eds: Prestige Tatenda Makanga, PT. (forthcoming) Springer.

 

Technical Publications

  1. Ganle JK, Edusei KA, Maya TE, Aboagye P, Ankomah A, and Adanu R (2017). Capacity Building in Disability Awareness and Disability-Centred Family Planning and Maternal Healthcare Information and Service Delivery for Healthcare Providers: A Training Manual. Accra: USAID Systems for Health, University Research Company, and University of Ghana School of Public Health.
  2. Ganle JK, Edusei KA, Maya TE, Aboagye P, Ankomah A, and Adanu R (2017). Capacity Building in Disability Awareness and Disability-Centred Family Planning and Maternal Healthcare Information and Service Delivery for Community-Based Surveillance Volunteers: A Training Manual. Accra: USAID Systems for Health, University Research Company, and University of Ghana School of Public Health.