Understanding the Social Context of the ASGM Sector in Ghana

A Qualitative Description of the Demographic, Health, and Nutritional Characteristics of a Small-Scale Gold Mining Community in Ghana

Bibliographic Data

ID15515433
AuthorsRachel Long (University of Michigan), Elisha P Renne (University of Michigan), Elisha Renne (University of Michigan), Niladri Basu (0000-0002-2695-1037, McGill University, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume12
Issue10
Pages12679-12696
Publication date2015-10-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph121012679
PMID26473901
OpenAlexW1961801767
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited28

This descriptive paper describes factors related to demographics and health in an artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) community in Ghana's Upper East Region. Participants (n = 114) were surveyed in 2010 and 2011, adapting questions from the established national Demographic Health Survey (DHS) on factors such as population characteristics, infrastructure, amenities, education, employment, maternal and child health, and diet. In the study community, some indicators of household wealth (e.g., radios, mobile phones, refrigerators) are more common than elsewhere in Ghana, yet basic infrastructure (e.g., cement flooring, sanitation systems) and access to safe water supplies are lacking. Risk factors for poor respiratory health, such as cooking with biomass fuel smoke and smoking tobacco, are common. Certain metrics of maternal and child health are comparable to other areas of Ghana (e.g., frequency of antenatal care), whereas others (e.g., antenatal care from a skilled provider) show deficiencies. Residents surveyed do not appear to lack key micronutrients, but report lower fruit and vegetable consumption than other rural areas. The results enable a better understanding of community demographics, health, and nutrition, and underscore the need for better demographic and health surveillance and data collection across ASGM communities to inform effective policies and programs for improving miner and community health

Cartography · Community health · Community health workers · Context (archaeology · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Geography · Gold mining · Health care · Health services · Occupational safety and health · Population · Qualitative research · Scale (ratio · Social science · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Energy and Environment Impacts · Medicine · Mining and Resource Management