Sylvia Esther Gyan

Google Scholar

Education:

PhD (Sociology), University of Ghana, Legon, 2012-2014

MPhil. (Sociology), University of Ghana, Legon, 2005-2008

B.A. (Sociology with Study of Religions), University of Ghana, Legon, 2000-2004

Research Interests:

Sylvia Esther Gyan’s main research interest falls under Sociology of Health, a sub-discipline in Sociology. Sylvia’s research over the years has been in the areas of reproductive health with particular focus on adolescent sexual and reproductive health, maternal health and child marriage. Her research interest extends to other domains including Family Demography, Gender Studies, Climate Change, and Migration

Academic Distinctions:

• February 2023 to July 2024 – Co-PI on the project, “Utilizing AI to Promote Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes for Adolescents with Disabilities in Ghana” funded by the Infectious Disease Institute’s HASH programme
• December 2018 to November 2023, Affiliate Assistant Professor, College of Public Health, University of South Florida
• 2019 African Studies Association Carnegie Corporation of New York Scholar
• May 2018 to April 2019 – BANGA-Africa Seed Research Grant Recipient
• October - December 2018, BANGA-Africa Postdoctoral Fellow, College of Public Health, University of South Florida
• January to December 2014 – Commonwealth Doctoral Scholar, University of Sussex, UK
• February to December 2007 – Exchange Graduate Student at University of Tromso, Norway

Research Abstract:

With a research interest that focuses on women’s well-being, Sylvia conducts her studies on women in vulnerable situations across the life course. As a researcher, Sylvia is not only interested in contributing to knowledge but also collaborating with others to solve problems in society. Hence, she participates in transdisciplinary research, which in her opinion provides the greatest opportunity for researchers to work with relevant stakeholders on integrative and socially relevant topics oriented towards problem solving. She is currently working with colleagues from the Department of Social Work and Department of Computer Science on utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to meet the sexual and reproductive health needs of older adolescents with visual, speech and hearing impairment in Ghana. As a part-time postdoc on the SPOT Impact Project, Sylvia worked with a team of researchers from various disciplines in an ongoing project that seeks to improve the quality of care for women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) in Ghana through the co-creation of a toolkit that supports risk prediction, risk communication and shared decision making. .

Publications:

I. Book Chapters

1. Boafo, I. M., & Gyan, S. E. (2022). Gender and Higher Education in Nursing: Experiences of Male Nursing Trainees in Ghana. In Leading Change in Gender and Diversity in Higher Education from Margins to Mainstream (pp. 106-124). Routledge.
2. Dzorgbo, D-B. S. & Gyan, S. E. (2014). Democratic governance and women representation in Ghana: A critical evaluation of the progress. In D-B.S. Dzorgbo & S. Tonah (Eds.), Sociology and Development Issues in Ghana: A Sociology Reader (15-134). Tema, Ghana: Woeli Publishing Services.
3. Gyan, S. E., & Asante, R. K. (2017). Mapping out the role of labor migrants in Ghana’s oil and gas economy. In S. Tonah, M. B. Setrana, & J. A. Arthur (Eds.), Migration and Development in Africa: Trends, Challenges, and Policy Implications (183-193). Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books.  

II. Peer Reviewed Journal Articles

1. Afranie, S., Gyan, E.S., & Tsiboe-Darko, A. (2019). Child marriage in Ghana: Who cares? Ghana Social Science, 16(2), 19-45.
2. Dzorgbo, D.-B. S., & Gyan, S. E. (2016). Exploratory study of the current status of the rights and welfare of Ghanaian women: taking stock and mapping gaps for new actions. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 20(3), 136-148.
3. Gyan, S. (2017). Exploring the causes of change in adolescent girls' sexual behaviour in Begoro, Ghana. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 21(2), 55-63.
4. Gyan, S. E. (2017). Adolescent girls’ resilience to teenage pregnancy and motherhood in Begoro, Ghana: the effect of financial support. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 12(2), 130-137.
5. Gyan, S. E. (2018). Passing as “normal”: Adolescent girls’ strategies for escaping stigma of premarital sex and childbearing in Ghana. Sage Open, 8(3), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018801421
6. Gyan, S. E., Hiadzi, R. A., Obeng, M. K. M., Asante, R. K. B., & Ussher, Y. A. A. (2023). Virtual but essential: Students’ use of online resources for sexual and reproductive health information during COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana. Ghana Social Science Journal, 20(2), 200-212.
7. Gyan, S. E., Ahorlu, C., Dzorgbo, D.-B. S., & Fayorsey, C. K. (2017). Social capital and adolescent girls' resilience to teenage pregnancy in Begoro, Ghana. Journal of Biosocial Science, 49(3), 334-347.
8. Gyan, S. E., & Boafo, I. M. (2024). “When you use tramadol, the sperms will not come out...”: Unconventional strategies for avoiding unintended pregnancy among adolescents in Ghana. SAGE Open Medicine, 12.
   https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121231224660
9. Gyan, S. E., Domfe, G., & Tsiboe-Darko, A. (2022). ‘I Am on a Family Planning Program, but I Have Not Told My Husband’: Contraceptive Decision-Making of Child Brides in Ghana. Journal of Family Issues.
   https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X221093297
10. Gyan, S. E., & Marhefka-Day, S. (2021). Exploring Adolescents’(Non-) Use of Modern Contraceptives in Ghana Through the Lens of the Theory of Gender and Power. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 50(6), 2411-2421.
11. Gyan, S. E., & Kpoor, A. (2024). ‘Why give birth to many children when you cannot take care of them?’Determinants of family size among dual-earner couples in Ghana. Current Sociology, 72(1), 150-167.
12. Oppong Asante, K., Ampaw, S., & Gyan, S. E. (2023). Consistent condom use among sexually active young adults in Ghana: an analysis of prevalence and associated factors. Global Health Promotion.
    https://doi.org/10.1177/17579759231205850
13. Owoo, N. S., Lambon-Quayefio, M. P., Gyan, S. E., & Oduro, A. D. (2022). Women's earnings and domestic work among couples in Ghana. African Review of Economics and Finance, 14(1), 26-55.
14. Tenkorang, E. Y., Owusu, A. Y., Zaami, M., Langmagne, S., & Gyan, S. (2023). Intimate partner violence and health outcomes among women living with HIV/AIDS in Ghana: a cross-sectional study. Health Education & Behavior, 50(3), 347-358.
15. Ussher, Y. A., Asante, R. K., Obeng, M. K., & Gyan, S. E. (2023). Assessing tertiary students’ self-engagement characteristics in the online environment. SN Social Sciences, 3(10), 181.

III. Edited Policy Brief

1. Ahorlu C, Adu-Gyamfi S, Pfeiffer C, Obrist B. (2013). Coping with teenage pregnancy and childbirth in Ghana. Bassirou Bonfoh (Ed) Evidence for Policy Series, Regional Edition West Africa, (4), Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire: NCCR North-South.
2. Lambon-Quayefio, M.P., Owoo, N.S., Oduro, A.O. & Gyan, S.E. (2021). The Socioeconomic and Reproductive Health Effects of Unequal Domestic Work on Women in Ghana. GLM|LIC Policy Brief No. 34

Membership:

Ghana Sociological and Anthropological Association

American Sociological Association (ASA)

Global Research Network on the Economic Empowerment of Women (ReNEW)

Global Qualitative Sociology Network