Invitation to Public Seminar Series - School of Nursing and Midwifery

Starting March 21, 2018 - Ending March 21, 2019 Expired

The School of Nursing and Midwifery invites you to its second Public Seminar as follows:

 

Date: Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Venue: R.S. Amegashie Auditorium, UGBS

Time: 1:00 pm prompt

Chairperson: Prof. Jennifer Welbeck, former Dean, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Ghana

 

All are cordially invited

 

 

TOPIC 1:  Unveiling Midwives' Experiences of Newborn Health in Rural Birth Spaces in Southern Ghana - Dr. Mary Ani-Amponsah (PhD, MPhil, FFGCNM, FWACN, BA, RN, Neonatal Health)

Midwives’ experiences of newborn care in rural communities have been minimally explored over the past two decades globally in spite of their rich experiences as frontline health workers in maternal and newborn health. In Ghana, the slow decline of neonatal mortality is shaped by inequitable health coverage, lapses in health care delivery, weak community engagement strategies and policy implementation challenges. Understanding the dynamic contextual factors that impact rural newborn health care delivery is critical to meeting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.2 - i.e. reducing neonatal mortality to at least 12 per 1000 live births. The aim of this study was to explore and unveil the experiences of midwives involved with newborn health care in rural birth settings, Southern Ghana. Interpretive phenomenology that incorporates Heideggerian and African philosophy were used to explore the meanings embedded in the experiences of thirteen midwives who volunteered to participate in the study. Emerging themes were synthesized from the verbal transcripts, field notes, reflective journal and commentaries from two independent reviewers to produce rich narratives of the midwives’ embodied experiences. The study findings establish that maternal and neonatal care are delivered in health facilities, domiciliary settings and unpredictable spaces in rural communities where silent suffering occur. The knowledge generated in the study serves as basis for setting newborn health care delivery priorities, scaling up research-informed interventions, and refining policies to improve newborn health care delivery and midwifery practice in rural settings within Ghana.  

 

 

TOPIC 2:  “The Mother Beyond Delivery”: The Midwife and Maternal Mental Health- Dr. Samuel Adjorlolo (PhD, MPhil, MSc, BA, RN)

Mental illness is a major contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality, globally. Health professionals, specifically midwives’  have significant roles to play in reducing maternal mortality to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030, particularly in developing and resource constraint countries, as envisioned by the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3. Consequently, following a systematic and integrated literature review, this presentation critically examines midwives involvement in promoting maternal mental health, such as identifying women at risk, assessing and referring women appropriately in Ghana and beyond. Also, in view of calls to integrate mental health into general maternal health care, the presentation examines how midwives’ can be empowered, taking into consideration sociocultural dynamics and mental illness, to screen and deliver evidenced-based, low-cost interventions through routine maternal health and reproductive care services, or make appropriate psychiatric care referrals. Midwives’ are highly skilled in developing relationships with childbearing women and their families, a privileged position that affords a unique opportunity to enhance and promote maternal mental health to contribute to the attainment of SDG 3.

 

 

Biography of Dr. Mary Ani-Amponsah

Dr. Mary Ani-Amponsah is a Lecturer at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana. Mary holds a PhD Nursing degree from the University of Alberta, Canada. Her research interest is focused on improving neonatal survival strategies in rural and resource-limited communities using family and multi-stakeholder engagement approaches. Mary is the Country Representative for Council of International Neonatal Nurses – http://coinnurses.org/ghana/ and the Faculty Chair of Neonatal Intensive Nursing at the Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives (GCNM).  Mary is the 2018/2019 Faculty Advisor for the Sigma Theta Tau International and Johnson & Johnson Collaborative African Project in the Maternal/Child Health Nurse Leadership Academy (MCHNLA). Mary holds a life time honorary membership with the Golden Key Society and International Scholar Laureate programme.

 

 

Biography of Dr. Samuel Adjorlolo

Dr. Samuel Adjorlolo is a lecturer in the Department of Mental Health Nursing, University of Ghana. He holds a PhD in Applied Social Sciences, specializing in forensic clinical psychology, from the City University of Hong Kong. Prior to this, he graduated from the University of Ghana where he received Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Nursing and Psychology, and Clinical Psychology, respectively. He also received a Master of Science degree in Telemedicine and e-health from the UiT-Arctic University of Norway. He has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals, and book chapters published by renowned publishers such as Routledge. Dr. Adjorlolo has presented his research works at international conferences across the globe. He has received several honors and awards, including the prestigious Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies and research tuition scholarships by City University of Hong Kong, and Emerging Psychologist by International Congress of Psychology.