Reginald T E T T E H - A H U M A H Ocansey | University Of Education, Winneba (original) (raw)

Papers by Reginald T E T T E H - A H U M A H Ocansey

Background: Emerging research has suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restric... more Background: Emerging research has suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions and lockdown resulted in decreasing physical activity levels and poor health globally. Most of the studies reporting on the pandemic and physical activity were from advanced countries. This study assessed self-perceived health status and physical activity among youth and adults in Ghana before, during, and after the COVID-19 restrictions. Methods: The participants were 932 young Ghanaians who completed an online survey as part of the General Health, Speech, and Physical Activity Relationship Assessment Study in Ghana. Physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), anxiety was assessed using the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Results: Out of the 937 participants involved in the study, 56.5% were males and 35% were females. Places where participants engaged...

Frontiers in public health, May 30, 2024

Published in The Ghanaian Times Newspaper and Captioned as “A national physical activity for a healthy act” Series 1-2, 2009

A good physical education program will certainly enhance the development of sports and a healthy ... more A good physical education program will certainly enhance the development of sports and a healthy nation. Every student in our Nation's schools, from kindergarten through senior high school, should have the opportunity to participate in quality physical education. Children need to know that physical activity can help them feel good, be successful in school and work, and stay healthy. A good program will have as one of its standards to provide students with a variety motor skills and movements patterns. This way, they will be able to develop competence in many motor skills and movement patterns and proficiency in few.

The Ghanaian Times Newspaper and Captioned as “A University for Physical Activity Studies: A Step in the Right Direction” Series 1-2, 2009

Total development of physical activity in the country is beneficial in several ways as argued ear... more Total development of physical activity in the country is beneficial in several ways as argued earlier in this paper. Institutionalizing studies in physical activity in a university setting with a clear purpose and support will be part of the solution to the shortcomings plaguing sports and physical education in the country. At the Physical Activity Studies University, research, development, and professional development will be of the essence. Research and development at the University for Physical Activity Studies will support the current efforts at the National Sports College and the Center for Sports Excellence respectively.

The Ghanaian Times Newspaper and Captioned as “New Directions in Physical Education and Sports Development” Series 1-2, 2009

The discourse on revitalizing physical education and sports in the country is mounting as interes... more The discourse on revitalizing physical education and sports in the country is mounting as interested parties express strategic viewpoints for improvement. Recent discourses have included those by the Ghana Physical Education and Sports Thinktank, the Parliamentary Sub-committee on Sports, the National Hockey Association and the most recent discourse by the Vice President, Hon. John Mahama. All these discourses mean well and advocate for better physical education, better sports and healthy lifestyle for all Ghanaians. Although all these discourses portray strategic viewpoints, the fundamental link, which underscores each viewpoint or position, is physical activity. Hence, we cannot talk about development of sports without due considerations for the improvement of physical education. Likewise, we cannot talk about the improvement of physical education without due considerations for the development of sports.

Motivation: Important Tool for Sports Development” Series 1-2, 2009

There is no doubt incentives play an important role in the development of sports and cannot be ov... more There is no doubt incentives play an important role in the development of sports and cannot be overlooked in the discourse on sports development in Ghana. When the parliament select committee on Youth Sports and Culture begins reviewing the National Sports Bill in order to have a Sports Act they should examine various incentive systems and make provision for a developmentally appropriate system of rewards in sports development.

The Ghanaian Times Newspaper and Captioned as the “GHA’s 4-year Development Plan: GPES View, 2019

Just as with the previous GPES Thinktank advocacy papers, we want to continue to stimulate intere... more Just as with the previous GPES Thinktank advocacy papers, we want to continue to stimulate interest in discussions regarding physical education and sport development in the country. If you are interested in reading the advocacy papers published by the GPES Thinktank, send your email address to the contact e-mail address provided below.

Ghanaian Times Newspaper and Captioned as the “Falling standards of hockey in Ghana: Should P.E. teachers be blamed?” Series 1-2, 2009

This article is in direct response to the comments made by the team manager of the national men’s... more This article is in direct response to the comments made by the team manager of the national men’s hockey team (not referenced to the chairman of the national hockey association) on Oman FM on Tuesday July 22nd 2009 at 9:00am. In his interview with Oman on Tuesday, he blamed physical education teachers for the falling standard of hockey in the country. Why so? He attributed the low level performance to ineffective teaching on the part of physical education teachers. We think it will help the Hockey men’s team manager a lot to read the Ghana Physical Education and Sport Thinktank papers which appeared in the Ghanaian Times from July 22nd through July 31st 2009.

The Ghanaian Times Newspaper captioned: "Health and fitness needs of adolescents… How are schools meeting it?” Series 1-3, 2009

Authorities in charge of school and schooling in the country must know that youth who are regular... more Authorities in charge of school and schooling in the country must know that youth who are regularly active also have a better chance of a healthy adulthood. Children and adolescents don't usually develop chronic diseases, such as heart disease, hypertension, type-two diabetes, or osteoporosis. However, risk factors for these diseases can begin to develop early in life. Regular physical activity makes it less likely that these risk factors will develop and more likely that children will remain healthy as adults. In modifying or developing a policy regarding our youth and fitness in this country, lawmakers, educational administrators, teacher educators and teachers must understand that youth can achieve substantial health benefits by doing moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity for periods of time that add up to 60 minutes (1 hour) or more each day. This activity should include aerobic activity as well as age-appropriate muscle- and bone–strengthening activities.

“Anatomy of PE” Series 1-3, 2009

It is about time to do some reflection on physical education as a job. It is about time to redefi... more It is about time to do some reflection on physical education as a job. It is about time to redefine a direction for training in physical education in Ghana. Similarly, now is the time to reflect on sports coaching as a job. The time is now to redefine a direction for training of coaches in the various sports disciplines in Ghana. How is physical education different from sport? Who is the physical education teacher? Who is the sports teacher/coach?

Frontiers in Education, Mar 14, 2023

Introduction: The purpose of this brief report is to describe how a structured sportbased positiv... more Introduction: The purpose of this brief report is to describe how a structured sportbased positive life skills program can be used in promoting the development of entrepreneurial skills of youth in Ghana. Methods: A total of 29 youth participated in the study with 11 as the control group and the remaining 18 as the intervention group. The students in the intervention together with 5 parents participated in a weekend mapping camp. Data for the study was collected with the Youth Experience Survey for Sport to measure the Life skills and entrepreneurship skills using a quasi experimental pre and post test control group design. Results: The youth in the intervention group reported important physical and personal benefits and entrepreneurial skills such as cooperation (teamwork), risk taking, creativity, leadership, cognitive development, and positive engagement in physical activity which they did not previously have. The results are similar to existing published papers giving this report a commendable validity and reliability. Discussion: Similar to the previously published papers, the perceived gains in this report also show that exposing youth to a structured sport-based positive life skills program produce both physical benefits and development of lifelong skills necessary to develop skills necessary for entrepreneurial endeavors. When this intervention is upscaled in Ghana the country could offset high youth unemployment with its associated challenges.

Ageing, Physical Activity and Health, 2018

Ageing, physical activity and health: international perspectives , Ageing, physical activity and ... more Ageing, physical activity and health: international perspectives , Ageing, physical activity and health: international perspectives , کتابخانه‌های دانشگاه کردستان

Ghana Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sports and Dance (GJOHPERSD), 2014

The study assessed the pedagogical content knowledge of preservice teachers in Physical Education... more The study assessed the pedagogical content knowledge of preservice teachers in Physical Education at the Colleges of Education in Ghana. The descriptive survey design was employed to conduct the study. One hundred and eighty (180) final year students were randomly selected for the study. A questionnaire was used to collect the data for the study. Data were analyzed using frequencies and percentages. The results indicated that pre-service teachers at the colleges received sufficient instructions in physical education about the subject matter and general pedagogical practices to enable them teach the content of instruction effectively to enhance positive learning outcomes in their students. Also, preservice teachers acquired adequate knowledge about their learners and their characteristics to make them effective teachers in Physical Education. Thus, the teacher education division must keep to, monitor and supervise the present syllabus being used by the Colleges of Education since the...

Background There is overwhelming evidence indicating that depression may be reduced by physical a... more Background There is overwhelming evidence indicating that depression may be reduced by physical activity (PA) but studies in lower- and middle-income countries and those that involved data at higher physical activity doses were underrepresented. The current study investigated the associations between PA levels (vigorous, moderate, walking and sitting) and depression, and tested whether age and gender moderates the link between PA and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method Participants were 857 adults (51.0% women; aged 18–69, mean age = 29.71, SD = 10.84 years) who completed an online survey as part of the General Health, Speech and Physical Activity Relationship Assessment Study in Nigeria. Physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) while depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Results Results of Hayes PROCESS macro indicated that those who engaged in vigorous PA reported lower levels of dep...

Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement, Dec 20, 2022

This practice-based article describes a program that aims to instil an interest in entrepreneursh... more This practice-based article describes a program that aims to instil an interest in entrepreneurship among African youth by helping them make a connection between the skills they have developed through their participation in sport and the skills required of successful entrepreneurs. The program was developed in partnership between scholars at four universities

Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Background: Physical activity (PA) surveillance, policy, and research efforts need to be periodic... more Background: Physical activity (PA) surveillance, policy, and research efforts need to be periodically appraised to gain insight into national and global capacities for PA promotion. The aim of this paper was to assess the status and trends in PA surveillance, policy, and research in 164 countries. Methods: We used data from the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!) 2015 and 2020 surveys. Comprehensive searches were performed for each country to determine the level of development of their PA surveillance, policy, and research, and the findings were verified by the GoPA! Country Contacts. Trends were analyzed based on the data available for both survey years. Results: The global 5-year progress in all 3 indicators was modest, with most countries either improving or staying at the same level. PA surveillance, policy, and research improved or remained at a high level in 48.1%, 40.6%, and 42.1% of the countries, respectively. PA surveillance, policy, and research scores decrea...

Frontiers in Public Health

IntroductionGhana like other African countries is facing multiple health threats due to expansion... more IntroductionGhana like other African countries is facing multiple health threats due to expansion of urban populations. Globally, the urbanization phenomenon has received considerable attention and modest steps have been undertaken to address it. Ghana is stalling on implementation of policies and interventions targeted at alleviating the menace.ObjectivesThis review examined research evidence, interventions, and policies relating to urbanization and threats to health and well-being of people living in Ghana. The review focused on three areas including urbanization threats to health and well-being, health risks associated with urbanization, and interventions and policies.Materials and MethodsThe search spanned from year 2000 to February 2022 covering documents related to urbanization, health, and well-being. Databases used for the search include African Journals Online, Annual Reviews (Biomedical, Life & Physical sciences, Social Sciences), BioMedCentral, BioOne, BLDS digital librar...

In this discussion of the relationship between ethnic majority teachers and minority group studen... more In this discussion of the relationship between ethnic majority teachers and minority group students the following issues are addressed: (1) teacher expectations; (2) modes of conversation; (3) styles of communication; (4) teacher calling-on-student behavior; and (5) eye contact. A recommendation is that action be taken on these issues and that they be incorporated into teacher education programs. A 22-item bibliography is included. (JD)

Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 2016

The Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance organized the concurrent preparation of Report Cards on t... more The Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance organized the concurrent preparation of Report Cards on the physical activity of children and youth in 38 countries from 6 continents (representing 60% of the world’s population). Nine common indicators were used (Overall Physical Activity, Organized Sport Participation, Active Play, Active Transportation, Sedentary Behavior, Family and Peers, School, Community and the Built Environment, and Government Strategies and Investments), and all Report Cards were generated through a harmonized development process and a standardized grading framework (from A = excellent, to F = failing). The 38 Report Cards were presented at the International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health in Bangkok, Thailand on November 16, 2016. The consolidated findings are summarized in the form of a Global Matrix demonstrating substantial variation in grades both within and across countries. Countries that lead in certain indicators often lag in others. Average ...

Frontiers in Psychology

With the growing interest in sport-based positive youth development (PYD) programs across the Afr... more With the growing interest in sport-based positive youth development (PYD) programs across the African continent, there is a need to establish suitable measures to evaluate the success of these programs in fostering PYD. The Life Skills Scale for Sport (LSSS) was recently developed as a sport-specific measure of life skills development. Despite its good psychometric properties among British youth sport participants, cross-cultural evidence indicates differences in the conceptualization of the eight factors measured by the LSSS. To determine the suitability of the LSSS for use in the African youth sport context, this study examined the latent structure and reproducibility of scores produced by the scale in a sample of youth sport participants from Botswana and Ghana. Cross-sectional data from a sample of 495 youth athletes (male = 51.72%), aged 12–21 years (M = 16.76, SD = 1.58), from junior and senior secondary schools was used in this study. Confirmatory factor analysis and explorat...