Remote Sensing and GIS Applications Laboratory, Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
Front Public Health. 2023 Apr 13;11:1140108. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1140108. eCollection 2023.
Since December 2019 when COVID-19 was detected, it took the world by surprise in terms of spread and morbidity/mortality. The high rate of spread and casualties recorded from COVID-19 called for research in all directions to find ways to contain and reverse the incidences. It is against this background that this paper sought to measure the association of the socio-demographic factors in the hard-hit districts in Greater Accra and Ashanti to analyze its relationship with the novel COVID-19 virus. Data on COVID-19 cases from 35 Districts in both Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions were collected from the Ghana Health Service and population data from Ghana Statistical Service. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were generated using R. We found that some socio-demographic variables have an association with COVID-19 infections. For example, age and religion especially Christianity and Islam pose risk to COVID-19. The population aged 15-64 was particularly at high risk of infections due to the high level of movement of this age group. We, therefore, recommend that places of congregation such as Churches and Mosques be targeted for vigorous sensitization on COVID-19 protocols and prevention. Also, districts with a high population between the ages of 15-64 should step sensitization efforts to educate their inhabitants on the need to reduce travel and related activities to curb the spread of the virus.
自 2019 年 12 月新冠疫情爆发以来，其传播速度和发病率/死亡率令全球猝不及防。新冠疫情的高传播率和高死亡率促使人们展开全方位的研究，以寻找控制和扭转疫情的方法。正是在这种背景下，本文旨在衡量加纳大阿克拉和阿散蒂地区受疫情严重影响地区的社会人口因素，并分析其与新型冠状病毒之间的关系。我们从加纳卫生服务部门收集了加纳大阿克拉和阿散蒂地区 35 个区的新冠病例数据，并从加纳统计局收集了人口数据。使用 R 生成了描述性统计和回归分析。我们发现，一些社会人口变量与新冠感染存在关联。例如，年龄和宗教（特别是基督教和伊斯兰教）会增加感染新冠的风险。由于该年龄段人群的高度流动性，15-64 岁的人群尤其面临感染的高风险。因此，我们建议针对教堂和清真寺等集会场所，开展关于新冠协议和预防措施的大力宣传。此外，人口在 15-64 岁之间较多的地区应加强宣传工作，教育居民减少旅行和相关活动，以遏制病毒传播。
