PRELIMINARY FINDINGS - LOT RESEARCH
NCD PREVENTION THROUGH HEALTHY LIFESTYLE PROMOTION
HOW MIGHT WE ENGAGE BUSY URBAN AND PERI-URBAN DWELLERS TO KEEP A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE THAT AVOIDS NCDS, IN THE FACE OF CULTURAL COMFORTS THAT PREVENT THEM FROM DOING SO
?
?
YOU WOULD FIND
ABOUT SAMPLING – URBAN/PERI-URBAN DWELLER
Locations of Respondents
Kumasi
Sunyani
Takoradi
Accra
Tamale
Konongo
Nyinahin
ABOUT SAMPLE – URBAN/PERI-URBAN DWELLER
Average age: 25
57% male
43% female
80% urban
20% peri-urban
52% employed
48% student
Target Market:
Urban and Peri-Urban dwellers with very active daily routines
FOCUS AREAS FOR INTERVIEW GUIDE
How People Determined their Health
The Things they Do to Stay Healthy
Surrounding Issues
FOCUS AREAS OF RESPONSES
How People Determined their Health
Surrounding Issues
Medical Review
Self-evaluation
Eating Habits
Physical Activities
Work Schedule interrupt with HLH
Close network influence HLH
Socio-cultural & Regulatory factors has low impact on HLH
Money/income has a huge impact on HLH
Availability/proximity of HLH supporting resour
Personal/Individual resolutions
HLH = healthy lifestyle habits
The Things they Do to Stay Healthy
Persona Profile
Kojo Baafi
Age: 25
Location: Accra, Ghana
Status: Single
Job: Entry level Professional/Student tertiary
Bio:
Kojo Baafi considers going to the hospital for health checks is a good practice. But it is unusual for him since he wasn’t brought up that way. More importantly, he despises the environments and stressful procedures at most of the hospitals he can afford. He is fairly informed about NCDs and wishes to keep a healthy lifestyle. However, he goes to work very early and gets home around 8pm, very exhausted. He usually buys the food he eats since he doesn’t cook.
Wants & Needs
He looking for the motivation and convenience to sustain healthy lifestyle habits
Frustrations
“I exercised every morning but as soon as I started work, I could not keep with the routine as work took most of my free time ”
UNMET NEEDS IDENTIFIED
Urban and Peri-urban dwellers who are fairly informed about NCDs, need the motivation and convenience to fit healthy lifestyle habits into their already packed daily routines, and a quick way to overcome exercise fatigue because they are very mindful of their health.
Examples of things they did to stay healthy
- more fruits
- more vegetables
- avoiding eating late
74% of the respondents indicated that work or school engagements inhibit commitments to healthy lifestyle(over 60% rated the
interference of work/school ≥ 3 on a scale of 1-5)
Relative to work constraints, social factors has less influence on people’s commitment to healthy lifestyle habits (more than 80% rated the influence of social norms 3 and below on a scale of 1-5)
UNMET NEEDS IDENTIFIED
BEHAVIORAL/SOCIO-CULTURAL/MARKET INSIGHTS
- Obese students feel shy to exercise among their peers in school (higher education campuses)
- People noted that healthy foods are less easy to find and relatively more expensive than junk foods. Specifically, during late hours of the day and on school campuses
MARKET DEMAND
Many of the respondents, over 70%, described their openness to accommodating a new cost item in their expenses to cater for healthy lifestyle habits. ��How?�- Add to budget (some of them are already doing this)
- Allocate an additional source of income specifically to it.
The market demand was determined by asking the respondents how they plan to embrace an extra cost which may come with starting and sticking to healthy lifestyle habits
SECONDARY RESEARCH (National Policy)
The National Health Policy: there is portion of this document that outlines an approach by the entire country to deal with NCDs through physical activities. For instance,
�3.2.3 Strategy: Increase physical activity
The 2014 Ghana Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth indicated that less than 40% of Ghanaian children and youth participated in any amount of physical activity. Another study revealed that only about 24.5% of the target population regularly exercised (Obiri korang et al., 2016). ��Being physically active is one of the most important steps that Ghanaians, of all ages, can take to improve their health and reduce the incidence of Non-Communicable Diseases. A good balance between rest, recreation and physical activity cannot be overemphasized. Researches have shown that sedentary behaviour contributes to a host of chronic diseases.�The policy shall ensure that the individual is encouraged to enjoy and enjoys adequate rest, and shall support the development of recreational and physical activity facilities for regular use of the population towards the achievement of long-term individual and population health benefits.
SAMPLE QUOTES FROM RESPONDENTS
“ ”
I exercised every morning but as soon as I started work, I could not keep with the routine as work took most of my free time
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My work is so stressful. After a long day, all I want to do is to rest
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My work makes me skip breakfast. Also, I don’t return from work early; I get home around 7:30-8pm
“ ”
My work is so stressful. After a long day, all I want to do is to rest
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I started [active healthy habits] during the lockdown. I realized in school, healthy stuff are not easily accessible
“ ”
At school, I worked a lot. I will come back to my hostel late and at that time, you can only get junk: indomie, kelewele, shawarma. I would sleep shortly after eating
Healthy Lifestyle Constraints from work/school
“ ”
Thinking about family, when people realize that you are eating good, they will come and put their burdens on you. So you will go in for the normal ones. I will just buy sachet water instead of bottled water
“ ”
We are all guilty of saying [things like] tha. In our part of the world, we have grown to appreciate that kind of thinking. But I don’t make it so much of a value to me for me to gain weight. I am not moved by such comments like “you are chewing grass”
“ ”
When I started working at Access Bank, I got a big belly. People said because I now work at a bank, I am now living good. But I did not take their comments as compliments. Actually, it was because I was eating late and not exercising. That is the main reason why I left Access.
“ ”
When I committed to losing weight and actually lost some weight, everyone instantly thought I was sick. I was sent home from school and I had to go back with a medical report that proves that I am well. People assume that they want to look rich so they are eating and eating and getting pot bellies
Socio-Cultural Factors
SAMPLE QUOTES FROM RESPONDENTS
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I legit don’t do anything [to stay fit]. I use my free time to sleep or watch something
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Very very very challenging [to start and stick to an exercise routine]. Skipping, no! I just turned to walking.
“ ”
I think I need someone to motivate me and I need to discipline myself. At least, I have to engage in one activity during the day
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Get a solid stream of income to fund your healthy life. I say it is a long term investment
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You have to budget. Because when you start off and you don’t set aside funds…for instance, [I keep] 30 Cedis for fruits when I go to the market
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It is challenging because I am lazy. I don’t think I need it because my body is working. That is why it is even more challenging
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I am open to not spending excessively on healthy habits but I can work within my budget and make provisions from what I currently earn. If it is not important, I don’t spend
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I don’t see it as an extra cost. Because when I get sick and go the hospital, I will spend money and time
Accommodating cost � of healthy lifestyle habits
lack of motivation to exercise
SAMPLE QUOTES FROM RESPONDENTS
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I am someone who hates the hospital so I avoid it at all cost. Even my yearly review happens in the office so I don’t go to the hospital
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Going to the hospital for checkup is good, but the time you have to spend, and the processes you must go through is the problem
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Personally, I try to go the hospital every month. Maybe because I am always tired so I go to check what is wrong
Routine Health Checkup
SAMPLE QUOTES FROM RESPONDENTS
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I am mindful of the food that I eat and I exercise
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Already, I am quite a big person. So I try to eat a certain amount of calories a day. And I try to exercise 2hrs/day
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My parents drink a lot of water so I guess I picked that from them. My father makes us drink warm water each morning to detoxify
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Our food system is quite controlled, the healthy food is expensive and the junk food is cheaper
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I don’t know about any national policies. But I can say there is a gym close to my house. The convenience side helps me a lot
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The risk [of healthy life business] could be more than the return. People are not open to change. They will buy and not use it completely and complain it does does not work. They will even tell their friends