Abstract:
Every profession has its own occupational health problems due to the kind of job
performed. High job demands (E.g. discipline problems, teaching preparation, etc.)
associated with teaching profession makes it a stressful occupation with a lot of
occupational health challenges. And since the introduction of a flagship programme;
the Free SHS in 2017 by the government of Ghana, students’ enrolment has jumped
from 36% (2016) to 62.6 % (2019) with inadequate teachers being one of the major
factors facing it. This has increased and intensified already existing job demands and
occupational health problems among second cycle school teachers. Therefore, this
study sought to assess the health and safety status of public S.H.S. teachers in the
Eastern Region of Ghana. A quantitative field survey was employed and data were
collected using an online questionnaire. The data were analyzed using central
tendency, standard deviation, frequencies and percentages. The study found that,
public S.H.S. teachers have increasing level of NCDs (hypertension, diabetes, and
other heart or heart-related condition), poor health condition and female teachers
experiencing poorer health condition with higher NCDs as compared to male teachers.
This showed that the health conditions of public S.H.S. teachers were worsening,
hence serious health interventions like health promotion workshops and programme,
and regular medical checkups were recommended.
Description:
A dissertation in the Department of Educational Foundations,
Faculty of Educational Studies, Submitted to the School of
Graduate Studies, in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the award of
Postgraduate Diploma
(Education)
in the University of Education, Winneba
JULY, 2022
