Sickle cell pain clinic and the work productivity of the Ghanaian adult with sickle cell disease
Department of Economics and Business Administration, Ashesi University
How they used Delve
An undergraduate in Business Administration at Ashesi University (Ghana) used Delve to analyse and consolidate the codes from seven semi-structured interviews with Ghanaian adults living with sickle cell disease, building inductive themes and subthemes about work productivity and the perceived value of sickle cell pain clinics.
“Thematic data analysis using inductive coding was used to identify themes and subthemes across all the respondents. Delve software was used to analyse the codes that were generated manually, after which the COR theory emerged. All transcripts were manually coded using MS Word, after which they were refined, and similar codes were consolidated and grouped together.”
- Field
- business administration; occupational health and work productivity; sickle cell disease in Ghana
- Data
- 7 semi-structured interviews with working adults with sickle cell disease (ages 18-50, male and female) from Accra, Tema, and Kumasi, Ghana, recruited by convenience sampling
- Approach
- Inductive thematic analysis; initial coding by hand in MS Word, codes then consolidated and organised into themes/subthemes in Delve; Conservation of Resources (COR) theory emerged from the analysis
- Data types
- Interviews
Abstract
Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is highly prevalent in Ghana, as the origins of the disease stem from the West African Region and countries along the equator with an incidence of malaria. The disease presents sufferers with a life of chronic pain and thus affects the quality of life and work productivity of individuals with SCD. Sickle Cell Pain clinics are specialised centres that provide a multidisciplinary approach to pain management by using non-pharmacological treatments, physical therapy, and psychological support. This study aims to examine the effects of Sickle Cell Disease on the work productivity of Ghanaian working adults and to assess whether their access to Sickle Cell pain clinics would contribute to an improvement in their work productivity. Seven (7) SCD patients from the Accra, Tema, and Kumasi, consisting of both male and female adults between the ages of 18 and 50 years, were recruited to participate in the study using convenience sampling and underwent semi-structured interviews to share their lived-in experiences with SCD and how SCD has impacted their professional lives, the effect of SCD on their work productivity, their understanding of SCD pain Clinics and finally, their perception of what benefit SCD pain clinics would have on their work productivity, if they existed in Ghana. The results showed that SCD had influenced the type of work the participants engaged in, and all participants had also experienced a reduced level of work productivity due to consistent complications caused by SCD.
Citation
Sandra Don-Arthur (2025). Sickle cell pain clinic and the work productivity of the Ghanaian adult with sickle cell disease. Ashesi Institutional Repository.