Adobea Yaa Owusu is an Associate Professor of Medical Sociology and Public Health at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research at the University of Ghana, Legon. She has a Bachelor of Science in Home Science (Honors) (Family & Society Option) and a Graduate Diploma in Communication Studies from the University of Ghana. She also has an MA in Medical Sociology and a Ph.D. with a major in Medical Sociology (minors in Public Health and Demography) from the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, USA. Her Master of Public Health (Health Services Research specialization) was obtained from the University of North Texas School of Biomedical Sciences, at Fort Worth, Texas, USA. Her research focuses on the social and behavioral aspects of health, and health services.
Her areas of expertise are women’s health, reproductive health (including adolescents’), public/promotive and preventive health, Project/Program monitoring & evaluation, gender, gender statistics, behavior change communication/health information, education and communication, health services research, operations/formative research, health communications research, health educational materials development, land and land tenure, public health, development studies, and social and public health theories.
gaowusu@ug.edu.gh
- Access to health care
- Monitoring and Evaluation
- Women's health
- Health Services Research
- Cancer and Malaria
- Health Education Materials Development
A.) Edited Book
Asante, F. A., Owusu, A. Y., & Ahiadeke, C. (Eds.). (2014). Placing Health at the Center of Development in Africa. Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers.
B). Book Chapters
Owusu, A.Y., Oteng-Ababio, M., Owusu, G., Wrigley-Asante, C. & Agyekum, M. W. (2019). Opening up or closing off: urbanization, violent crime and the “poverty penalty” in Ghana. In J. E. Salahub, M. Gottsbacher, J. de Boer, & M. D. Zaaroura (Eds), Reducing Urban Violence in the Global South: Towards Safe and Inclusive Cities (pp. 40-65). New York: Routledge. May 14.
Moore, A. & Owusu, A. Y. (2016). Men who have sex with men (MSM) in Accra, Ghana and Lome, Togo: Sexual history and HIV risk behavior. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.), Children and Young People Living with HIV-AIDS: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. Springer: Dordrecht, the Netherlands. ISBN 978-3-319-29936-5. July.
Owusu, A. Y. (2017). Health and Development. In G. Owusu, R. D. Osei, & F. A. Asante (Eds.), Development Policies and Practices in Ghana: A Reader (pp. 89-119). Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers.
Owusu, A. Y. (2014). The dimensions of oil discovery in Ghana: What can it do for the economy and the people? In E. Aryeetey, R. D. Osei, & P. Quartey (Eds.), Managing Ghana’s Oil Boom for Structural Transformation (pp. 225-254), Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers.
Owusu, A. Y. (2014). Overview--The linkage between health and development. In F. Asante, A. Y. Owusu, & C. Ahiadeke (Eds.), Placing Health at the Center of Development in Africa (pp. 1-17), Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers.
Owusu, A. Y. (2014). The Dangme West District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme (Dangme Hewaminami Kpee) at a Glance. In F. Asante, A. Y. Owusu, & C. Ahiadeke (Eds.), Placing Health at the Center of Development in Africa (pp. 18-50), Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers.
Asante, F. A., Poku, R.A. Owusu, A. Y., & Zekeng, L. (2014). Economic burden of HIV infection on households in Ghana. . In F. Asante, A. Y. Owusu, & C. Ahiadeke (Eds.), Placing Health at the Center of Development in Africa (pp. 183-205). Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers.
Owusu, A. Y., Ackah, C. & Gruijters, R. 2012. Market survey: The demand-side – results form a survey of microinsurance clients. In R. Gruijters (Ed.), Promoting microinsurance in Ghana—micro insurance as a means of insurance sector development (pp. 110-124). Accra, Ghana: National Insurance Commission.
Owusu, A. Y., Kala, M., & Afutu-Kotey, L. (2012). Micro Health Insurance in Ghana. In H. J. Rosner, G. Leppert, P. Degens & Lisa-Marie Rohrdantz (Eds.), Handbook of micro health insurance in Africa (pp. 109-123). Zurich/Berlin: LIT Verlag.
Owusu, A. Y., Afutu-Kotey, L., & Kala, M. (2012). Access to Micro Health Insurance in Ghana: Literature review and proposed analytical framework. In H. J. Rosner, G. Leppert, P. Degens & Lisa-Marie Rohrdantz (Eds.), Handbook of micro health insurance in Africa (pp. 361-376). Zurich/Berlin: LIT Verlag.
Owusu, G. A., Ahiadeke, C., Kala, M. & Afutu-Kotey, R. L. (2007). Status of Human Development and Social Exclusion. Ghana Human development Report, 2007: Towards a more inclusive society (pp. 23-57). Accra, Ghana: UNDP, Ghana Office.
C.) Journals
Sedziafa, A. P., Tenkorang, E. Y., & Owusu, A. Y. (2019). Can marriage (re)produce and legitimize sexual violence? A phenomenological study of a Ghanaian patrilineal society. Women’s Studies International Forum, 77. DOI: 10.1016/j.wsif.2019.102296. Nov/Dec.
Poku, R. A., Owusu, A. Y., Patricia D. Mullen, Christine Markham, Sheryl A. McCurdy. (2019). Antiretroviral therapy maintenance among HIV-positive women in Ghana: the influence of poverty. AIDS Care. DOI: 10.1080/09540121.2019.1653434. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2019.1653434. Nov 15.
Kodom, Michael, Owusu, Adobea Y., & Kodom, Perpetual N. B. (2019). Quality Healthcare Service Assessment under Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 1–19. DOI: 10.1177/0021909619827331. Feb 26.
Tenkorang, E. Y & Owusu, A. Y. (2018). Does Economic Abuse Affect the Health Outcomes of Women in Ghana? Health Education & Behavior. DOI: 10.1177/1090198118806970. October 10.
Tenkorang, E.Y., Owusu, A.Y. & Kundhi, G. (2018). Help-Seeking Behavior of Female Victims of Intimate Partner Violence in Ghana: The Role of Trust and Perceived Risk of Injury. Journal of Family Violence. 33 (5): 341–353. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-018-9959-2. March.
Tenkorang, E.Y and Owusu, A. Y. (2018). A life course understanding of domestic and intimate partner violence in Ghana. Child Abuse & Neglect, 79: 384-394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.02.027. May.
Owusu, A.Y & Laar, A.K. (2018). Managing HIV-Positive Serostatus in Ghana’s Most HIV Concentrated District: Self-Perceived Explanations and Theoretical Discourse. African Journal of AIDS Research, 17(1), DOI: 10.2989/16085906.2017.1419268. March.
Tenkorang, E. Y., Owusu, A. Y., Laar, A.K., & Yeboah, E.H. (2017). Housing, psychosocial and adherence counseling among HIV+ persons in Ghana. Health Promotion International.
https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dax072 (Published online: 18 October 2017).
Poku, R. A., Owusu, A. Y., Patricia D. Mullen, Christine Markham, Sheryl A. McCurdy. (2017). HIV antiretroviral medication stock-outs in Ghana: Contributors and consequences. African Journal of AIDS Research, 16(3). https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajar/article/view/162593.
Moore, A. R, Driver, N., Owusu, A. Y., & Amey, F. (2017). Sexual identity and risk behavior among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Accra, Ghana and Lomẻ, Togo. Cogent Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1080/2331205X.2017.1333696. 22 May 2017.
Tenkorang, E. Y., Owusu, A. Y, & Laar, A. (2017). Housing and Health Outcomes of persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) in the Lower Manya Krobo District, Ghana.
Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 28(1), 191-215. DOI: 10.1353/hpu.2017.0017.
Sedziafa, P. A., Tenkorang, E. Y. Owusu, A. Y. & Yuji, S. Women's experiences of intimate
partner economic abuse in the Eastern Region of Ghana. (2017, January). Journal of Family
Issues, 38(18): 2620-2641. DOI: 10.1177/0192513X16686137.
Poku, R. A., Owusu, A. Y., Patricia D. Mullen, Christine Markham, Sheryl A. McCurdy. (2017). Considerations for Purposeful HIV Status Disclosure Among Women Living with HIV in Ghana. AIDS Care, 29(5), 541-544. Doi: 10.1080/09540121.2016.1255711.
Oppong, J. R., Boakye, K., Edziyie, R., Owusu, A. Y. & Tiwari, C. (2017): Emergency fire response in Ghana: the case of fire stations in Kumasi, African Geographical Review, 36(3), 253-261. DOI: 10.1080/19376812.2016.1231616. 18 October 2016.
Wrigley-Asante, C. Owusu, G., Oteng-Ababio, M. and Owusu, A. Y. (2016). Poverty and crime: Uncovering the hidden face of sexual crimes in urban low-income communities in Ghana. Ghana Journal of Geography, 8(1)—Special Issue, 32-50. January.
Owusu, G. Oteng-Ababio, M., Owusu, A. Y. and Wrigley-Asante, C. Can poor neighborhoods be correlated with crime? Evidence from Urban Ghana. (2016). Ghana Journal of Geography, 8(1)—Special Issue, 11-31. January.
Asante-Sarpong, H., Owusu, A. Y., Saravanan, S., Appiah, E. N. & Abu, M. (2016). Determinants of use of supervised delivery care under Ghana’s fee exemption policy for maternal healthcare: The case of the Central Region. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, July 11. 2/2016; 16(1). DOI:10.1186/s12884-016-0960-6
Tenkorang, E. Y., Sedziafa, A. P., & Owusu, A. Y. (2016). Does type and severity of violence affect the help-seeking behaviors of victims of intimate partner violence in Nigeria? Journal of Family Issues, 38(14): 2026-2046., DOI: 10.1177/0192513X16657128. June.
Oteng-Ababio, M. Owusu, G. Wrigley-Asante, C, & Owusu, A. Y. (2016). Longitudinal analysis of crime trends and patterns in Ghana (1980–2010): A new perspective. African Geographical Review. DOI: 10.1080/19376812.2016.1208768. August 23.
Sedziafa, A. P., Tenkorang, E. Y, and Owusu, A. Y. (2016) “… he always slaps me on my ears:” The health consequences of intimate partner violence among a group of patrilineal women in Ghana. Sexuality, Health and Culture. 18(12): 1379-1392. June.
Bagson, E. and Owusu, A. Y. (2016). Securing the urban space: on whose terms? Insights from poverty and crime baseline survey in Tamale, Ghana. Ghana Journal of Geography, Special Issue, 8(1): 126-149.
Owusu, G., Owusu, A. Y., Oteng-Ababio, M., Wrigley-Asante, C., and Agyapong, I. (2016). An assessment of households' perceptions of private security companies and crime in urban Ghana. Crime Science, 5:5. doi: 10.1186/s40163-016-0053-x. April 14.
Sedziafa, A. P., Tenkorang, E. Y., & Owusu, A. Y. (2016). Kinship and intimate partner violence against married women in Ghana: a qualitative exploration. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/0886260515624213. Jan 10. 2016.
Oteng-Ababio, M. Owusu, A. Y., Owusu, G., and Wrigley-Asante, C. (2016). Geographies of crime and collective efficacy in urban Ghana. Territory, Politics, Governance.
doi.10.1080/21622671.2016.1159602, July 11.
Owusu, G., Wrigley-Asante, C., Oteng-Ababio-M., & Owusu, A. Y. (2015). Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) and built-environmental manifestations in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana. Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 17(4), 249-269. Oct 14, 2015.
Adamba, C., Osei-Akoto, I. Owusu, A. Y., & Ahiadeke, C. (2014). Determinants of maternal mortality in Ghana: A focus on neighborhood characteristics and socio-demographic status. Ghana Journal of Social Sciences, 11(2), 1-32.
39. Owusu, A.Y., Anarfi, J.K, & Tenkorang, E.Y. (2013). The socio-cultural contexts of sexual socialization and sexual behavior of young people within the family setting in Ghana. Ghana Social Science Journal, 10(1&2), 104-122.
Tenkorang, E. Y. Owusu, A. Y., Yeboah, E. H., & Bannerman, R. (2013). Factors influencing domestic and marital violence against women in Ghana. Journal of Family Violence, 28(8), 771-781. Doi: 10.1007/s10896-013-9543-8.
41. Owusu, A. Y. Anarfi, J. K., &Tenkorang, E. Y. (2013). Attitudes and views on same-sex sexual behavior in Ghana. Global Advanced Research Journal of Social Sciences, 2(8), 176-186.
Tenkorang, E. Y. & Owusu, A. Y. (2013). Examining HIV-related stigma and discrimination in Ghana: what are the major contributors? Sexual Health 10(3), 253-262. doi:10.1071/SH12153.
Tenkorang, E. Y. & Owusu, A. Y. (2013). Coerced first sexual intercourse among women in Ghana: Evidence from the Demographic and Health Survey. Sexuality & Culture, 17(1), 167-184. DOI: 10.1007/s12119-012-9146-1.
Owusu, A. Y & Adamba, C. (2012). The Socioeconomic burden of Buruli ulcer disease in the Ga West District of Ghana’ Ghana Journal of Development Studies, 9(1), 1-19.
Owusu, A. Y. & Adamba, C. (2012). Household Perceptions, Treatment-seeking Behaviour and Health Outcomes for Buruli Ulcer Disease in a Peri-urban District in Ghana. Advances in Applied Sociology, 2(3), 179-186. DOI: 10.4236/aasoci.2012.23024.
Anarfi, J. K. and Owusu, A.Y. (2011). The making of a sexual being in Ghana: The state, religion and the influence of society as agents of sexual socialization. Sexuality and Culture, 14(4), 253-269.
Owusu, A. Y. & Anarfi, J. K. (2010). The sexuality of the aged and people with a disability: Challenging popular folkways. Research Review, 26(1), 61-79.
Tenkorang, E. Y. & Owusu, G. A. (2010). Correlates of HIV testing among women in Ghana: Some evidence from the Demographic and Health Surveys. AIDS Care, 22(3), 296-307.
Owusu, G. A. & Adjei, F. (2008/09). ‘This Place Is Better than My Home’: Anecdotes on child fosterage and child domestic work in three Districts in Northern Ghana. Ghana Social Science Journal, 5/6 (1&2), 259-281.
Owusu, G. A. (2008). Gender, Land Tenure Dynamics and Livelihoods: a comparison of the Central and Volta Regions of Ghana using logistic regression analysis. Studies in Gender and Development in Africa, 2, 34-57.
Owusu, G. A. & Adjei, F. (2008). Fosterage in West Africa: Contexts of Child Fosterage and Child Domestic Work in Three Districts in Northern Ghana. Legon Journal of International Affairs, 5(1), 54-84.
Owusu, G. A. (2007). Graying of the developing world: emerging policy issues. Legon Journal of International Affairs, 4(1), 1-25.
53. Owusu, G. A., Eve, S. B., Cready, C. M., Koelln, K, Trevino, F, Urrutia-Rojas, X, & Baumer, J. (2005). Race and Ethnic Disparities in Cervical Cancer Screening in a Safety-Net Healthcare System. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 9(3), 285-295.
Williamson, D. A, Pillai, V. K., Owusu, G. & Oppong, J. R. (2004). Gender Differences in an Emerging Health Profession: Ghanaian Women as Itinerant Drug Vendors. African and Asian Studies, 3(1), 77-91. DOI: 10.1163/156920904773486522.
D.) Monograph
Adamba, C. & Owusu, Y. A. (2011). Burden of buruli ulcer: How affected households in a Ghanaian district cope. African Study Monographs, 32(1), 1-23.
E.) Conference Proceedings
Owusu, G. A. (1997). The Geography of Age-Adjusted Female Breast Cancer Mortality in Texas: 1980-1994. In A. Schoolmaster (Ed.), Papers and Proceedings of the Applied Geography Conferences: Vol. 20 (pp.268-274). Albuquerque, NM: Applied Geography Group.
F.) Technical publications/Technical Reports
Owusu, G. Adobea, Kwami, E. and Tagoe, A. C. (2008). Gender, Land Tenure Dynamics and Livelihood in the Central and Volta Regions of Ghana. (ISSER Technical Publication No. 86). Legon, Accra: ISSER.
Osei, R. D., Owusu, G. A., Asem, F. E. & Afutu-Kotey, R. L. (2009). Effect of Capitation Grant and School Feeding Programme on Education Outcomes in Ghana. (Global Development Network (GDN) Working Paper no. 20). Available online. www.gdnet.org/CMS/getFile.php?id=undp_isser1
G.) Others
ISSER. (2019). (Chapter 3 by Owusu, A. Y.). Health. Ghana Social Development Outlook 2018 (pp. 33-81). Accra: ISSER. Oct.
ISSER. (2017). (Chapter 3 by Owusu, A. Y. & Appiah, E. N.). Health. Ghana Social Development Outlook 2016 (pp. 36-71). Accra: ISSER.
Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER). (2016, January). Sexual crimes in Ghana: Does poverty play a role? (Policy Brief No. 4), Legon, Ghana: Wrigley-Asante, C., Owusu, A. Y., Owusu, G., and Oteng-Ababio, M.
ISSER. (2015, August). Urban crime prevention and community social cohesion: The case of urban Ghana. (Policy Brief No. 2), Legon, Ghana: Owusu, G., Wrigley-Asante, C., Oteng-Ababio, M., and Owusu, A. Y.
ISSER. (2015). Overview. (Chapter 1 by Owusu, A. Y.) Ghana Social Development Outlook 2014 (pp. 1-21). Accra: ISSER.
ISSER. (2015). (Chapter 4 by Owusu, A. Y.) Health. Ghana Social Development Outlook 2014 (pp. 63-106). Accra: ISSER.
ISSER. (2013). (Chapter 4 by Owusu, A. Y. & Appiah, E. N.). Health. Ghana Social Development Outlook 2012 (pp. 93-138). Accra: ISSER.
ISSER. (2013). (Chapter 5 by Owusu, A. Y. & Awo, M. A.). Water and Sanitation: Situational Analysis. Ghana Social Development Outlook 2012 (pp. 139-174). Accra: ISSER.
Narh, Samuel Asare & Owusu, A. Y. (2012). Use of Supervised Delivery Services in a Rural District in Ghana. Saarbrücken, Germany: AV Akademikerverlag GmbH & Co. KG, ISBN 978-3-8465-5279-7.
Owusu, A. Y. (2012). Preventive screening for cervical cancer among low-income patients. (ISBN 978-3-8454-0009-9). Saarbrücken, Germany: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing GmbH & Co. KG.
H.) Commissioned Paper
69. Owusu, A.Y. & Appiah, E.N. Health and Health Services. In Social Development Strategy for the Long-term National Development Plan for Ghana, pp 124-141. Accra, National Development Planning Commission, Republic of Ghana: Unpublished.
- City Diagnostics to Support Equitable Economic Growth in two Secondary Cities in Ghana (Cape Coast and Swedru). Principal Investigator for Ghanaian Counterpart of Research Consortium in-charge. Funding Agency: DfID through Cities Alliance.
- Examining the help-seeking behaviors of female victims of intimate partner violence in Ghana. Funding Agency: Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Grant Award. Co-Researcher.
- Primary caregivers of stroke survivors in Togo. Co-Researcher. Funding: Personal.
- Housing and HIV and AIDS in Ghana. Co-Researcher. Funding agency: Canadian-Africa Research Exchange Grant (CAREG).
- Women with HIV/AIDS in Ghana. Co-Researcher. Funding: Personal.
- Health and Social Development in Ghana. Funding Agency: IDRC Think Tank grant.
- Pre-Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV: Attitude toward PrEP among undergraduate students in Lower Manya Krobo Municipality (LMKM), Ghana. PI. Funding: Personal.
ISDS 709: Population, Environment & Health
ISDS 706: Theories of Social Change