Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42387237›Full record

ArticleJournal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine2026

Beyond COVID-19: Behavioral Drivers of Pandemic Prevention in Ghana's Informal Urban Settlements.

Richmond Amponsah, Marie Vaganay Miller, Aaron Lawson, Nigel McConnell

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Richmond AmponsahBelfast School of Architecture and the Built Environment, Ulster University, York Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT15 1ED, UK. amponsah-r@ulster.ac.uk.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9697-834X
Marie Vaganay MillerBelfast School of Architecture and the Built Environment, Ulster University, York Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT15 1ED, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7172-0465
Aaron LawsonBelfast School of Architecture and the Built Environment, Ulster University, York Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT15 1ED, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3428-9928
Nigel McConnellBelfast School of Architecture and the Built Environment, Ulster University, York Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT15 1ED, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1788-7539

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted significant disparities in the uptake of precautionary health behaviors, particularly in informal settlements in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where access to essential infrastructure and socio-economic opportunities are limited. This study applied the information-motivation-behavioral (IMB) skills model of pandemic risk and prevention to explore the pathways through which COVID-19 information, personal and social motivation, and behavioral skills influenced the uptake of prevention behaviors in three informal settlements in Ghana. A survey of 496 participants was conducted and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings reveal a significant knowledge gap, with only 30.6% of participants answering all COVID-19 information questions accurately. Both personal (β = 0.209, p = 0.005) and social motivation (β = 0.178, p = 0.018) exhibited a direct significant relationship with preventive behaviors. While no direct effect was found between information and prevention behavior, behavioral skills fully mediated this relationship. Though focused on COVID-19, the findings have broader implications for strengthening pandemic/epidemic preparedness in informal settlements. Policy interventions should prioritize tailored health risk communication, motivation enhancement, and practical skills-building to empower vulnerable populations not just for current needs but to effectively respond to future health crises.

Indexed as

COVID-19Health BehaviorHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeUrban PopulationAdultFemaleGhanaHumansInformation Motivation Behavioral Skills ModelMaleMiddle AgedMotivationPandemic PreparednessSARS-CoV-2Surveys and QuestionnairesYoung AdultCOVID-19 pandemicInformal settlementPrevention health behaviorStructural equation modelingSub-Saharan Africa

Identifiers

PMID42387237
PMCPMC13525133

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.