Center for
Global Health

International Scholar

Languages: English (Fluent), French (Fluent), Twi (Fluent), Dagbani (Fluent), Mampruli (Fluent)

Bio statement

Princess Ruhama Acheampong (PhD) is a Lecturer at the School of Public Health of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. She teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate students in Health Promotion, Public Health Nutrition, Community Health and Social and Behavioural Change Communication courses. She was currently listed as an International Scholar of the Centre for Global Health (CGH), University of Pennsylvania.

Princess has been involved in research in malaria, Epidemiology, maternal and child health, public health nutrition, health interventions for disadvantaged communities, community mobilization, research uptake, health education and mHealth. Princess has expertise in both quantitative and qualitative research.

Princess is interested in the use of theories and models in the design and implementation of health interventions. For her PhD, she developed a theory-based nutrition intervention to improve the nutritional status of children under-5 in rural communities. Her interest in the use of models and theories received a boost, having received training in Implementation Science from the Implementation Science Institute as part of her summer fellowship with CGH. She is currently an awardee of the KNUST early career seed grant. This study employs a mixed methods approach to the assessment of the feasibility of an implementation science tool in an urban slum, Kumasi.

Princess has coordinated several exchange programs in Ghana, including an exchange program between Penn Engineering and KNUST. She is interested in collaborative research and passionate about mentoring young women from disadvantaged populations

Recent global health projects

Sepsis is a leading cause of morbidity, mortality, and healthcare utilization for children worldwide, particularly in resource-limited regions. In Kumasi, Ghana, organ system failure and mortality in children who present to the emergency department (ED) with symptoms of sepsis are often due to late presentation and lack of recognition and implementation of time-critical evidence-based interventions. The purpose of this study was to assess the barriers and facilitators for families in seeking healthcare for their septic children and to understand the barriers and facilitators for ED providers in Kumasi to recognize and implement sepsis bundle interventions.

I am currently involved in studying the determinants of health in the further development of an intervention that seeks to improve health-seeking behavior in urban slums of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. This is essential in preparedness for future pandemics and other issues of public health importance.

Selected publications

Denny VC, Appiah JA, Nadkarni VM, et al. Barriers and facilitators when seeking healthcare for septic children in Ghana: a single-centre qualitative study of patient caregivers and emergency department clinicians BMJ Paediatrics Open 2024;8:e002814. doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2024-002814

Acquah-Gyan E, Acheampong PR, Mohammed A, Adjei TK, Agyapong E, Twumasi-Ankrah S, et al. (2022) User experiences of a mobile phone-based health information and surveillance system (mHISS): A case of caregivers of children under-five in rural communities in Ghana. PLoS ONE 17(1): e0261806. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261806

Adjei TK, Mohammed A, Acheampong PR, Acquah-Gyan E, Sylverken A, Twumasi-Ankrah S, et al. (2021) Determinants of a mobile phone-based Interactive Voice Response (mIVR) system for monitoring childhood illnesses in a rural district of Ghana: Empirical evidence from the UTAUT model. PLoS ONE 16(3): e0248363. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248363

Mohammed, A., Acheampong, P.R., Otupiri, E. et al. Mobile phone short message service (SMS) as a malaria control tool: a quasi-experimental study. BMC Public Health 19, 1193 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7336-6

Last Updated: 30 August 2024