This study evaluated the relationship between water pH and the physicochemical properties of water while controlling for the influence of heavy metals and bacteriological factors using a nested logistic regression model. The study further sought to assess how these relationships are compared across confined water systems (ground water) and open water systems (surface water). Samples were collected from 100 groundwater and 132 surface water locations in the Tarkwa mining area. For the zero-order relationship in groundwater, EC, TDS, TSS, Ca, SO₄^2-, total alkalinity, Zn, Mn, Cu, faecal and total coliform were more likely to predict optimal water pH. For surface water however, only TSS, turbidity, total alkalinity and Ca were significant predictors of optimal pH levels. At the multivariate level for groundwater, TDS, turbidity, total alkalinity and TSS were more likely to predict optimal water pH while EC, Mg, Mn and Zn were associated with non-optimal water pH. For the surface water system, turbidity, Ca, TSS, NO₃, Mn and total coliform were associated with optimal water pH while SO₄^2-, EC, Zn, Cu, and faecal coliform were associated with non-optimal water pH. The non-robustness of predictors in the surface water models were conspicuous. The results indicate that the relationship between water pH and other water quality parameters are different in different water systems and can be influenced by the presence of other parameters. Associations between parameters are steadier in groundwater systems due to its confined nature. Extraneous inputs and physical variations subject surface water to constant variations which reflected in the non-robustness of the predictors. However, the carbonate system was influential in how water quality parameters associate with one another in both ground and surface water systems. This study affirms that chemical constituents in natural water bodies react in the environment in far more complicated ways than if they were isolated and that the interaction between various parameters could predict the quality of water in a particular system.

The occurrence of pollution indicator bacteria (total and faecal coliform) has been used as a sanitary parameter for evaluating the quality of drinking water. It is known that these indicators are associated with disease causing organisms which are of great concern to public health. This study assessed the relationship between coliform bacteria and water geochemistry in surface and ground water systems in the Tarkwa mining area using logistic regression models. In surface water sources, higher values of chloride (OR = 0.891, p<005), phosphates (OR = 0.452, p<0.05), pH (OR = 0.174, p<0.05) and zinc (OR = 0.001, p<0.05) were associated with lower odds of faecal coliform contamination. In groundwater sources, higher values of phosphates (OR = 0.043, p<0.001), total dissolved solids (OR = 0.858, p<0.05), turbidity (OR = 0.996, p<0.05) and nickel (OR = 6.09E-07, p<0.05) implied non-contamination by faecal coliform. However, higher values of electrical conductivity (OR = 1.097, p<0.05), nitrates (OR = 1.191, p<0.05) and total suspended solids (OR = 1.023, p<0.05) were associated with higher odds of faecal coliform contamination of groundwater sources. Nitrates and total suspended solids, in this case, were completely mediated by the heavy metals. For total coliform in surface water systems, higher values of magnesium (OR = 1.070, p<0.05) was associated with higher odds of total coliform contamination while higher values of phosphates (OR = 0.968, p<0.05) was associated with lower odds of total coliform contamination although the presence of heavy metals completely mediated these relationships. For ground water systems, higher values of pH (OR = 0.083, p<0.05), phosphates (OR = 0.092, p<0.05), turbidity (OR = 0.950, p<0.05) and chloride (OR = 0.860, p<0.05) were associated with lower odds of total coliform contamination. However, higher values of total suspended solids (OR = 1.054, p<0.05) and nitrates (OR = 1.069, p<0.05) implied contamination of total coliform in ground water sources. The relationship between nitrates and total coliform were mediated by the heavy metals. This study establishes the need to monitor, manage and remediate surface and ground water sources for potential disease causing microbes in ways that takes into consideration the factors that create different conditions in the two water systems. This study validates the usefulness of statistical models as tools for preventing surface and ground water contamination.

Artisanal goldminers in Ghana are exposed to various levels and forms of health, safety and environmental threats. Without the required legislation and regulations, artisanal miners are responsible for their own health and safety at work. Consequently, understanding the probabilities of self-protection at work by artisanal goldminers is crucial. A cross-sectional survey of 500 artisanal goldminers was conducted to examine the probabilities of personal protective equipment use among artisanal goldminers in Ghana. The data was subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics. Initial findings showed that personal protective equipment use among artisanal miners was 77.4%. Overall, higher probabilities of personal protective equipment use was observed among artisanal goldminers who work in good health and safety conditions as compared to artisanal miners who work in poor health and safety conditions. Also, personal protective equipment use was more probable among the highly educated artisanal goldminers, miners who regularly go for medical screening and the most experienced miners. Additionally, personal protective equipment use was more probable among artisanal miners who work in non-production departments and miners who work in the medium scale subsector. Inversely, personal protective equipment use was less probable among female artisanal miners and miners who earn more monthly income ($174 and above). To increase self-care and safety consciousness in artisanal mining, there is the need for a national occupational health and safety legislation in Ghana. Also, interventions and health promotion campaigns for better occupational conditions in artisanal mining should target and revise the health and safety related workplace programs and conditions.

Background and Aims: The COVID‐19 pandemic has stretched many healthcare systems, and it is having detrimental impacts on healthcare workers at the forefront, fighting to save lives. This study sought to assess the relationship between job factors and the perceived risk of contracting COVID‐19 at the workplace among healthcare workers and how the relationships are augmented when sociodemographic characteristics are taken into consideration in a limited resource setting (Ghana).Methods: A cross‐sectional survey of 455 respondents was conducted.Results: Overall, 5.93% of the respondents perceived low risk of contracting COVID‐19 while 69.45% and 24.62% perceived medium and high risks of contracting COVID‐19 at the workplace, respectively. The odds of a high perceived risk versus the combined medium and low perceived risk of contracting COVID‐19 at the workplace was 0.461 times lower for healthcare workers who rated their workplace safety systems as good and 0.515 and 0.170 times lower for healthcare workers who indicated occasional and frequent work environment situational assessment (situational awareness), respectively. The odds of high perceived risk were 2.239 times higher for workers who are always emotionally fatigued and 1.829 times higher for healthcare workers who frequently contribute personally to workplace decision‐making. The perceived risk of contracting COVID‐19 at the workplace was also 1.780 times higher for healthcare workers with tertiary education.Conclusion: In terms of health and safety at work, this study recommends that there should be an improvement in implementing safety protocols at health facilities to increase the confidence of healthcare workers. Furthermore, social and psychological support and work environment situational assessment, which can reduce stress and anxiety levels among the healthcare workers, should be implemented if contributing factors such as working outside their area of expertise or job scope cannot be eliminated.