A Qualitative Study of Lived Experience and Life Courses Following Dam Release Flooding in Northern Ghanaian Communities, 2020

DOI

This qualitative dataset includes transcripts from interviews with key informants (KII) and focus group discussions (FGDs). Key informants were purposively selected based on their roles as community representatives (such as chiefs or traditional authorities) or professionals involved in flood-related institutions (e.g., health sector, local government, or disaster relief organizations). This provided a broad range of perspectives. FGDs were conducted with residents of eight flood-affected communities, aged 18 and older, who had lived in the area for at least ten years and had direct experience with floods. The study aims to understand the impacts of dam release flooding as reported by downstream communities, assess how flooding affects their lived experiences and life course, and identify adaptive behaviors and gender-related issues in response to flooding. It also explores community responses to flood sensitization efforts and the broader effects of flooding. While the study used a sequential exploratory mixed-methods approach, this dataset reports only on the qualitative data collected through a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, including Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and FGDs. The qualitative sample included 43 participants: 33 FGDs (17 male, 16 female) and 10 KIIs (8 male, 2 female). Discussions covered topics such as the impact of flooding on livelihoods, life course transitions, social and health issues, economic effects, short- and long-term impacts, and gender adaptation roles.

Four focus group discussion (FGD) sessions were conducted, with two held in each district. In each district, one FGD session was organized for men and the other for women, ensuring a gender-based perspective on the impacts of dam release flooding and related issues. Ten Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were conducted, with five interviews from each district.

Identifier
DOI https://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-857410
Metadata Access https://datacatalogue.cessda.eu/oai-pmh/v0/oai?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_ddi25&identifier=5c989dd88a365a6569641207dc4e15461ab75a6f51dd3c8b3a17e1a6ba3e16d9
Provenance
Creator Asamoah, M, University of Southampton; Gyimah, F, University of Ghana; Li, C, University of Southampton; Dzodzomenyo, M, University of Ghana; Wright, J, University of Southampton
Publisher UK Data Service
Publication Year 2024
Funding Reference United Kingdom Research & Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF)
Rights Jim Wright, University of Southampton. Mawuli Dzodzomenyo, University of Ghana. Moses Asamoah, University of Southampton; The UK Data Archive has granted a dissemination embargo. The embargo will end on 1 Dec 2025 and the data will then be available in accordance with the access level selected.
OpenAccess true
Representation
Resource Type Text
Discipline Social Sciences
Spatial Coverage Northern Ghana (Northern and Upper East Region); Ghana