Why Ghanaian Culture Matters In Digital Technology

By: Dr. Atsu Latey

In recent years and especially during the post COVID-era, there seems to have been an increase in the proliferation of digital technology in Ghana. The concept, hitherto uncommon, has now become widely accepted due to the ease with which it helps us get services, from food delivery, to rides and even to healthcare. Another key factor which has encouraged the burgeoning digital technology industry is the proliferation of mobile phone technology and increase in literacy. People can bank from the comfort of their homes and even receive healthcare services while sitting miles away from the doctor.

In all these, a key consideration that is often overlooked is as to whether such technology aligns with the culture of the Ghanaian people. In this sense, culture simply means our way of life, which encompasses our collective daily activities, beliefs, norms and viewpoints. Ghana has a rich culture, and the diversity in language and beliefs adds to the rich tapestry which binds us together and gives us a good sense of identity and meaning to life. On the other hand, some interventions, however well-intentioned could be incompatible with our culture, thereby affecting the participation in such activities, and this applies to well-intentioned digital technology too.

For example, Ghanaians consider mental health conditions as having a spiritual basis, hence they would resort to faith healers as the first port of call should they experience any mental health symptoms. In most cases, any digital health technology modality for mental healthcare may experience less than desired uptake due to this belief. To enable uptake of the proposed digital mental health interventions, developers may first have to help people understand that mental health disorders have a biological basis as well, hence can be managed medically as in the case of common illness like malaria.

This emphasizes the role of adopting a community-centric and participatory approach to solving community challenges using digital technology and for even providing services to the people. A participatory approach is a method which ensures that people for whom services are being developed are actively involved in the development process, and this involves co-creating and accommodating the nuances of their beliefs, values and norms into whichever digital intervention is being developed. Step in using participatory approaches includes problem identification, stakeholder identification and engagement which includes the local community members (the people), gathering insights from stakeholders and the community, co-creating solutions with the people, evaluating results and then learning from successes and challenges.

As an example, consider the digital mental health field in Ghana for example, where many people, especially in rural Ghana would seek care from faith-based healers for their challenges. In a recent example, a group of researchers, in trying to promote medical help for people living with mental health conditions in Ghana partnered with spiritual healers to co-create a digital smartphone toolkit to promote medical care and preserve the dignity of people who were kept in prayer camps because of their mental health conditions. Ultimately, the spiritual healers who participated in the app’s co-creation process expressed their willingness to use the medical based apps for the people in the camps which could make them more accepting of medical and dignified care. A second example from MindITGH, a Ghanaian based mental health service which uses digital technology to screen Ghanaians for mental health disorders and signpost to community mental health units for care. The core component of the service, which is community-centric care ensures that service users are provided mental healthcare which is delivered by people in their communities who understand their cultural beliefs and traditions, and this has encouraged uptake of care.

Essentially, it is very important that budding digital innovators incorporate the values and traditions of their target Ghanaian communities into developing any solutions. A participatory approach would not only ensure that the beliefs of the people are incorporated in the intervention, but co-creating the interventions with them would give the locals a sense of ownership which would encourage them to use the digital solutions. Culture matters.

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