4.5 Challenges Associated with the Cold Chain Delivery System in the GhanaianHealthcare SectorThe questionnaire survey explored the respondents agreement on the identified challenges associated with the cold chain delivery system in the Ghanaian healthcare sector with regards to their place of work. The study achieved this by requesting the respondents to rate their level of agreement using a point Likert scale “1= Strongly Disagree 2= Disagree Neutral 4= Agree 5= Strongly Agree. To identify the challenges associated with the cold chain delivery system in
the Ghanaian healthcare sector, a list of sixteen (16) cold chain challenges was provided, as shown in Table 4.4. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, particularly mean scores and one-sample t-test. Before
the descriptive analysis, the reliability of the test scale was assessed using the Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient test, which yielded an alpha value of 0.956, indicating extreme reliability of the scale.
As earlier mentioned, the One-Sample T-test was used to establish the statistical significance of the challenges associated with the cold chain delivery system in the Ghanaian healthcare sector, at a test value of 3.5 and 95% confidence level with a p-value of less than 0.05.
In addition, other criteria such as ‘t-value’, degree of freedom (df)’, ‘p-value’, mean difference and upper and lower confidence limits were included in the One sample T-test as shown in Table 4.4 Before the non-parametric test (i.e., the one-sample t-test), preliminary descriptive analysis such as mean scores and standard deviations were conducted to measure the central tendency and the degree of variation on the factors, respectively.
The mean scores and standard deviation were used to rank the factors as shown in Table The cold chain practices were mainly ranked according to their mean scores from largest to
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smallest. The ranking is as follows Lack of modern technology
or optimal equipment[mean=4.11, SD, st Inadequate financing mean SD 2nd]; Lack of reliable transportation mean SD rd Erratic electric power supply
[mean=4.00; SD 4th]; Transportation delays mean SD 5th]; Poor supervision and monitoring of cold chain management mean SD 6th]; Lack of information/consumption data mean SD 7th]; Inadequate temperature control systems mean SD 8th]; Inadequate storage facilities or cold chain capacity
[mean=3.95; SD 9th]; Shortage of service providers mean SD 10th];
Absence of alternative power sources mean SD 11th]; Lack of appropriate cold chain equipment mean SD 12th]; Lack of a consolidated list of cold chain products mean SD 13th]; Equipment failure mean SD 14th];
Lack of trained personnel mean SD 15th]; and Non-uniformity in storage temperature instructions on labels mean SD 16th].
The study results confirm the findings of Oli et al. (2016), where vaccine wastage in Nigeria was attributed to inconsistent
electric power supply, fuelling, and transportation, which are all necessary to maintain the continuous functioning of cold chain equipment keep vaccines safe.
Ashok et al. (2017) also identified that cold chain management systems suffer from inadequate financing.
Transportation delays, power interruption, Lack of modern technology or optimal equipment were also found by Rogie et al. (2013) and Lakew et al. (2015).
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