Dr Joyce Berkumwin Der is a lecturer and Coordinator of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana. She was also the first Head of Laboratory of the UHAS Research Laboratory at the School of Public Health (2014-2016).

Education

Joyce holds a PhD in Infectious and Tropical Diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom. She also obtained her MPhil in Applied Epidemiology and Disease Control from the University of Ghana and her BSc in Medical Laboratory Technology from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. She also has a competency certificate from the Centres of Disease Control, Atlanta as part of competencies acquired from the Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program from the School of Public Health, University of Ghana.

Work experience

Ms Der worked as a Biomedical Scientist at the Eastern Regional Hospital, Koforidua (2004-2013). During her time at the hospital, she was the Head of the Chemistry Unit (2005-2007) and Microbiology Unit (2010-2013) of the laboratory Department. Joyce was also the Regional Public Health Laboratory Focal Person and Regional Tuberculosis Laboratory Focal Person for the Eastern Regional Health Directorate (2010-2013). She is a mentor for trainees of the Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Program for the Schools of Public Health, University of Ghana and University of Health and Allied Sciences.

Science/Research output

Joyce’s interest is in epidemiology, public health and laboratory science. She teaches communicable disease control, fundamentals of public health surveillance, emergency preparedness and disaster management, public health surveillance, emergency preparedness and outbreak investigation, disease control, principles of public health and principles of epidemiology for both first degree and postgraduate students at the School of Public Health.

Dr Der’s key research interest is in infectious and tropical disease with special focus on Tuberculosis and HIV. She also has interest in implementation research and clinical trials. She is currently working on a project that seeks to identify the gaps in the pathways to tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment in health facilities in Ghana. She has conducted several research studies which include evaluation of disease surveillance system of the Ghana Health Service and assessment of the quality system essentials of hospital laboratories. She has also been part of several disease outbreak investigations in Ghana as part of a team of the Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program. Joyce has made several presentations at scientific conferences organized both locally and internationally. She also has a number of publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Selected Publications

• Der, JB., Grant, AD,  Grint, D., Narh, CT., Bonsu, F, Bond V. (2022). Barriers to tuberculosis case finding in primary and secondary health facilities in Ghana: perceptions, experiences and practices of healthcare workers. BMC Health Services Research, 22, 368 (2022).
• Narh, CT., Der, J., Ofosu, A., Blettner, M., Wollschlaeger, D. (2021). Trends in hospitalization of patients with diabetes mellitus in Ghana from 2012 to 2017 with predictions to 2032. International Health, ihab076.
• Narh, CT., Der, JB., Afetor, M., Ofosu, A., Blettner, M., Wollschlaeger, D. (2021). Sociodemographic factors associated with time to discharge for hospitalised patients with asthma and asthma exacerbation using the Ghana Health Service District Information Management System 2 (DHIMS- 2) database, 2012–2017. BMJ Open Resp Res, 8:e001034.
• Narh, CT., Der, J., Ofosu, A., Blettner, M., Wollschlaeger, D. (2021). Time trends, sociodemographic and health factors associated with discharge and length of stay of hospitalised patients with sickle cell disease in Ghana: a retrospective analysis of national routine health database. BMJ Open, 11:e048407. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-048407.
• Der, J., Grint, D., Narh, CT., Bonsu, F., Grant, AD. (2020). Missed opportunities for tuberculosis investigation in a municipal hospital in Ghana: evidence from patient exit interviews. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene, vol 115 (1), January 2021, 43–50.
• Osei, E., Oppong, S., Der, J. (2020). Trends of tuberculosis case detection, mortality and co-infection with HIV in Ghana: A retrospective cohort study. PloS ONE 15(6): e0234878.

Full list of publications can be found at: ResearchGate (Read more...) and Scopus (Read more...)