Dr Hubert Amu is a population health scientist. He is currently a lecturer in the Department of Population and Behavioural Sciences, Fred N. Binka School of Public Health (FNBSPH), University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS). He is also an adjunct faculty with the Department of Health Science, University of the People, USA and Unicaf University, Cyprus.

Education

Dr Amu holds a PhD in Population and Health from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana (2020). He also holds an International Postgraduate Certificate in Education from the Liverpool John Moores University, UK (2022), a Master of Philosophy in Population and Health (2015) and a Bachelor of Arts in Population and Family Life (2012) from the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana.

Work Experience

Dr Hubert Amu has taught at all three tiers of education. He started as a basic school teacher at Leads International Basic School and later as a second-cycle school teacher at Mafi Kumase Senior High Technical School. He also served as a teaching assistant with the Department of Population and Health and an HIV/AIDS senior tutor with the University of Cape Coast. Apart from teaching, Dr Amu has also worked briefly as a reproductive health assistant with the South Tongu District Health Directorate.

At UHAS, Dr Amu has taught and examined several undergraduate and postgraduate public health courses including foundations of population studies, research methods, change interventions for chronic diseases, and social determinants of health since 2016. He is the coordinator of the School’s Vocational Training (VT) Programme. He also coordinates the UHAS-Yonsei University Partnership Project. From 2018-2021, he was the coordinator for the CHPS+ Project. As the VT coordinator, Dr Amu has led the reorganisation of the VT programme which is the University’s flagship field practical training programme for students, by introducing several innovations including the development and successful implementation of a comprehensive VT manual for students, an elaborate training manual for VT preceptors, nationwide monitoring and supervision of students and comprehensive training of preceptors. He currently supervises two PhD candidates and serves as research project supervisor and academic mentor to several others at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels.

Research Output

Dr Amu’s research areas are population health, chronic non-communicable diseases, maternal and child health, social health insurance, and health promotion. He has a vast experience in conducting both qualitative and quantitative research. Hubert has been involved in several research projects by the National Population Council (Ghana), Ghana Health Service (Ghana), University of Cape Coast (Ghana), Yonsei University (South Korea), Columbia University (UK) and Southampton University (UK).

Among various projects, Dr Amu is currently the Principal Investigator of a $643,000 grant awarded by the by the Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) Mercury Project for the study “An mHealth intervention to combat COVID-19 misinformation and improve vaccine attitudes and behavior in Ghana: A cluster-randomised controlled trial” from August, 2022 – July, 2024.  He has over 80 publications in reputable peer-reviewed journals and several national and international conference presentations. He is an academic editor for several journals including Plos One, BMC Public Health, BMC Health Services Research and Frontiers in Public Health. He is also a member of various international professional bodies including the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), Health Systems Global, and TDR global.

Selected Publications

1. Amu, H., Aboagye, R. G., Dowou, R. K., Kongnyuy, E. J., Adoma, P. O., Memiah, P., Elvis Enowbeyang Tarkang, E. E., & Bain, L. E. (2022). Towards achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3: Multilevel analyses of demographic and health survey data on health insurance coverage and maternal healthcare utilisation in sub-Saharan Africa.  International Health, 1-16. DOI: 10.1093/inthealth/ihac017.

2. Amu, H., Dowou, R. K., Saah, F. I., Efunwole, J. A., Bain, L. E., & Tarkang E. E. (2021). COVID-19 and health systems functioning in Sub-Saharan Africa using the “WHO Building Blocks”: The challenges and responses. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 1-4. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.856397.

3. Amu, H., Dickson, K. S., Adde, K. S., Kissah-Korsah, K., Darteh, E. K. M., & Kumi-Kyereme, A. (2022). Prevalence and factors associated with health insurance coverage in urban sub-Saharan Africa: Multilevel analyses of demographic and health survey data. PLoS One, 17(3), e0264162. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264162.

4. Amu, H., Agyei M. E., Dowou, R. K., & Bain, L. E. (2022). Adopting population-based interventions towards sustaining child health services in the midst of COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa: application of the socio-ecological model. Pan African Medical Journal, 41(70), 1-6. DOI: 10.11604/pamj.2022.41.70.31396.

5. Amu, H., Osei, E., Kofie, P., Owusu, R., Bosoka, S. A., Kennedy Diema Konlan, K. D., … John Owusu Gyapon, J. O. (2021). Prevalence and predictors of depression, anxiety, and stress among adults in Ghana: A community-based cross-sectional study. Plos One, 16(10), e0258105. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258105.

6. Amu, H., Darteh, E. K. M., Tarkang, E. E., & Tarkang, E. E. (2021). Management of chronic non-communicable diseases in Ghana: A qualitative study using the chronic care model. BMC Public Health, 21(1120), 1–18. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-11170-4.

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