Ethics applications were submitted and approved at both the University of Liverpool and the partnering university in Ghana. The local legislative and regulatory environment and local cultural practises in the country of interest were considered.

All participants were provided with a Participant Information Sheet detailing the aim of the study and the intended use of their data. All participants consented to the intended use of their data and to the subsequent depositing of their data in the University of Liverpool Research Data Catalogue for sharing and use by other authorised researchers to support other research in the future.

The risk of disclosing participants' identities was mitigated by removing references to real names and other identifying information.