Qualitative Study of Lived Experience and Life Courses Following Dam Release Flooding in Northern Ghanaian Communities, 2020

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This qualitative dataset includes transcripts from interviews with key informants (KII) and focus group discussions (FGDs). Key informants were purposively selected based on their roles as community representatives (such as chiefs or traditional authorities) or professionals involved in flood-related institutions (e.g., health sector, local government, or disaster relief organizations). This provided a broad range of perspectives. FGDs were conducted with residents of eight flood-affected communities, aged 18 and older, who had lived in the area for at least ten years and had direct experience with floods. The study aims to understand the impacts of dam release flooding as reported by downstream communities, assess how flooding affects their lived experiences and life course, and identify adaptive behaviors and gender-related issues in response to flooding. It also explores community responses to flood sensitization efforts and the broader effects of flooding. While the study used a sequential exploratory mixed-methods approach, this dataset reports only on the qualitative data collected through a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, including Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and FGDs. The qualitative sample included 43 participants: 33 FGDs (17 male, 16 female) and 10 KIIs (8 male, 2 female). Discussions covered topics such as the impact of flooding on livelihoods, life course transitions, social and health issues, economic effects, short- and long-term impacts, and gender adaptation roles.