Understanding Risky Behaviors Among Fishers in a Lower Middle Income Country: A Qualitative Study of Fishers in Elmina, Ghana

Migration and the fishing environment heighten fishers’ risk of engaging in risky behaviors, such as substance abuse, engagement with multiple sexual partners, and unprotected sexual activity. This qualitative study examines risky behaviors and the factors contributing to these behaviors among fishers in Elmina, Ghana, through the lens of the risk compensation theory (RCT). The study involved a total sample of 50 participants, comprising 30 key informants (KIIs) and 20 focus group discussion (FGD) participants. Transcripts were analyzed thematically following four stages. The study found that fishers engage in three risky behaviors as follows: excessive alcohol consumption, excessive smoking, and unsafe sexual practices. Moreover, three factors contributed to the engagement of risky behaviors by fishers as follows: substance abuse, spendthrift habits and lavish social interactions, and perceiving fishing as a risky occupation led to discounting the dangers of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This study's findings underscore the need for holistic interventions that address not just individual behaviors but also the broader environmental, occupational, and socioeconomic contexts that shape the decision‐making of fishers.