A Collaborative Health Promotion Approach to Improve Rural Health Delivery and Health Outcomes in Ghana: A Case Example of a Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) Strategy

Abstract

Rural health is a core component of public health but developing rural is a major public challenge, especially, in poor and resource-limited settings around the world. Poor rural healthcare, both access and quality is a strong contributory factor in poor health outcomes such as high maternal, under-five, and infant mortality rates in developing countries, particularly, in sub-Sahara Africa; as millions of rural folks including women and children face many challenges in accessing primary healthcare. This chapter will examine these challenges in rural communities that negatively affect health outcomes and create health disparities between rural and urban populations in Ghana. We will discuss how maternal and child health outcomes can be improved through collaborative rural health promotion. A case for collaborative rural health promotion efforts will be made in this chapter and a community-based health planning and delivery service (CHPS) model will be presented as an example of collaborative rural health promotion in Ghana.

The practice of polygyny on the utilisation of reproductive health services among married women in Ghana

“…This may likely prevent women from attaining eight plus ANC contacts in polygynous marriages compared to their peers in monogamous marriages. Furthermore, polygynous marriages are more prevalent in rural areas in Ghana where access to ANC services are limited (Lawson and Gibson, 2018;Adam et al, 2021), and this might also explain why such women were less likely to attain eight plus ANC contacts.…”

“…Another reason could be that polygynous marriages are associated with lower levels of education among the spouses (Bove and Valeggia, 2008;Mabaso et al, 2018;Damtie et al, 2021), and lower educational attainment is associated with less utilisation of skilled birth providers services (Amponsah et al, 2021). In addition, polygynous marriages are more prevalent in rural areas in Ghana, and the use of assisted skilled birth services is limited in such areas (Lawson and Gibson, 2018); Adam et al, 2021. Furthermore, women who deliver at health facilities are thought of as being weak in some cultures.…”

Income and health insurance effects on modern health-seeking behaviours in rural Ghana: nature and extent of bias involved

“…The NHIS ensures that those in the formal and informal sectors of the economy and the agricultural and rural populations have access to healthcare (World Health Organization, 2012). Additionally, the Community-based Health Planning Services (CHPS) programme has been in place since the late 1990s and the early 2000s as part of the Government of Ghana's strategy to provide essential health care to people in rural and remote areas, as well as other hard-to-reach communities (Adam et al. , 2021).…”