Cost recovery in Ghana: Are there Any changes in health care seeking behaviour?

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the impact on health care seeking behaviour of the cost-sharing policies introduced in Ghana between 1985 and 1992. Qualitative research techniques were used to investigate the behaviour of patients after the introduction of these policies. Focus group discussions of cohorts of the population and in-depth interviews of health workers and selected opinion leaders were used to collect data from rural and urban health care facilities in three districts of Ghana. The study findings indicate that the cost recovery policies have led to an increase in self-medication and other behaviours aimed at cost-saving. At the same time, there is a perception of an improvement in the drug supply situation and general health delivery in government facilities. The study advocated enhanced training of drug peddlers and attendants at drug stores, especially in rural areas. User fee exemption criteria need to be worked out properly and implemented so that the very needy are not precluded from seeking health care at hospitals and clinics.

Incidences and Costs of Illness for Diarrhea and Acute Respiratory Infections for Children < 5 Years of Age in Rural Bangladesh

“…20 Unqualified practitioner do not charge visiting fees, and they are abundant in rural communities, minimizing transportation costs and wage loss. [21][22][23] However, since they often run their own drug shops, they may prescribe a greater quantity of drugs compared with qualified health-care practitioners, [24][25][26] increasing overall cost per episode of illness, suggested by analysis of medicine costs in this study.…”

The Politico-Economic Challenges of Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme Implementation

“…Both are urban and have better public and private health facilities as well as a large number of medical personnel. While earlier studies 39 pointed to the considerable inequalities of health status and outcomes between urban and rural areas and the different regions of Ghana, recent studies still underlined the broad disparities between the North and the South. There is also the observation that spatial inequalities in health and socioeconomic development between Southern and Northern Ghana and between rural and urban areas 34 are still a major problem and wider in the regions of Northern Ghana compared to Southern Ghana.…”

Economic Cost of Malaria Treatment under the Health Insurance Scheme in the Savelugu-Nanton District of Ghana

“…It is therefore not surprising that studies on health care seeking behaviour amplify how severe reductions in government expenditure on health care, coupled with the introduction of user fees create problems such as inaccessibility and inequality in health care utilisation (Asenso-Okyere, Anum, Osei-Akoto & Adukonu, 1998). These studies re/echo long standing concerns associated with health care in Ghana such as the limited access to health facilities as population growth outstrips the provision of social services; limited financial access due to the high cost of disease prevention and treatment and poor quality of health services as a result of frequent shortages of personnel, drugs and other supplies (Gyimah, Baffour & Addai, 2006).…”