The influence of sociodemographic behavioural variables on health-seeking behaviour and the utilisation of public and private hospitals in Ghana

Adongo, Awinaba Amoah; Dapaah, Jonathan Mensah; Azumah, Francess Dufie; Nachinaab, John Onzaberigu

doi:10.1108/ijssp-03-2021-0068

Cited by 4 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Another perspective on this spatial variation could be the existing cultural inclinations. There is evidence suggesting that Northern Ghana is primarily patriarchal; hence, there is a signi cant dominance of male partners in all decisions, including healthcare decisions, compared to the situation in the South of Ghana [14][15][16]. Furthermore, the spatial disparities highlight the country's over-concentration in improving healthcare accessibility in the South compared to Northern Ghana.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial distribution and barriers to access to health care among women in Ghana

Dickson,

Okyere,

Ayebeng

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Background: This study aims to assess the spatial distribution of barriers to healthcare access among Ghana women. Despite government efforts to reduce barriers such as cost and distance, a significant proportion of women still experience barriers in accessing healthcare. Understanding the spatial distribution is crucial for targeted interventions aimed at addressing the existing barriers that are likely to hinder Ghana from attaining SDG target 3.8. Methods: The study used a cross-sectional study based on a sample of 20,620 women from the 2017 Ghana Maternal Health Survey. Spatial autocorrelation and hotspot assessment were conducted in the geospatial analysis to determine the spatial distribution of barriers to access to healthcare in Ghana. At the same time, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate associated factors of barriers to accessing healthcare. Results: This study assessed the spatial distribution of barriers to healthcare access among women in Ghana. Over half of women (55.4%) experienced at least one barrier. The Northern zone emerged as a hotspot, while the Southern zone had cold spots. Wealth, health insurance coverage, education, TV watching, being in a union, and parity were associated with barriers to healthcare access. Targeted policies should be designed to address the spatial disparities, improve healthcare infrastructure, promote education, enhance financial support, and empower women to overcome barriers to healthcare access in Ghana. Conclusion: We conclude that over half of Ghanaian women encounter barriers in accessing healthcare, with Northern Ghana being a hotspot and Southern Ghana a cold spot. The Government of Ghana and health agencies should prioritise improving healthcare accessibility, particularly in Northern Ghana. Targeted interventions should focus on vulnerable sub-populations such as unmarried women, those with low education, individuals with poor wealth status, and those lacking health insurance coverage. Addressing these barriers will help reduce disparities and ensure equitable healthcare access for all women in Ghana.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial distribution and barriers to access to health care among women in Ghana

Dickson,

Okyere,

Ayebeng

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…According to the Chi-square test results, mothers' marital status, age, education, religious affiliation, and distance have a significant relationship with mothers' use of maternal health care services during delivery in the North East Region. According to the literature, sociodemographic characteristics and behavioural variables have a significant influence on healthcare facility utilisation [4,5,9,40].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are numerous barriers to maternal and child health issues affecting maternal morbidity reduction in SSA. These factors could be attributed to poor health service location, a lack of health workers, a poor road network, and lack of service quality that put pregnant women at risk [4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This an indication that the maternal and child mortality remains far short of the SDGs three target of 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030 in Ghana. The majority of maternal and infant mortality is triggered by the interaction of various economic, social, and health system factors such as lack of access to healthcare, health seeking behaviour, and socio-demographic behavioural variables [4,5,8,9]. These variables require further evaluation and comprehension in order to address issues of maternal and infant mortality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Maternal and child health care access to skilled delivery services among Ghanaian rural mothers

Adongo,

Dapaah,

Azumah

et al. 2024

Res Health Serv Reg

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Introduction Most new-born babies are born at home in rural communities which is not new phenomenon due to lack of access to primary healthcare services and trained skilled health attendants, exposing mothers and children to a high risk of labour complications. The purpose of this study was to better understand factors influence rural women's access to primary health care and skilled delivery services as well as their reasons for using or not using maternal health care and skilled delivery services. Methods The study employed a social survey design with a quantitative approach to data analysis. Cluster Sampling was used, possibly based on rural communities, to efficiently collect data from different geographic locations. Simple random sampling individuals from each cluster ensures that all eligible individuals have an equal chance of being included in the study. This enhances the representativity of the sample. A total of 366 mothers were selected from four rural communities in the North East Region of Ghana. The choice of sample size considered factors like the study's objectives, available resources, and the desired level of statistical power. Data was primarily gathered through the administration of a questionnaire to the respondents. Factors considered for achieving representativity include, geographic representation, accessibility, healthcare infrastructure and healthcare professionals’ attitudes. Findings The study found that distance to health centres limits women's access to skilled delivery services. Lack of primary health facilities in the rural communities hamper maternal and child care services delivery. The attitude of health care professionals determines a mother’s utilisation of maternal health care and skilled delivery services. Conclusion The study contributes to the limited research on maternal health services and their impact on mother and child health in the study area. This study is one of the first to investigate into maternal health care as a key predictor of mother and child health in the study area. The study's theoretical lens was the Andersen and Newman Health Behavioural Model theory, which supports the explanation of distance, lack of primary health centres, attitudes and lack of skilled personnel to the non-utilisation of maternal and health services in rural communities. The study recommended that primary healthcare facilities and trained health professionals should be a priority of government in rural communities to promote maternal and child healthcare.

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“…Janz and Becker [ 53 ] argue that apart from the above dimensions of the HBM, demographic, socio-psychological and structural factors may influence health-related behaviour. For instance, evidence suggests that demographic, socio-economic [ 18 , 34 , 71 ] and health-related factors [ 18 ] are associated with healthcare utilization. Considering this, one critical question is, will all the dimensions of the HBM still predict healthcare utilization among informal caregivers of older adults after controlling for demographic, socio-economic and health-related factors?…”

Section: Health Belief Model (Hbm)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Healthcare utilization among informal caregivers of older adults in the Ashanti region of Ghana: a study based on the health belief model

Agyemang-Duah,

Rosenberg

2023

Arch Public Health

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Background Existing global evidence suggests that informal caregivers prioritize the health (care) of their care recipients (older adults) over their own health (care) resulting in sub-optimal health outcomes among this population group. However, data on what factors are associated with healthcare utilization among informal caregivers of older adults are not known in a sub-Saharan African context. Guided by the Health Belief Model (HBM), the principal objective of this study was to examine the association between the dimensions of the HBM and healthcare utilization among informal caregivers of older adults in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Methods Data were extracted from a large cross-sectional study of informal caregiving, health, and healthcare survey among caregivers of older adults aged 50 years or above (N = 1,853; mean age of caregivers = 39.15 years; and mean age of care recipients = 75.08 years) in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Poisson regression models were used to estimate the association between the dimensions of the HBM and healthcare utilization among informal caregivers of older adults. Statistical significance of the test was set at a probability level of 0.05 or less. Results The results showed that 72.9% (n = 1351) of the participants were females, 56.7% (n = 1051) were urban informal caregivers and 28.6% (n = 530) had no formal education. The results further showed that 49.4% (n = 916) of the participants utilized healthcare for their health problems at least once in the past year before the survey. The final analysis showed a positive and statistically significant association between perceived susceptibility to a health problem (β = 0.054, IRR = 1.056, 95% CI = [1.041–1.071]), cues to action (β = 0.076, IRR = 1.079, 95% CI = [1.044–1.114]), self-efficacy (β = 0.042, IRR = 1.043, 95% CI = [1.013–1.074]) and healthcare utilization among informal caregivers of older adults. The study further revealed a negative and statistically significant association between perceived severity of a health problem and healthcare utilization (β= − 0.040, IRR = 0.961, 95% CI= [0.947-0.975]) among informal caregivers of older adults. The results again showed that non-enrollment in a health insurance scheme (β= − 0.174, IRR = 0.841, 95% CI= [0.774-0.913]) and being unemployed (β= − 0.088, IRR = 0.916, 95% CI= [0.850-0.986]) were statistically significantly associated with a lower log count of healthcare utilization among informal caregivers of older adults. Conclusion The findings of this study to a large extent support the dimensions of the HBM in explaining healthcare utilization among informal caregivers of older adults in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Although all the dimensions of the HBM were significantly associated with healthcare utilization in Model 1, perceived barriers to care-seeking and perceived benefits of care-seeking were no longer statistically significant after controlling for demographic, socio-economic and health-related variables in the final model. The findings further suggest that the dimensions of the HBM as well as demographic, socio-economic and health-related factors contribute to unequal healthcare utilization among informal caregivers of older adults in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.

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The influence of sociodemographic behavioural variables on health-seeking behaviour and the utilisation of public and private hospitals in Ghana

Cited by 4 publications

References 32 publications

Spatial distribution and barriers to access to health care among women in Ghana

Spatial distribution and barriers to access to health care among women in Ghana

Maternal and child health care access to skilled delivery services among Ghanaian rural mothers

Healthcare utilization among informal caregivers of older adults in the Ashanti region of Ghana: a study based on the health belief model

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