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Factors influencing the use of public and private health care facilities among poor older people in rural Ghana

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Abstract

Objective

The choice of a particular health care facility is premised on certain factors which remain largely unknown in rural settings in Ghana. The purpose of this study was to explore issues influencing public and private health care facilities use among poor older people in rural Ghana.

Methods

In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with 30 poor older persons, 15 caregivers, and 15 formal health care providers in the Atwima Nwabiagya District of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. A thematic analytical framework was used to analyze the data, which was then presented based on an a posteriori inductive reduction approach.

Findings

Three key public health care facility use factors were identified: health insurance acceptance, perceived service affordability, and availability of well-trained professionals. For private health care facilities, five main use factors were found: distance and proximity, good interpersonal relationships, good quality health services, service responsiveness, and logistics availability.

Conclusion

The findings of this study have implications for addressing attitudinal problems existing mainly in public health care facilities in Ghana. It also calls for policy intervention toward equitable access to public and private health facilities, especially for poor older persons.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Williams Agyemang-Duah & Charles Peprah

  2. Department of Geography and Rural Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Williams Agyemang-Duah & Prince Peprah

Authors
  1. Williams Agyemang-Duah
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  2. Charles Peprah
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  3. Prince Peprah
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Correspondence to Williams Agyemang-Duah.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Furthermore, the Committee on Human Research Publication and Ethics (CHRPE), School of Medical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana provided approval for this study (ref.: CHRPE/AP/311/18).

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from the study respondents before data collection began. They were assured that their participation in the study was voluntary and that they were free to opt out at any time.

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Agyemang-Duah, W., Peprah, C. & Peprah, P. Factors influencing the use of public and private health care facilities among poor older people in rural Ghana. J Public Health (Berl.) 28, 53–63 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-01010-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-01010-y

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