Socio-economic Inequalities and Healthcare Utilization in Ghana

Authors

  • Bashiru I.I. Saeed School of Finance and Economics, Jiangsu University, China
  • Munyakazi Louis Associate Professor of Statistics and Head of the Department Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Kumasi Polytechnic, Ghana
  • Eric N. Aidoo CSIR-Building and Road Research Institute, Ghana
  • Nicholas. N.N. Nsowah-Nuamah Professor of Statistics and Rector of the Kumasi Polytechnic, Ghana
  • Alfred E. Yawson Department of Community Health, Kole-Bu Hospital University of Ghana Medical School College of Health Sciences, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana
  • Xicang Zhao Professor of Statistics at School of Finance and Economics School of Finance and Economics, Jiangsu University, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18533/ijbsr.v3i1.88

Keywords:

Healthcare Utilization, Generalized Logit, Socio-economic inequities, Ghana.

Abstract

A socio-economic inequality in the use of healthcare services in Ghana is investigated in this paper. The data employed in the study were drawn from Global Ageing and Adult Health survey conducted in Ghana by SAGE and was based on the design for the World Health Survey (WHS, 2003). The survey was conducted in 2007 and collected data on socio-economic characteristics and other variables of the individuals interviewed. Using generalized logit model, the study found that health status is a very strong determinant of the type of healthcare services Ghanaians look for. In Ghana, there are still important socio-economic gradients in the use of some healthcare services. These differences may be due to socio-economic inequities but could also indicate that the existing health facilities are not always used in an optimal way. Patient factors may be more important than supply factors in explaining the differential use of health services.

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Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2013): January

Section

Article

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