Barriers to formal healthcare utilisation among poor older people under the livelihood empowerment against poverty programme in the Atwima Nwabiagya District of Ghana.

Item request has been placed! ×
Item request cannot be made. ×
loading   Processing Request
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100968562 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1471-2458 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14712458 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2001-
    • Subject Terms:
    • Abstract:
      Background: Even though there is a growing literature on barriers to formal healthcare use among older people, little is known from the perspective of vulnerable older people in Ghana. Involving poor older people under the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, this study explores barriers to formal healthcare use in the Atwima Nwabiagya District of Ghana.
      Methods: Interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with 30 poor older people, 15 caregivers and 15 formal healthcare providers in the Atwima Nwabiagya District of Ghana. Data were analysed using the thematic analytical framework, and presented based on an a posteriori inductive reduction approach.
      Results: Four main barriers to formal healthcare use were identified: physical accessibility barriers (poor transport system and poor architecture of facilities), economic barriers (low income coupled with high charges, and non-comprehensive nature of the National Health Insurance Scheme [NHIS]), social barriers (communication/language difficulties and poor family support) and unfriendly nature of healthcare environment barriers (poor attitude of healthcare providers).
      Conclusions: Considering these barriers, removing them would require concerted efforts and substantial financial investment by stakeholders. We argue that improvement in rural transport services, implementation of free healthcare for poor older people, strengthening of family support systems, recruitment of language translators at the health facilities and establishment of attitudinal change programmes would lessen barriers to formal healthcare use among poor older people. This study has implications for health equity and health policy framework in Ghana.
    • References:
      J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2013 Aug;24(3):1378-90. (PMID: 23974406)
      BMC Geriatr. 2017 Jul 19;17(1):156. (PMID: 28724399)
      Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2018 Jul - Aug;77:174-183. (PMID: 29787956)
      Int J Equity Health. 2017 Oct 25;16(1):184. (PMID: 29070050)
      Ageing Res Rev. 2011 Sep;10(4):430-9. (PMID: 21402176)
      Am J Public Health. 2004 Oct;94(10):1788-94. (PMID: 15451751)
      Health Expect. 2005 Mar;8(1):4-17. (PMID: 15713166)
      BMJ. 2001 May 5;322(7294):1115-7. (PMID: 11337448)
      BMJ Open. 2015 Nov 17;5(11):e008687. (PMID: 26576809)
      Malar J. 2009 Jun 29;8:144. (PMID: 19563640)
      Aging Trends. 2007 Mar;(7):1-12. (PMID: 19174854)
      J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. 2019 Apr-Jun;31(2):201-206. (PMID: 31094117)
      Int J Equity Health. 2019 Mar 20;18(1):47. (PMID: 30894183)
      J Rural Health. 2011 Winter;27(1):122-30. (PMID: 21204979)
      J Aging Res. 2010 Sep 29;2010:672157. (PMID: 21188229)
      Qual Life Res. 2010 Oct;19(8):1087-96. (PMID: 20512662)
      BMC Fam Pract. 2015 Oct 13;16:135. (PMID: 26463083)
      J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2011 May;22(2):562-75. (PMID: 21551934)
      Lancet. 2015 Feb 14;385(9968):e9-e11. (PMID: 25468150)
      BMC Health Serv Res. 2016 Feb 18;16:63. (PMID: 26892677)
      Gerontologist. 2016 Apr;56 Suppl 2:S268-80. (PMID: 26994266)
      BMC Health Serv Res. 2016 Aug 16;16(a):390. (PMID: 27530687)
      BMC Health Serv Res. 2017 Jan 13;17(1):30. (PMID: 28086883)
      Public Health. 2016 Dec;141:32-41. (PMID: 27932013)
      EPMA J. 2017 Aug 18;8(3):197-206. (PMID: 29021830)
      BMC Res Notes. 2019 Jun 7;12(1):320. (PMID: 31174588)
      Qual Health Res. 2000 May;10(3):378-95. (PMID: 10947483)
      Fam Pract. 2006 Jun;23(3):325-48. (PMID: 16476700)
      Rev Saude Publica. 2017 May 15;51:50. (PMID: 28513761)
      Gerontol Geriatr Med. 2017 Jan 17;3:2333721416689042. (PMID: 31508440)
      Int J Equity Health. 2018 Jun 20;17(1):86. (PMID: 29925401)
      Int J Health Plann Manage. 2003 Oct-Dec;18(4):293-311. (PMID: 14727709)
      Glob Health Action. 2017;10(1):1301723. (PMID: 28578615)
      BMC Health Serv Res. 2016 May 10;16:174. (PMID: 27164825)
      Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol. 2001 Dec;15(6):835-49. (PMID: 11866480)
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Barriers; Formal healthcare; Formal healthcare utilisation; Ghana; Older person
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20190830 Date Completed: 20191122 Latest Revision: 20231013
    • Publication Date:
      20240104
    • Accession Number:
      PMC6714403
    • Accession Number:
      10.1186/s12889-019-7437-2
    • Accession Number:
      31462254