Measures of geographic accessibility to health care in the Ashanti Region of Ghana

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  • George Ashiagbor
  • Richard Ofori-Asenso
  • Eric K. Forkuo
  • Seth Agyei-Frimpong

Quantitative data on geographical accessibility to healthcare remain generally limited in sub-Saharan Africa. This study sought to generate quantitative evidence regarding health care access in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Dasymetric mapping technique and GIS tools were used to estimate the total population living within the World Health Organization (WHO)'s recommended 5 km distance to the nearest health facility. An estimated 81.4% of the population had access to general primary health care, 61.4% to secondary-level health care and, only 14.3% to tertiary health care. Despite the high levels of accessibility to general primary health care, accessibility remains poor in some selected districts, especially rural districts in the region. About 30% of the population are more likely to have to travel long distances to access healthcare, particularly specialist services which are available only at secondary and tertiary centres. There is the need for intensified efforts to address inequities in geographic accessibility to healthcare so as to minimise inequalities in health outcomes as well as achieve the desired improvements in population health.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere00453
JournalScientific African
Volume9
Number of pages12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sep 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s)

    Research areas

  • Ashanti region, Geographic information systems, Ghana, Health equity, Healthcare accessibility

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