Original Research

Healthcare services utilisation among patients with hypertension and diabetes in rural Ghana

Mercy N.A. Opare-Addo, Francis A. Osei, Kwame O. Buabeng, Afia F. Marfo, Isaac Nyanor, Evans X. Amuzu, Daniel Ansong, Ellis Owusu-Dabo
African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine | Vol 12, No 1 | a2114 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v12i1.2114 | © 2020 Mercy N.A. Opare-Addo, Francis A. Osei, Kwame O. Buabeng, Afia F. Marfo, Isaac Nyanor, Evans X. Amuzu, Daniel Ansong, Ellis Owusu-Dabo | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 15 April 2019 | Published: 30 July 2020

About the author(s)

Mercy N.A. Opare-Addo, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Francis A. Osei, Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine, College of Health Sciences Kwame, Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Kwame O. Buabeng, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Afia F. Marfo, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Isaac Nyanor, Research and Development Unit, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana
Evans X. Amuzu, Research and Development Unit, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana
Daniel Ansong, School of Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Ellis Owusu-Dabo, Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine, College of Health Sciences Kwame, Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana; and, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

Abstract

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) remain a global burden and is projected to increase due to aging, rapid urbanization and unhealthy lifestyles. The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes in rural districts in the Ashanti region of Ghana and to determine factors that influence utilization of health care services.

Setting: Offinso North, Amansie West, Ahafo Ano South, and Asante Akim South.

Methods: A population based prospective cross-sectional study comprising of adults aged 18 years and above was carried out from January 2016 to March 2016. A multistage sampling method was employed to select four rural districts in the Ashanti region of Ghana. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from respondents.

Results: A total of 684 participants were recruited in the study. The prevalence of hypertension and diabetes was found to be 16.23% and 5.41% respectively. The prevalence of diabetes and hypertension comorbidity was 1.61%. The public hospital was the most preferred choice of facility (52.56%) for patients with NCDs.

Educational level significantly decreased the likelihood of seeking healthcare in OTCMS and Health Centre to Hospitals (RRR = 0.1, 95% CI = 0.011–0.917, p = 0.042) and (RRR = 0.4, 95% CI = 0.198-0.679, p = 0.001) respectively.

Conclusion: The prevalence of self -reported hypertension and diabetes observed in this study was relatively lower for hypertension and higher for diabetes as compared to other studies in Ghana. The public hospital is the most preferred choice of health facilities for patients with hypertension and diabetes in the rural districts.


Keywords

non-communicable diseases; hypertension; diabetes; rural; Ghana; healthcare preference; healthcare utilisation

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Crossref Citations

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