Browsing by Author "Frempong-Ainguah, F."
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Item Correlates of Pregnancy Loss Experiences in Ghana(University of Ghana, 2015-07) Agyekum, P. D.; Frempong-Ainguah, F.; University of Ghana, College of Humanities, Regional Institute for Population StudiesThe reduction in the rate of miscarriage, stillbirth and induced abortion is a major challenge for thehealth system, governments and the society (Schoeps et al., 2007). This incidence is often high and concentrated in regions with most disadvantaged populations with low income and Ghana is not an exception. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to identify and examine the correlates of pregnancy loss experience among ever pregnant women in their reproductive ages in Ghana using the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. The other objectives of the study was to identify some risk factors associated with pregnancy loss among women in Ghana and also to examine household factors that influence pregnancy loss among women in Ghana. The study uses univariate, bivariate and multivariate techniques to assess the influence of women’s demographic and socio-economic background characteristics. Results show that the highest proportion of ever pregnant women werebetween the ages of 25-29 years was (19.4%). On marital status of these ever pregnant women, 69.5 per cent of them were married as against 19.8 per cent who were never married. An overwhelming proportion (80.1%) of ever pregnant women reported that they had never consumed any alcoholic beverages relative to 19.9 per cent who affirmed that they had ever taken or consumed alcohol. Also about 74 per cent of these women reported having easy access to health facility for antenatal care services as compared to 26.3 per cent who affirmed that they encountered difficulty in accessing health care. The results shows that 1-in-5 women ever pregnant had experienced pregnancy loss. The bivariate results indicate a statistically significant relationship between the demographic and socio-economic background characteristics of ever pregnant women in Ghana and their pregnancy loss experiences. Higher proportion (23.3%) of women who have attained primary education had ever terminated their pregnancies compared to women who had no education (14.7%). Ever pregnant women who dwell in urban areas had a higher proportion (22.1%) of those who had experienced pregnancy loss relative to their counterparts who resides in the rural areas (18.4%). On the consumption of alcohol, women who ever consumed any alcoholic beverages have a higher proportion of them having loss their pregnancies as against those who never consumed. Binary logistic regression analysis was also conducted to determine the link between the correlates of pregnancy loss and pregnancy loss experiences. Results of the regression models indicated that ever pregnant women who ever consume alcohol were more likely to experience pregnancy loss. In terms of the other correlates of pregnancy loss experiences, the respondent’s age, educational level, their marital status, place and region of residence, the type of occupation and their wealth index were significant predictors of pregnancy loss experiences. The study therefore recommends there should be more reproductive health public education especially for young women as they enter their reproductive ages on safe practices during pregnancy period.Item Evaluating the impact of the community-based health planning and services initiative on uptake of skilled birth care in Ghana(Public Library of Science, 2015) Johnson, F.A.; Frempong-Ainguah, F.; Matthews, Z.; Harfoot, A.J.P.; Nyarko, P.; Baschieri, A.; Gething, P.W.; Falkingham, J.; Atkinson, P.M.Background: The Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) initiative is a major government policy to improve maternal and child health and accelerate progress in the reduction of maternal mortality in Ghana. However, strategic intelligence on the impact of the initiative is lacking, given the persistant problems of patchy geographical access to care for rural women. This study investigates the impact of proximity to CHPS on facilitating uptake of skilled birth care in rural areas. Methods and Findings: Data from the 2003 and 2008 Demographic and Health Survey, on 4,349 births from 463 rural communities were linked to georeferenced data on health facilities, CHPS and topographic data on national road-networks. Distance to nearest health facility and CHPS was computed using the closest facility functionality in ArcGIS 10.1. Multilevel logistic regression was used to examine the effect of proximity to health facilities and CHPS on use of skilled care at birth, adjusting for relevant predictors and clustering within communities. The results show that a substantial proportion of births continue to occur in communities more than 8 km from both health facilities and CHPS. Increases in uptake of skilled birth care are more pronounced where both health facilities and CHPS compounds are within 8 km, but not in communities within 8 km of CHPS but lack access to health facilities. Where both health facilities and CHPS are within 8 km, the odds of skilled birth care is 16% higher than where there is only a health facility within 8km. Conclusion: Where CHPS compounds are set up near health facilities, there is improved access to care, demonstrating the facilitatory role of CHPS in stimulating access to better care at birth, in areas where health facilities are accessible.Item Factors associated with rural-urban safe disposal of children stools in Ghana(BMC Research Notes, 2024) Frempong-Ainguah, F.; Agyekum, M.W.; Yeboah, S.B.; Nyieku, F.E.Introduction The burden of children’s disease in many low- and middle-income countries is associated with poor sanitation, including unsafe disposal of children’s stool. Infants and toddler stools pose a greater public health risk than adults. Studies on stool disposal in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Ghana have focused on prevalence, patterns, and associated factors. Nevertheless, these studies have not focused on factors that independently influence rural and/or urban child stool disposal. This study, therefore, examines factors associated with safe child stool disposal in rural areas separately from urban areas towards Ghana’s readiness for ending open defecation by 2030. Methodology We examined young children’s faecal disposal, drawing on the sixth round of the nationally representative Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) conducted in 2017/18. This study was restricted to children under two years, yielding a sub-sample of 3,476. Responses of caregivers or mothers who disposed of children less than two years faecal age, their characteristics in addition to the child’s age in months were analysed. A binary logistic regression was used to examine the factors associated with the safe disposal of young children’s stools. Results In the aggregated data, only 22% of households, regardless of their residence, dispose of their young children less than two years stools safely. From the disaggregated data, the rural analysis shows that 26% of young children’s stools were safely disposed of, compared to 16% in the urban analysis. The urban analysis shows that the child’s age, sex and caregiver’s marital status were significantly associated with safe disposal of stools. On the other hand, child’s age, caregiver listening to radio and household access to improved toilet facilities were significant in the rural analysis. Conclusion The safe practice of stool disposal was very low. The results of this study show that urgent and different policies and strategies are needed to address child stool disposal in urban residences compared to rural residences if we are to meet SDG targets of ending open defecationItem Geographical access to care at birth in Ghana: a barrier to safe motherhood(2012-11-16) Gething, P.W.; Johnson, F.A.; Frempong-Ainguah, F.; Nyarko, P.; Baschieri, A.; Aboagye, P.; Falkingham, J.; Matthews, Z.; Atkinson, P.M.Abstract Background Appropriate facility-based care at birth is a key determinant of safe motherhood but geographical access remains poor in many high burden regions. Despite its importance, geographical access is rarely audited systematically, preventing integration in national-level maternal health system assessment and planning. In this study, we develop a uniquely detailed set of spatially-linked data and a calibrated geospatial model to undertake a national-scale audit of geographical access to maternity care at birth in Ghana, a high-burden country typical of many in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods We assembled detailed spatial data on the population, health facilities, and landscape features influencing journeys. These were used in a geospatial model to estimate journey-time for all women of childbearing age (WoCBA) to their nearest health facility offering differing levels of care at birth, taking into account different transport types and availability. We calibrated the model using data on actual journeys made by women seeking care. Results We found that a third of women (34%) in Ghana live beyond the clinically significant two-hour threshold from facilities likely to offer emergency obstetric and neonatal care (EmONC) classed at the ‘partial’ standard or better. Nearly half (45%) live that distance or further from ‘comprehensive’ EmONC facilities, offering life-saving blood transfusion and surgery. In the most remote regions these figures rose to 63% and 81%, respectively. Poor levels of access were found in many regions that meet international targets based on facilities-per-capita ratios. Conclusions Detailed data assembly combined with geospatial modelling can provide nation-wide audits of geographical access to care at birth to support systemic maternal health planning, human resource deployment, and strategic targeting. Current international benchmarks of maternal health care provision are inadequate for these purposes because they fail to take account of the location and accessibility of services relative to the women they serve.Item Health-Related Lifestyles and Health Conditions among the Elderly in Ghana(University of Ghana, 2015-07) Dogbey, L.S.; Frempong-Ainguah, F.; University of Ghana, College of Humanities, Regional Institute for Population Studies.Remarkable increase in life expectancy in Ghana has resulted in a major health threat where there is a major shift from infectious and parasitic diseases to chronic non- communicable diseases that mostly affect older people and posing a great danger on global health. Modifiable lifestyles are major determinants of adult chronic diseases, morbidity and mortality. With a rapid increase in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases in most developing countries as a result of ageing and unhealthy health-related lifestyles, it is a public health threat that has potential socio-economic to both individuals and society. This study sought to examine the influence of health-related lifestyles on the health conditions of the elderly in Ghana. This study sampled 4,724 adults aged 50 years and above from WHO-SAGE (2007/8) Ghana dataset in which respondents answered questions on some socio demographic characteristics and the prevalence of chronic diseases. The study used sequential binary logistic regression model to assess the relationship between health-related lifestyles and the prevalence of health conditions among the study population. Generally, the results show that 65.8% of respondents had at least a chronic condition of which majority were females. The regression analysis show that all of the four lifestyle indicators assessed - alcohol consumption, tobacco use, diet and physical activity, as well as, age and sex were significant predictors of chronic conditions among the aged. Based on the findings, it is recommended that Ghana put in structures to monitor the on-going demographic changes and its impacts, whilst paying more attention to the health of the elderly population and advocating greatly for a change in behavioral pattern for all.Item Independent Migration of Children in Ghana. In: Child Care Strategies among Young Migrants at Destination Areas, edited by Anarfi, J.K and Kwankye, S.O.(Sundel Services, pp. 171-206, 2010) Badasu, D.; Frempong-Ainguah, F.; Codjoe, S.N.A.Item Independent Migration of Children in Ghana. In: North-South Independent Child Migration in Ghana: The Push and Pull Factors, edited by Anarfi, J.K and Kwankye, S.O.(Sundel Services, pp. 71-100, 2010) Frempong-Ainguah, F.; Badasu, D.; Codjoe, S.N.A.Item Predictors of underachieved and overachieved fertility among women with completed fertility in Ghana(PLOS, 2021) Yeboah, I.; Kwankye, S.O.; Frempong-Ainguah, F.A woman’s ability to achieve her preferred family size is critical in addressing issues of high fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. The socio-cultural context in sub-Saharan Africa presents some difficulty for the attainment of preferred fertility for many women. Few studies in subSaharan Africa have examined the extent to which women are unable to achieve their preferred family sizes. This study, therefore, examines the factors that are associated with the non-attainment of women’s preferred fertility by the end of their reproductive years. The study analyzed pooled cross-sectional data with a sub-sample of 1,888 currently married women aged 45–49 years from five rounds of the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, 1993 to 2014. Test of associations and multinomial logistic regression analysis were used to examine the predictors of underachieved and overachieved fertility relative to achieved fertility. Results The results indicate that 44 per cent of the women recorded overachieved fertility while about 36 per cent underachieved their fertility. Partner wants more, experiencing child loss and married more than once were significantly associated with overachieved fertility. Nonetheless, increased years of a woman’s education and delaying her at first birth were negatively associated with overachieved fertility. On the other hand, underachieved fertility was significantly associated with having a partner with fewer fertility preference, being of the Islamic faith and ever use of modern contraception. Partner’s fertility preference, child loss experience, marrying more than once and ever use of modern contraception were important predictors of a woman’s inability to achieve her fertility preference. Policies to regulate men’s fertility behaviour, delaying age at first birth, use of modern contraception, encouraging longer years of education, and reducing infant and child mortality are important strategies to achieve fertility preference in Ghana.Item Women's health status in urban Ghana: Dimensions and differentials using short form 36(BioMed Central Ltd., 2018-04) Frempong-Ainguah, F.; Bailey, C.E.; Hill, A.G.Background: Global discourse on population, health and development have placed women's health issues at the top of development agenda. Women's reproductive health has received some attention in Ghana since the mid-1990s. However, studies on women's general health status, dimensions and the differentials in a rapidly growing urban setting is poorly understood and under-researched. This study sought to examine the various pathways in which individual socio-demographic factors, economic characteristics and endowment influence self-assessed health status among women living in the city of Accra, Ghana. Methods: The paper draws on a cross-sectional study carried out in 2008 and 2009 using a representative sample of urban women 20 years and older (n=2814). Multivariate stepwise linear regression models were performed to investigate the influence of socio-demographic, economic and health indicators on health-related quality of life, measured by eight sub-scales of the Short Form-36 (SF-36). Interaction effects between some demographic and socio-economic variables were also performed. Results: The analyses show diverse relationships between demographic, socio-economic and health indicators and health outcomes assessed using eight SF-36 sub-scales. Education, disease symptoms and age of the respondent were the most significant factors influencing good overall health status. Interestingly, age has no significant effect on mental health after controlling for all other explanatory variables. Conclusions: The findings show that health issues are multi-faceted requiring socio-cultural, health and economic policy interventions. Investing in women's education is important to improve health status. There is also the need for more effective collaboration across various sectors to improve the health and well-being of women in general. Ageing has increasing relationship with poor physical health status and the elderly should be given needed attention and support. © 2018 The Author(s).