Nurses’ and midwives’ perspectives on participation in national policy development, review and reforms in Ghana: a qualitative study
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BMC Nursing
Abstract
Background: The World Health Organization has admonished member countries to strive towards achieving
universal health coverage (UHC) through actionable health policies and strategies. Nurses and midwives have
instrumental roles in achieving UHC via health policy development and implementation. However, there is a
paucity of empirical data on nurses and midwives’ participation in policy development in Ghana. The current study
explored nurses and midwives’ participation in policy development, reviews and reforms in Ghana.
Methods: A qualitative descriptive exploratory design was adopted for this study. One-on-one individual interviews
were conducted after 30 participants were purposefully selected. Data was audiotaped with permission, transcribed
and analyzed inductively using the content analysis procedures.
Results: Two main themes emerged from the data: participation in policy development and perspectives on policy
reviews and reforms. The findings showed that during health policy development and reviews, nurses in Ghana
were overlooked and unacknowledged. Policy reforms regarding bridging the pre-service preparation gap, staff
development and motivation mechanisms and influence on admission into nursing schools were raised.
Conclusion: The authors concluded that nurses and midwives are crucial members of the healthcare systems and
their inputs in policy development and reviews would improve health delivery in Ghana.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Ghana, Health policy, Policy development, Policy review, Nurses, Midwives’, Africa