Accessing Primary Health Care (PHC) Delivery System in the Dangme West District through GIS

Abstract

Levels of accessibility and utilization of Primary Health Care (PHC) have been assessed using GIS and field research procedures in the Dangme West District (DWD). The broad objective was to identify the patterns and factors which influence accessibility and utilization of health facilities. The targeted sectors of the health delivery system examined are Out Patients Department (OPD) utilization levels, Maternal and Child Health (MCH) and the distribution of health facilities. Nine fully operational health centers and health posts in the district as well as randomly sampled service providers including the District Director of Health Services (DDHS), nurses and opinion leaders were also consulted. This paper presents aspects of the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) procedure, its application and the results of the analysis of accessibility and utilization of PHC within the spheres of influence of sampled PHC and other health facilities. GIS is used to map the spheres of influence of government health facilities using the buffer technique to assess threshold population and characteristics of a number of towns and settlements within the sphere of influence of the PHC facility. The critical factors which influenced accessibility and utilization were socio-demographic (age, gender), distance and institutional factors (quantity, distribution of health centers, and quality of care offered). The major community-wide factor identified was poor road network. Beside granting greater autonomy to the District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) to hire competent staff to ensure quality health delivery, the study recommends effective networking among government agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the health sector in order to improve accessibility and utilization of PHC services in the DWD and nationwide