Intra-Family Communication and Reproductive Health Decision Making in the Volta Region of Ghana
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Date
2012-10
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University of Ghana
Abstract
At the centre of Ghanaian society is the institution of family. Sustained through a series of kinship, networks and marriages, the family is acknowledged as the bedrock of all social life where critical tasks including nurturing are organised. According to Segrin and Flora (2005), very few, if any, relationships are more important, salient, long lasting, and central to people's well-being than their family relationships. Although these relationships are often de fined by genes and in stitutionalised ceremonies such as marriage, they are built, maintained, and destroyed by communication (or its absence). Therefore. Communication in the family setting is critical, as it is the bedrock of human social relationships. Additionally, a variety of fa mil y-factors at the household and individual level exist that may have direct influence on poverty and health. The principal objective of the study was to identify some of the determinants of reproductive health decision making as well as the determinants of intra- family communication or discuss ion about reproductive health issues. Structured interviews were administered to a sample of 1.080 respondents representing a total of 360 households from six districts in the Volta Region of Ghana, namely Ho, Krachi , Kadjebi , Hohoe, Ketu and Akatsi. Two focus group discussions (with one peri-urban and one rural community) for each district and two Key Informant Interview (KII) per district were also held at the same stud y sites. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (S PSS) version 17 was used to analyse the data. Regression techniques were used to assess the effects of education and income on family discussion at one stage and family discuss ion and reproductive health usage at another stage. Responses and discussions from FGD and KII were transcribed and data analyzed based on the objectives of this study. Results of the analysis indicate that educational level is significantly related to all the elements of reproductive health examined. Income and education were positively correlated with family discuss ions about reproductive health issues such that higher income and higher educational level , were associated with greater likelihood of family discussions, and family discuss ion or intra-family communication was also positively correlated with reproductive health usage. Types of settlement (urban or rural) were only associated with family discussion about maternal health such that urban dwellers were more likely to engage in maternal health discussions than rural dwellers. Results also indicated that mass media. Health workers, friends, and schools were the major sources of information about reproductive health issues. Young people and adults did not differ in their response pattern. This study recommends further research to assess whether comprehensive sexual and reproductive health communication within families facilitates adolescents ' health care utilization. Examination of how intra-family communication quality and content are related to service use is needed to understand adolescents ' sexual and reproductive health knowledge and needs.
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Thesis (PHD.)
Keywords
Reproductive Health, Communication, Decision Making, Ghana