Social factors influencing child health in Ghana

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorQuansah, E.
dc.contributor.authorOhene, L.A.
dc.contributor.authorNorman, L.
dc.contributor.authorMireku, M.O.
dc.contributor.authorKarikari, T.K.
dc.date.accessioned2017-10-26T08:14:52Z
dc.date.available2017-10-26T08:14:52Z
dc.date.issued2016
dc.description.abstractObjectives. Social factors have profound effects on health. Children are especially vulnerable to social influences, particularly in their early years. Adverse social exposures in childhood can lead to chronic disorders later in life. Here, we sought to identify and evaluate the impact of social factors on child health in Ghana. As Ghana is unlikely to achieve the Millennium Development Goals' target of reducing child mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015, we deemed it necessary to identify social determinants that might have contributed to the nonrealisation of this goal. Methods. ScienceDirect, PubMed, MEDLINE via EBSCO and Google Scholar were searched for published articles reporting on the influence of social factors on child health in Ghana. After screening the 98 articles identified, 34 of them that met our inclusion criteria were selected for qualitative review. Results. Major social factors influencing child health in the country include maternal education, ruralurban disparities (place of residence), family income (wealth/poverty) and high dependency (multiparousity). These factors are associated with child mortality, nutritional status of children, completion of immunisation programmes, health-seeking behaviour and hygiene practices. Conclusions. Several social factors influence child health outcomes in Ghana. Developing more effective responses to these social determinants would require sustainable efforts from all stakeholders including the Government, healthcare providers and families. We recommend the development of interventions that would support families through direct social support initiatives aimed at alleviating poverty and inequality, and indirect approaches targeted at eliminating the dependence of poor health outcomes on social factors. Importantly, the expansion of quality free education interventions to improve would-be-mother's health knowledge is emphasised.en_US
dc.identifier.other10.1371/journal.pone.0145401
dc.identifier.urihttp://ugspace.ug.edu.gh/handle/123456789/22208
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_US
dc.titleSocial factors influencing child health in Ghanaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

Files

License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Department of Community Health