Factors Influencing Access to Healthcare among Aged in Keta Municipality

Abstract

Background: Significant increase in aged population in society has come with deteriorating health issues negating the effects of major inputs the aged make to nation development Objectives: This study assessed factors influencing access to healthcare among the aged in the Keta Municipality. Methods: A community-based cross -sectional study carried out among the aged. The Andersen's Healthcare Utilization Model was adapted for the study. A cluster and systematic random sampling approaches were applied. 422 aged were sampled using structured questionnaires for data collection and STATA version 15.0 was used for data analysis. Basic frequencies, percentages, bivariate, logistic regression and multiple regression were done to determine the factors that were associated with the outcome variable (access to health care) among the aged in the Keta Municipality. Results: A total of 401 questionnaires were returned giving a response rate of 95% (4011422). Proportion of 68.8% of aged had access to healthcare. Factors that were significantly associated with the outcome variable are predisposing factors(educational level. exposure to violence or injury, type of residency, availability of funds for healthcare and years of residence in the locality), enabling factors (accompanied to seek healthcare, waiting time satisfaction level, attitude of health staff distance travelled to seek healthcare, time travelled to seek healthcare and mode of transport used) and need factors (current health status, knowledge of healthcare problems, avail ability or special arrangements for care and mode or discovering ones' chronic disease). In conclusion, access to healthcare among the aged in Keta Municipality is a little above average and is statistically associated with a number of dependent variables.