This study uses data from the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) of 1993 to examine factors determining the use of maternal-child health (MCH) services in rural Ghana. The MCH services under study are: (1) use of a doctor for prenatal care; (2) soliciting four or more antenatal check-ups; (3) place of delivery; (4) participation in family planning. Bivariate and multivariate techniques are employed in the analyses. The analyses reveal that the use of MCH services tends to be shaped mostly by level of education, religious background and region of residence, and partially by ethnicity and occupation. The implications of these results are discussed.
PIP: This paper examined the relative importance of selected characteristics on the use of maternal-child health (MCH) services in rural Ghana. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the factors associated with the use of a doctor for prenatal care, soliciting four or more antenatal check-ups, delivery at hospitals for the last birth in the 3 years preceding the 1993 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, and participation in family planning. The analyses demonstrate that the use of MCH services tends to be shaped mostly by the level of education, religious background, and region of residence, and partially by ethnicity and occupation. The findings suggest that improvement of MCH services in Ghana would require the promotion of education for women up to at least secondary/higher level, adoption of intersectoral planning and problem solving, incorporation of safe traditional maternal and child care practices, and imposition of the proposed National Health Insurance Scheme that ensures the availability and acceptability of health services.