Some perspectives on the geographies of poverty and health: A Ghanaian context

Jørgensen, Stig

doi:10.1080/00291950802336010

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Distance as a barrier to access and use of health care services is not only confined to physical proximity but also pertains to the ability to overcome the cost of travel in getting to treatment location (Buor, 2003;Rosenberg, 1983;Yantzi & Rosenberg, 2008). Studies on Ghana's biomedical health care system increasingly point to the influence that distance to care facilities and cost of travel exert on the poor and rural dwellers in their access biomedical care (Jørgensen, 2008;Kissah-Korsah, 2008). These studies acknowledge that patients especially the poor and vulnerable prefer to travel shorter distances for care (Aikins & Marks, 2007;Leonard, 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is widely acknowledged that access to biomedical health care remains elusive to many patients, especially the poor and rural dwellers in Ghana and the subregion (Aikins & Marks, 2007;Helmchen & Lo Sasso, 2010;Powell-Jackson, Hanson, Whitty, & Ansah, 2014). Scholars and researchers criticize the structure of biomedical care, and opine its inability to reach the mass is due to social distance, economic and financial constraints, and the uneven distribution of health and medical resources in this part of the world (Haddad, Makin, Pattinson, & Forsyth, 2015;Harris et al, 2011;Jørgensen, 2008;Kissah-Korsah, 2008;Mills et al, 2012). For instance, research in the 1980s and early 1990s observed a drastic fall in the use of biomedical care among Ghanaians due to the introduction of user fees during the structural adjustment era (Anyinam, 1994;Asenso-Okyere et al, 1998;Nyonator & Kutzin, 1999).…”

Section: A Triple-systems Model Approach To Medical/health Pluralism In Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies have explored how these transformations are improving or affecting access to health care, albeit this has not been done as a pluralistic health system perspective. The continued use of a dual health care systems approach to analyze treatment-seeking behaviors of Ghanaians (Jørgensen, 2008;Kissah-Korsah, 2008;Sato, 2012a), as well as a monocare systems approach (either biomedical or indigenous care; Gyasi, Mensah, & Siaw, 2015), shrouds the current reality of the health scape in Ghana.…”

Section: A Triple-systems Model Approach To Medical/health Pluralism In Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Assessment of Care-Seeking Behavior in Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District: A Triple Pluralistic Health Sector Approach

Amegbor

2017

Sage Open

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Discussions and studies on Ghana's pluralistic health care system usually ignore or downplay self-care as a crucial sector in this system of care. In view of this, this study uses a triple sector approach of the pluralistic health care system as advocated by Kleinman to assess care-seeking behaviors of residents in the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District (Ghana). The results of cross-tabulation analysis demonstrate that respondents' general care-seeking behavior is different from the type of care sought for last illness before the study. Data for the study were obtained from 227 urban and rural respondents in the study district in 2013. The findings indicate that factors such as geographic location, health insurance, and perception of the cost of professional care had a bearing on residents' general care-seeking behavior. However, age, sex, relationship status, economic status, and proximity to nearest biomedical care service influenced the type of treatment sought for last illness. The approach use of the study demonstrates that self-care remains a general avenue of care for residents, whereas in times of severe illness, respondents often rely on professional biomedical care. The use of professional indigenous care services is generally low due to the financial burden associated with its use.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Triple-systems Model Approach To Medical/health Pluralism In Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Triple-systems Model Approach To Medical/health Pluralism In Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Assessment of Care-Seeking Behavior in Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District: A Triple Pluralistic Health Sector Approach

Amegbor

2017

Sage Open

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“…Targeting confirmed TB cases and their social and neighborhood networks for increased screening and treatment is probably a viable strategy. Thinking more upstream, it is critical to reduce the vulnerability of people's living conditions (Jorgensen, 2008) so that the environment is less favorable to TB transmission.…”

Section: Slum Health In West Africa: the Example Of Nima-maamobimentioning

confidence: 99%

The global health threat of African urban slums: the example of urban tuberculosis

Oppong

Mayer

Oren

2014

African Geographical Review

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Urban slums in developing countries are experiencing the most rapid population growth of any settlement type globally. Such growth of densely settled slums exerts a profound influence on the epidemiology and geography of communicable disease, transmitted through multiple modes. Specifically, high density, poor sanitation, poorly built housing, and lack of both adequate sewage systems and water supply facilitate pathogen spread. Long-range transmission of infection, partly through migration or travel of infected individuals, makes communicable diseases of urban areas in developing countries health problems of the entire world rather than localized areas. Nonendemic areas are threatened with disease spread. Because a significant proportion of slum growth and disease burden is in sub-Saharan Africa, global well-being demands that we understand and control disease spread in African slums as a major international health priority. This paper outlines the potential threats and implications of African urban slum health using the example of tuberculosis (TB), which is highly prevalent in developing countries. Using the case of Nima, a slum in Accra, Ghana, we argue that successful disease control efforts in developed countries depend critically on effective disease surveillance and control efforts in developing countries, including African urban slums.

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“…This high incidence of disease in poor areas may be because disease vectors multiply faster in 'suitable habitats'; in this case, poor environmental and water conditions, such as stagnant water and uncollected rotten garbage. Also, the clusters of poverty in such areas tend to make inhabitants exhibit risky sexual behaviours in response to multiple deprivations which, in turn, increases their likelihood of contracting the HIV virus (Jørgensen 2008). In any case, it seems malaria could hasten HIV progression (or vice versa), and HIV infection increases the likelihood of other viral infections (Laufer and Plowe 2007).…”

Section: Socio-spatial Inequalities and Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ill health unleashed? Cities and municipal services in Ghana

Obeng‐Odoom

2011

Review of African Political Economy

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Increasing urbanisation, wealth and ill health in cities necessitate careful study, especially in African cities whose development is widely regarded as rapid and chaotic. Using Ghanaian cities as a case study, this article analyses some of the important sources of ill health, identifies why they persist, and assesses how they impinge on economic growth, redistribution, and poverty reduction. It argues that, although there is considerable evidence that policy change is urgently needed, the tensions and contradictions between economic and social efficiency, intermeshed with vested political interests, are likely to impede significant changes to the status quo.

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Some perspectives on the geographies of poverty and health: A Ghanaian context

Cited by 4 publications

References 27 publications

An Assessment of Care-Seeking Behavior in Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District: A Triple Pluralistic Health Sector Approach

An Assessment of Care-Seeking Behavior in Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District: A Triple Pluralistic Health Sector Approach

The global health threat of African urban slums: the example of urban tuberculosis

Ill health unleashed? Cities and municipal services in Ghana

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