Rural-urban disparity and Antenatal Care Utilization in Ghana

Antenatal care has proven to be one of the most effective maternal healthcare interventions, however, most pregnant women in Ghana are not able to get eight or more ANC visit recommended by the World Health Organization. There also exist a disparity in antenatal utilization between rural and urban areas. The disparity in ANC utilization raises the debate as to whether locational policy interventions are required. This study examined rural-urban differences in the determinants of antennal care (ANC) utilization in Ghana. Using the 2014 Ghana Demographic Health Survey (GDHS) data and Poisson estimation technique, the study result showed a disparity in ANC utilization between rural and urban localities. Pregnant women in urban localities were found to do better for eight or more ANC visits than their counterparts in rural localities. The study also found that, the dichotomy in rural-urban in terms of ANC utilization was influenced by insurance ownership, primary education, wealth quintile and frequency of watching television. The study suggests an increased use of health insurance and massive pregnancy education through the media to promote the use of ANC utilization in rural areas while at the same time looking at access to females in attaining formal education. Keywords: determinants, antenatal utilization, poisson regression, rural-urban disparity DOI : 10.7176/JESD/15-7-05 Publication date : September 30th 2024