Geographical Accessibility to District Hospitals/Medical Laboratories for Comprehensive Antenatal Point-of-Care Diagnostic Services in the Upper East Region, Ghana.
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ABSTRACT: Background:Access to referral healthcare facilities from primary healthcare (PHC) clinics for diagnostic services is critical for improving maternal health outcomes. We described the geographical distribution and accessibility to district hospitals/medical laboratories for comprehensive antenatal point-of-care (POC) diagnostic services in the Upper East region (UER), Ghana. Methods:We assembled detailed spatial data on 100 participated PHC clinics in our previous survey, their nearest referral district hospitals/medical laboratories, and landscape features influencing journeys in the UER. These were used in a geospatial model to estimate actual distance and travel time from a PHC facility to the nearest referral health facility for antenatal POC diagnostic services. Spatial distribution of the facilities was determined using spatial auto-correlation tool run in ArcMap 10.4.1. We employed Stata V14 for all other analysis. Findings:Of the 100 PHC clinics included in the analysis, only 15% were located less than 10?km to their nearest referral health facilities. The mean distance?±?standard deviation from a PHC clinic to the nearest referral district hospital/medical laboratory for comprehensive antenatal POC diagnostic services was 7.0?km?±?4.9. Whilst the mean travel time using a motorized tricycle speed of 20?km/h to the nearest referral health facility for comprehensive antenatal POC diagnostic was 14.0?min?±?8.8. The spatial auto-correlation results for the PHC clinics suggested that the PHC clinics were spatially distributed at random rather than clustered (MI?=?0.01, z-score?=?0.33, p?=?0.74). Whereas the spatial distribution of the referral health facilities suggested that the hospitals or medical laboratories were spatially dispersed (MI?=?- 0.69 z-score?=?- 2.05, p?=?0.04). Interpretation:Although there is moderate geographical accessibility to district hospitals/medical laboratories for comprehensive antenatal diagnostic services in the UER, targeted improvement of POC diagnostic services in PHC clinics is recommended for improved maternal healthcare. Funding:University of KwaZulu-Natal, College of Health Sciences Research Scholarship.
SUBMITTER: Kuupiel D
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6734000 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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