Browsing by Author "Nyarko, Joy Ato"

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    Socio-Economic determinants of child survival in the Gomoa East District of the central region of Ghana.
    (NOVEMBER, 2016 ) Nyarko, Joy Ato
    Among the important issues of health concerns in every nation is the issue of child survival. The survival of children under age five is highly dependent on the general social, environmental and economic atmosphere they find themselves. This study sought to examine National Health Insurance Scheme and some selected socio-economic variables in determining child survival chances. Gomoa East District in the Central Region of Ghana was selected for the study. Mixed methods approach was employed, making use of social survey with 260 mothers and face-to-face interviews with 12 purposively selected mothers. Chi-square statistic and Binary logistic regression models were fitted to the survey data collected whereas thematic analysis was done for the interviews. The study revealed that maternal factors such as age, education, religion and parity were significant predictors of child survival. Main source of drinking water for households, household income and child enrolment on health insurance also significantly predicted child survival. Household income was ascertained as working through proper nutrition and payment of medical bills to influence survival chances of children. Household enrolment on health insurance saved the households income for other expenses which would have otherwise gone into health expenditure. Subscription to National Health Insurance Scheme facilitates the increased frequency of the use of health services which positively affected child survival outcomes. Based on the findings from the study, recommendations such as encouraging girl-child education and intensifying the coverage and depth of National Health Insurance Scheme among others were made.