Access and payment of inpatient healthcare among the aged in Ghana: evidence from the WHO multi-country study

Reuben T. Larbi, University of Ghana
Doris Ottie-Boakye, University of Ghana
Margaret Appiah, Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS) and Carolina Population Centre

While the proportion of older people increases, family systems that provided care is waning; leaving a gap in healthcare. Studies on healthcare for the elderly have focused on general access and utilization, but not inpatient care and payment. From WHO’s Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health, we examined access and payment of inpatient services among the elderly in Ghana using logistic regression models. We found that transportation constituted the highest proportion of healthcare cost. Higher proportion of the aged are in the lower wealth quintiles (WQ). Christians and Muslims are more likely to use insurance than other religions. The elderly in poorer WQ are more likely to use non-insurance than the least poor. Finally, people in marital union access non-public healthcare; the poorest are less likely than the least poor to access non-public healthcare. We recommend that policies should aim at making public healthcare centers accessible to the aged.