Transportation barriers to formal healthcare utilisation and associated factors among poor older people under a social protection programme in Ghana

• Published in: Journal of transport & health 2020-12, Vol.19, p.100965, Article 100965
• Main Authors: Oduro Appiah, Joseph, Agyemang-Duah, Williams, Peprah, Charles, Adei, Dina, Peprah, Prince, Fordjour, Audrey Amponsah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Gender-based development programme; Healthcare utilisation; Means of transportation; Poor older people; Social protection programme
• ISSN: 2214-1405; 2214-1413
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jth.2020.100965

Social protection programmes such as the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme are meant to improve access to services including formal healthcare and enhance quality of life of beneficiaries. However, beneficiaries are still faced with various barriers to services such as formal healthcare. In this study, with the aid of socio-economic and demographic factors, we predict the likelihood of transportation barriers to formal healthcare utilisation among poor older people under the LEAP programme in Ghana. The study finds that females are significantly more likely to encounter transportation barriers to formal healthcare utilisation compared with their male counterparts (AOR = 2.22; C1 = 0.869–5.673; P = 0.006). Also, we find that respondents aged 85 years or above are significantly more likely to encounter transportation barriers to formal healthcare utilisation than the other age groups (AOR = 1.66; C1 = 0.860–3.710; P = 0.003). Furthermore, we reveal that participants who receive a monthly income of GHS 201 or more are significantly less likely to encounter transportation barriers to formal healthcare utilisation (AOR = 0.784; CI = 0.313–1.962; P = 0.003). The results suggest that gender-based development programmes (education and skills training) at the early stages of life would be needed to ensure economic empowerment, adequate preparation towards old age, and reduce transportation barriers to formal healthcare utilisation among poor older people especially the females. Based on the findings, we conclude that a genuine commitment on the part of social programme implementers to improve cash transfer amounts and ensure regular transfers is likely to lessen transportation barriers among the poor older people in formal healthcare utilisation. •We present models to predict transportation barriers to healthcare utilisation among poor older people under a social protection programme, the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty.•Females are significantly more likely to experience transportation barriers as compared to their male counterparts.•People with high incomes are significantly less likely to experience transportation barriers to healthcare utilisation as compared to people with low incomes.•We suggest that there should be gender-based development policies to improve the quality of lives of poor older people, especially females, at all stages in life to prepare them well for old age.