Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-25wd4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T16:37:46.167Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

UNDERSTANDING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN MATERNAL EDUCATION AND USE OF HEALTH SERVICES IN GHANA: EXPLORING THE ROLE OF HEALTH KNOWLEDGE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2012

EMILY SMITH GREENAWAY ,
JUAN LEON  and
DAVID P. BAKER
EMILY SMITH GREENAWAY
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, USA
JUAN LEON
Affiliation:
Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE), Lima, Peru
DAVID P. BAKER
Affiliation:
Education Policy Studies Department, Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

This paper examines the role of health knowledge in the association between mothers' education and use of maternal and child health services in Ghana. The study uses data from a nationally representative sample of female respondents to the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. Ordered probit regression models evaluate whether women's health knowledge helps to explain use of three specific maternal and child health services: antenatal care, giving birth with the supervision of a trained professional and complete child vaccination. The analyses reveal that mothers' years of formal education are strongly associated with health knowledge; health knowledge helps explain the association between maternal education and use of health services; and, net of a set of stringent demographic and socioeconomic controls, mothers' health knowledge is a key factor associated with use of health services.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 44 , Issue 6 , November 2012 , pp. 733 - 747
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Addai, I. (2000) Determinants of use of maternal–child health services in rural Ghana. Journal of Biosocial Science 32(01), 1–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Agyepong, I. & Manderson, L. (1999) Mosquito avoidance and bed net use in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Journal of Biosocial Science 31(1), 79–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Andrzejewski, C. S., Reed, H. E. & White, M. J. (2009) Does where you live influence what you know? Community effects on health knowledge in Ghana. Health & Place 15(1), 228–238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baker, D. P., Leon, J. & Collins, J. M. (2010) Facts, attitudes, and health reasoning about HIV and AIDS: explaining the education effect on condom use among adults in sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS and Behavior 15(17), 1319–1327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baker, D. P., Leon, J., Smith Greenaway, E. G., Collins, J. & Movit, M. (2011) The education effect on population health: a reassessment. Population and Development Review 37(2), 307–332.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baker, D. P., Salinas, D. & Eslinger, P. J. (2012) An envisioned bridge: schooling as a neurocognitive developmental institution. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 2S, S6–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benefo, K. D. (2004) The mass media and HIV/AIDS prevention in Ghana. Journal of Health & Population in Developing Countries. URL: www.jhpdc.unc.edu (accessed 20th September 2011).Google Scholar
Bhuiya, A. & Mostafa, G. (1993) Levels and differentials in weight, height and body mass index among mothers in a rural area of Bangladesh. Journal of Biosocial Science 25(1), 31–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boerma, J. T., Sommerfelt, A. E. & Rutstein, S. O. (1991) Childhood Morbidity and Treatment Patterns. Institute for Resource Development/Macro International.Google Scholar
Caldwell, J. (1979) Education as a factor in mortality decline an examination of Nigerian data. Population Studies 33(3), 395–413.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cleland, J. G. & Van Ginneken, J. K. (1988) Maternal education and child survival in developing countries: the search for pathways of influence. Social Science & Medicine 27(12), 1357–1368.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
D'Souza, R. (2003) Role of health-seeking behaviour in child mortality in the slums of Karachi, Pakistan. Journal of Biosocial Science 35(1), 131–144.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Defo, B. K. (1997) Effects of socioeconomic disadvantage and women's status on women's health in Cameroon. Social Science & Medicine 44(7), 1023–1042.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fortson, J. G. (2008) The gradient in sub-Saharan Africa: socioeconomic status and HIV/AIDS. Demography 45(2), 303–322.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fosu, G. B. (1981) Disease classification in rural Ghana: framework and implications for health behaviour. Social Science & Medicine 15(4), 471–482.Google ScholarPubMed
Fotso, J. C., Ezeh, A., Madise, N., Ziraba, A. & Ogollah, R. (2009) What does access to maternal care mean among the urban poor? Factors associated with use of appropriate maternal health services in the slum settlements of Nairobi, Kenya. Maternal and Child Health Journal 13(1), 130–137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frenzen, P. D. & Hogan, D. P. (1982) The impact of class, education, and health care on infant mortality in a developing society: the case of rural Thailand. Demography 19(3), 391–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frost, M. B., Forste, R. & Haas, D. W. (2005) Maternal education and child nutritional status in Bolivia: finding the links. Social Science & Medicine 60(2), 395–407.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gakidou, E., Cowling, K., Lozano, R. & Murray, C. J. L. (2010) Increased educational attainment and its effect on child mortality in 175 countries between 1970 and 2009: a systematic analysis. Lancet 376(9745), 959–974.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glewwe, P. (1999) Why does mother's schooling raise child health in developing countries? Evidence from Morocco. Journal of Human Resources 34(1), 124–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gottfredson, L. S. & Deary, I. J. (2004) Intelligence predicts health and longevity, but why? Current Directions in Psychological Science 13(1), 1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobcraft, J. (1993) Women's education, child welfare and child survival: a review of the evidence. Health Transition Review 3(2), 159–175.Google ScholarPubMed
Jejeebhoy, S. J. (1995) Women's Education, Autonomy, and Reproductive Behaviour: Experience from Developing Countries. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, G., Steketee, R. W., Black, R. E., Bhutta, Z. A. & Morris, S. S. (2003) How many child deaths can we prevent this year? Lancet 362(9377), 65–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Katz, K. & Nare, C. (2002) Reproductive health knowledge and use of services among young adults in Dakar, Senegal. Journal of Biosocial Science 34(02), 215–231.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
LeVine, R. A., LeVine, S. E., Rowe, M. L. & Schnell-Anzola, B. (2004) Maternal literacy and health behavior: a Nepalese case study. Social Science & Medicine 58(4), 863–877.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
LeVine, R. A. & Rowe, M. L. (2009) Maternal literacy and child health in less-developed countries: evidence, processes, and limitations. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics 30(4), 340.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindenbaum, S., Chakraborty, M. & Elias, M. (1989) The influence of maternal education on infant and child mortality in Bangladesh. In Caldwell, J. C. & Santow, G. (eds) Selected Readings in the Cultural, Social and Behavioural Determinants of Health. Health Transition Centre, Australian National University, Canberra, pp. 112–131.Google Scholar
Mavalankar, D. V. & Rosenfield, A. (2005) Maternal mortality in resource-poor settings: policy barriers to care. American Journal of Public Health 95(2), 200.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nayga, J. R. M. (2001) Effect of schooling on obesity: is health knowledge a moderating factor? Education Economics 9(2), 129–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nuwaha, F. & Amooti-Kaguna, B. (2004) Predictors of home deliveries in Rakai District, Uganda. African Journal of Reproductive Health 3(2), 79–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Obermeyer, C. M. (1993) Culture, maternal health care, and women's status: a comparison of Morocco and Tunisia. Studies in Family Planning 24(6), 354–365.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Onah, H. E., Ikeako, L. C. & Iloabachie, G. C. (2006) Factors associated with the use of maternity services in Enugu, southeastern Nigeria. Social Science & Medicine 63(7), 1870–1878.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pebley, A. R., Goldman, N. & Rodriguez, G. (1996) Prenatal and delivery care and childhood immunization in guatemala: do family and community matter? Demography 33(2), 231–247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peters, E., Baker, D. P., Dieckmann, N. F., Leon, J. & Collins, J. (2010) Explaining the effect of education on health. Psychological Science 21(10), 1369.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ronsmans, C., Etard, J. F., Walraven, G., Høj, L., Dumont, A., Bernis, L. & Kodio, B. (2003) Maternal mortality and access to obstetric services in West Africa. Tropical Medicine & International Health 8(10), 940–948.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ross, C. E. & Mirowsky, J. (1999) Refining the association between education and health: the effects of quantity, credential, and selectivity. Demography 36(4), 445–460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rowe, M. L., Thapa, B. K., Levine, R., Levine, S. & Tuladhar, S. K. (2005) How does schooling influence maternal health practices? Evidence from Nepal. Comparative Education Review 49(4), 512–533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schultz, L., Steketee, R., Chitsulo, L., Macheso, A., Nyasulu, Y. & Ettling, M. (1994) Malaria and childbearing women in Malawi: knowledge, attitudes and practices. Tropical Medicine and Parasitology: official organ of Deutsche Tropenmedizinische Gesellschaft and of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) 45(1), 65.Google ScholarPubMed
Sharma, S. K., Sawangdee, Y. & Sirirassamee, B. (2007) Access to health: women's status and utilization of maternal health services in Nepal. Journal of Biosocial Science 39(5), 671–692.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stephenson, R., Baschieri, A., Clements, S., Hennink, M. & Madise, N. (2006) Contextual influences on the use of health facilities for childbirth in Africa. American Journal of Public Health 96(1), 84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Streatfield, K., Singarimbun, M. & Diamond, I. (1990) Maternal education and child immunization. Demography 27(3), 447–455.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
United Nations (1994) The Final Programme of Action Agreed to in Cairo. International Institute for Sustainable Development, Cairo.Google Scholar
United Nations (2010) Ghana Millennium Development Report 2010. United Nations.Google Scholar
Von Hippel, P. T. (2007) Regression with missing Ys: an improved strategy for analyzing multiply imputed data. Sociological Methodology 37(1), 83–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wagstaff, A. (2002) Poverty and health sector inequalities. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 80(2), 97–105.Google ScholarPubMed
Ware, H. (1984) Effects of maternal education, women's roles, and child care on child mortality. Population and Development Review 10, 191–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar