Determinants of health facility delivery among young mothers in Ghana; insights from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey.

BACKGROUND: Globally, young women deliver at home, often under unhygienic conditions and without skilled birth attendants. This study identified the determinants of health facility delivery among young mothers in Ghana. METHODS: We analysed secondary data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, which collected data across the former ten administrative regions of Ghana. This study analysed data from the 'women file' by adjusting for the sample weight. STATA/SE version 16 was employed to analyse the data by computing descriptive statistics, Chi-square, and Binary Logistic Regression. RESULTS: Seven in ten young mothers gave birth in a health facility. Young mothers who had secondary school education were over three-fold more likely to deliver in a health facility (AOR = 3.5, 95% CI: 1.33-9.23) compared with young mothers with no formal education. Young mothers who resided in rural areas had lower odds (73%) of delivering in a health facility (AOR = 0.27; 95% CI: 0.14-0.514) compared with those in urban areas. Young mothers within the richest wealth quintile also had higher odds (8 times) of delivering in a health facility (AOR = 8.24; 95% CI: 0.95-71.77) compared with those within the poorest wealth quintile. Young mothers who obtained four to seven antenatal visits (AOR = 0.53; 95% CI: 0.27-1.03) had lower odds of delivering in a health facility compared with those who obtained eight or more antenatal visits. CONCLUSION: The majority of young mothers in Ghana gave birth in a health facility. The likelihood of delivering in a health facility was influenced by socio-demographic factors, economic factors and utilization of antenatal care services. Therefore, interventions aimed at increasing utilization of skilled delivery among young women should focus on promoting girl child education, economic status and antenatal care visits.

Young people's attitudes towards wife-beating: Analysis of the Ghana demographic and health survey 2014.

INTRODUCTION: Intimate Partner Violence is a global public health problem. Attitude towards wife-beating is a major determinant of both intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization. However, little is known about the attitudes of Ghanaian young people towards wife-beating. The objectives of this study were to assess young people's attitudes towards wife-beating, and identify salient factors influencing young people's acceptance of wife-beating. METHODS: Data used in this study were obtained from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. The survey was nationally representative and provides estimates for population and health indicators across the former ten regions of Ghana, including rural and urban areas. Data were analyzed with Stata/SE version 16. RESULTS: We found that 32% of young women and 19% of young men accepted wife-beating. Among young women, acceptance of wife-beating was significantly influenced by younger age, wealth index, low educational status, religion, the region of residence, ethnicity, frequency of reading newspaper and frequency of listening to radio (p < 0.05). Among young men, acceptance of wife-beating was significantly influenced by wealth index, the region of residence and frequency of reading newspaper (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that a substantial proportion of young people in Ghana accept wife-beating. Young women were more likely to accept wife-beating compared to young men. Acceptance of wife-beating was influenced by socio-demographic and behavioral factors. Efforts to end violence against women and girls in Ghana should focus on promoting girl education, economic empowerment of women and public education on laws that prohibit Intimate Partner Violence.