Article Sidebar

Submitted
April 10, 2025
Accepted
June 29, 2025
Published
June 30, 2025
Download
Download PDF
Statistic
Read Counter : 18

Main Article Content

Abstract

Background: Health-seeking behavior encompasses individuals’ actions when facing health issues and can be influenced by various factors, such as socioeconomic status, cultural beliefs, and healthcare accessibility. Understanding these behaviors is crucial for improving health outcomes and ensuring effective healthcare utilization.


Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to collect data on healthcare-seeking behaviors of young adults in Accra. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 330 participants using both convenience and simple random sampling.


Results: Majority of respondents reported their health status as good. However, despite generally positive self-assessments, 48.5% of respondents reported being ill in the past three months, with about 50% diagnosing themselves. Using binary logistic regression, the study found that higher social status increased the likelihood of reported illness (OR = 2.47, p = 0.001), whereas self-employment significantly reduced illness risk (OR = 0.27, p = 0.008).


Conclusion: Barriers identified with regard to seeking healthcare included lack of education, time constraints, and distance. Raising awareness of the importance of timely healthcare seeking and improving access to healthcare services across communities in Accra may help address these challenges.

Keywords

Healthcare-seeking behavior Healthcare access Barriers to healthcare Young adults

Article Details

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Sydney Stanley Blankson

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Author Biography

Sydney Stanley Blankson, Metropolitan Diagnostics Centre, Ghana

Sydney Stanley Blankson serves as the Centre Manager at Metropolitan Diagnostics Centre and holds a Master of Philosophy degree in Public Health. He has a strong interest in the intersection of environmental and public health, focusing on how environmental factors influence human well-being. His professional experience combines health service management with research interests in environmental health challenges and public health interventions.

 

How to Cite
Blankson, S. S. (2025). Health Seeking Behaviour of Young Adults in Accra, Ghana. Pan-African Journal of Health and Environmental Science, 4(1), 143–159. https://doi.org/10.56893/ajhes2025v04i01.09
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX

References

  1. Abuduxike, G., Aşut, Ö., Vaizoğlu, S. A., & Cali, S. (2020). Health-Seeking Behaviors and its Determinants: A Facility-Based Cross-Sectional Study in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 9(6), 240. https://doi.org/10.15171/ijhpm.2019.106
  2. Abuosi, A. A., & Anaba, E. A. (2019). Barriers on access to and use of adolescent health services in Ghana. Journal of Health Research, 33(3), 197–207. https://doi.org/10.1108/jhr-10-2018-0119
  3. Acquah, A. (2024).“We treat, but God heals”: Healthcare providers perceptions on faith healing in Ghana (Master's thesis, University of Agder). https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3172594
  4. Ahinkorah, B. O., Seidu, A., Hagan, J. E., Budu, E., Mohammed, A., Adu, C., Ameyaw, E. K., Adoboi, F., & Schack, T. (2022). Barriers to healthcare access and healthcare seeking for childhood illnesses among childbearing women in Burundi. PLoS ONE, 17(9), e0274547. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274547
  5. Awuah, R. B., Asante, P. Y., Sakyi, L., Biney, A. A. E., Kushitor, M. K., Agyei, F., & Aikins, A. D. (2018). Factors associated with treatment-seeking for malaria in urban poor communities in Accra, Ghana. Malaria Journal, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-018-2311-8
  6. Blankson, S. S., & Ashie-Nikoi, P. A. (2025). Knowledge, practice, and attitude towards cholera management among university students in Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Journal of Contemporary Studies in Epidemiology and Public Health, 6(1), ep25002. https://doi.org/10.29333/jconseph/15937
  7. Boakye, D. S., & Mavhandu-Mudzusi, A. H. (2019). Nurses knowledge, attitudes and practices towards patients with HIV and AIDS in Kumasi, Ghana. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences,11, 100147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijans.2019.05.001
  8. Bonnie, R. J., Stroud, C., Breiner, H., & Families, B. O. C. Y. A. (2015, January 27). Introduction. Investing in the Health and Well-Being of Young Adults - NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK284791/#
  9. Egbunu, N. D. A., & Yunusa, N. E. (2022). Factors determining the health seeking behaviour of rural dwellers in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria. International Medical Science Research Journal, 2(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.51594/imsrj.v2i1.416
  10. Ghana 2021 Population and Housing Census. General Report. https://census2021.statsghana.gov.gh/
  11. Haileamlak, A. (2018). What factors affect health seeking behavior?. Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences, 28(2), 110-110. https://doi.org/10.4314/ejhs.v28i2.1
  12. Latunji, O., & Akinyemi, O. (2018). Factors influencing health-seeking behaviour among civil servants in Ibadan, Nigeria. PubMed, 16(1), 52–60. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30254559
  13. Malki, N. (2020). Epidemiological studies on socioeconomic inequalities and cardiovascular disease: prevention, progression and prognosis (Doctoral dissertation, Karolinska Institutet (Sweden). https://openarchive.ki.se/xmlui/handle/10616/47008
  14. Mboweni, R. F., & Sumbane, G. O. (2019). Factors contributing to delayed health seeking behaviours among adolescents. Global Journal of Health Science, 11(13), 67. https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v11n13p67
  15. Meagley, K., Schriver, B., Geary, R. S., Fielding-Miller, R., Stein, A. D., Dunkle, K. L., & Norris, S. A. (2016). The gender dimensions of social networks and help-seeking behaviors of young adults in Soweto, South Africa. Global Health Action, 9(1), 31138. https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v9.31138
  16. Musoke, D., Boynton, P., Butler, C., & Musoke, M. (2014). Health seeking behaviour and challenges in utilising health facilities in Wakiso district, Uganda. African Health Sciences, 14(4), 1046. https://doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v14i4.36
  17. Ng’ambi, W., Mangal, T., Phillips, A., Colbourn, T., Mfutso‐Bengo, J., Revill, P., & Hallett, T. B. (2020). Factors associated with healthcare seeking behaviour for children in Malawi: 2016. Tropical Medicine & International Health, 25(12), 1486–1495. https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.13499
  18. Odonkor, S. T., Frimpong, C., Duncan, E., & Odonkor, C. (2019). Trends in patients’ overall satisfaction with healthcare delivery in Accra, Ghana. African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v11i1.1884
  19. Omotoso, K. O., Adesina, J., Adewole, O. G., & Gbadegesin, T. F. (2021). Factors influencing healthcare-seeking behaviour of South African adolescents. Journal of Public Health, 30(10), 2427–2439. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-021-01572-4
  20. Orish, V. N., Maalman, R. S., Donkor, O. Y., Ceruantes, B. Y. H., Osei, E., Amu, H., Appiah, P. K., Konlan, K. D., Mumuni, H., Kim, E., Kim, S., Jung, H., Ofori-Amoah, J., Kofie, P., Adjuik, M., Alhassan, R. K., Donkor, E. S., Zottor, F. B., Kweku, M., . . . Gyapong, J. O. (2021). Assessing health-seeking behaviour and malaria prevention practices among communities in four districts of the Volta Region of Ghana. Malaria Journal, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-021-03986-7
  21. Peprah, P., Abalo, E. M., Agyemang-Duah, W., Budu, H. I., Appiah-Brempong, E., Morgan, A. K., & Akwasi, A. G. (2020). Lessening barriers to healthcare in rural Ghana: providers and users’ perspectives on the role of mHealth technology. A qualitative exploration. BMC medical informatics and decision making, 20, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12911-020-1040-4
  22. Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2008). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
  23. Saah, F. I., Amu, H., Seidu, A., & Bain, L. E. (2021). Health knowledge and care seeking behaviour in resource-limited settings amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study in Ghana. PLoS ONE, 16(5), e0250940. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250940
  24. Uzochukwu, B. S., & Onwujekwe, O. E. (2004). Socio-economic differences and health seeking behaviour for the diagnosis and treatment of malaria: a case study of four local government areas operating the Bamako initiative programme in south-east Nigeria. International Journal for Equity in Health, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-9276-3-6
  25. Walsh, B., & Doorley, K. (2022). Occupations and health (No. 2023/3). Budget Perspectives. https://doi.org/10.26504/BP202303
  26. Wasti, S. P., Randall, J., Simkhada, P., & Van Teijlingen, E. (2011). In what way do Nepalese cultural factors affect adherence to antiretroviral treatment in Nepal. ICUS and Nursing Web Journal, 5(1), 37–47. http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/17106/1/
  27. Yamane, T. (1967). Statistics, An Introductory Analysis (2nd ed.). Harper and Row.