Abstract summary 

The COVID-19 pandemic had socioeconomic effects in Africa. This study assessed the social and economic determinants of healthcare utilization during the first wave of COVID-19 among adults in Ghana.Information about individuals residing in Ghana was derived from a survey conducted across multiple countries, aiming to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and overall well-being of adults aged 18 and above. The dependent variable for the study was healthcare utilization (categorized as low or high). The independent variables were economic (such as financial loss, job loss, diminished wages, investment/retirement setbacks, and non-refunded travel cancellations) and social (including food scarcity, loss of financial support sources, housing instability, challenges affording food, clothing, shelter, electricity, utilities, and increased caregiving responsibilities for partners) determinants of health. A multinomial logistic regression was conducted to identify factors associated with healthcare utilization after adjusting for confounders (age, gender, access to medical insurance, COVID-19 status, educational background, employment, and marital status of the participants).The analysis included 364 responses. Individuals who encountered a loss of financial support (AOR: 9.58; 95% CI: 3.44-26.73; p < 0.001), a decrease or loss of wages (AOR: 7.44, 95% CI: 3.05-18.16, p < 0.001), experienced investment or retirement setbacks (AOR: 10.69, 95% CI: 2.60-43.88, p = 0.001), and expressed concerns about potential food shortages (AOR: 6.85, 95% CI: 2.49-18.84, p < 0.001) exhibited significantly higher odds of low healthcare utilization during the initial phase of the pandemic. Contrastingly, participants facing challenges in paying for basic needs demonstrated lower odds of low healthcare utilization compared to those who found it easy to cover basic expenses (AOR: 0.19, 95% CI: 0.06-0.67, p = 0.001).Economic and social factors were associated with low healthcare utilization in Ghana during the first wave of the pandemic. Investment or retirement loss and financial support loss during the pandemic had the largest effect on healthcare utilization. Further research is needed to understand the connection between concerns about food shortages, welfare losses during pandemics and healthcare utilization during pandemics in Ghana.

Authors & Co-authors:  Ayanore Martin Amogre MA Adjuik Martin M Zuñiga Roberto Ariel Abeldaño RAA Amuna Paul P Ezechi Oliver O Brown Brandon B Uzochukwu Benjamin B Aly Nourhan M NM Quadri Mir Faeq Ali MFA Popoola Bamidele Olubukola BO Ishabiyi Anthonia Omotola AO Ellakany Passent P Yousaf Muhammad Abrar MA Virtanen Jorma I JI Lawal Folake Barakat FB Ara Eshrat E Khan Abeedha Tu-Allah AT Gaffar Balgis B El Tantawi Maha M Nguyen Annie L AL Foláyan Moréniké Oluwátóyìn MO

Study Outcome 

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