The Effects of Loan Amounts on Health Care Utilization in Ghana

Type Working Paper
Title The Effects of Loan Amounts on Health Care Utilization in Ghana
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year)
URL https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/62514.html
Abstract
A range of socioeconomic, demographic, and public health related factors have been found to
influence household health care utilization but the extent to which access to loan amounts play in
the Ghanaian context remains unaddressed in the empirical literature. This study examines the
extent to which loan amounts influence health care utilization using the recent Ghana Living
Standard Survey round six (GLSS, 6) data. The study employed logit and multinomial logit
estimation techniques in achieving this objective. The regression estimates demonstrate that a
one percent increase in the amount of credit accessed from a financial institution is associated
with 0.611 probability that an individual will consult a health practitioner when ill. Compared to
specialists, the odds that a respondent who is either ill or injured would consult a pharmacy for
health care given a one percent increase in amount of credit are about 0.351 times lower. Loan
amounts significantly influence switch between different health care options. Policies aimed at
making credit available to individuals and households can make an important contribution to
health care utilization in Ghana. Moving forward, health programs and interventions should be
embedded in financial services and they need to be tailored to particular socio-economic groups

Related studies

»
»