Health needs of migrant female head porters in Ghana: evidence from the Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi Metropolitan areas

International Journal for Equity in Health

Research

Williams Agyemang-Duah¹  Dina Adei²  Ronald Adamtey²  Anthony Acquah Mensah²  Rhanda Kyerewaa Opuni² 

[1] Department of Geography and Planning, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada;Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;

关键词: Migrant female head porters;    Health needs;    Mental health;    Sexual health;    Ante-natal care;    Post-natal care;    Health policy;    Ghana;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12939-023-01947-x

 received in 2022-10-03, accepted in 2023-06-29,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIn low-and middle-income countries, migrants are confronted with health needs which affect the promotion of their well-being and healthy lives. However, not much is known about the health needs of migrant female head porters (Kayayei) in Ghana. This study assesses the health needs of migrant female head porters in the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) and Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA).MethodsThe study adopted a convergent mixed methods design where both qualitative and quantitative data were used. A representative sample size of 470 migrant female head porters was used for the study.ResultsThe study revealed that ante-natal care, post-natal care, treatment of malaria, treatment of diarrhoea diseases, mental health, sexual health, and cervical cancer were health needs of migrant female head porters. The findings showed that participants from the GAMA significantly have greater cervical cancer needs (71.6% vrs 67.1%, p = 0.001) compared to those from the GKMA. Kayeyei from the GKMA significantly have greater mental health needs than those from the GAMA (84.6% vrs 79.2%, p = 0.031). Also, Kayeyei from the GKMA significantly have higher attendance of post-natal care compared to those from the GAMA (99.4% vrs 96.2%, p = 0.013).ConclusionThe findings underscore differential health needs across geographical localities. Based on the findings of the study, specific health needs such as ante-natal care and post-natal care should be included in any health programmes and policies that aim at addressing health needs of migrant female head porters in the two metropolitan areas of Ghana.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023