Poverty as a Hindrance to Accessing Quality Healthcare in Ghana: A Theological and Pastoral Reflection

Boaheng, Isaac; Amoako, Clement

dc.contributor.author	Boaheng, Isaac
dc.contributor.author	Amoako, Clement
dc.date.accessioned	2025-02-14T11:15:36Z
dc.date.available	2025-02-14T11:15:36Z
dc.date.issued	2024-09-09
dc.identifier.citation	BIBLIOGRAPHY Adetoyese, John Olu. “Church In Health Service.” The American Journal of Biblical Theology 18, no. 40 (October 1, 2017). Asuamah, Millicent Yeboah. “Widowhood Care and Empowerment in 1 Timothy 1: 3-16: A Case Study of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Christ as a Paradigm for African Instituted Churches .” MTH Theses 2 (2012). Bloom, Gerald, Henry Lucas, and Adebiye Edun. Health and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Vol. 103. Institute of Development Studies, 2000. Boaheng, Isaac. A Contextual Theology of Poverty for Africa. Cumbria: Hippo Books, 2020. Boaheng, Isaac, and Samuel Boahen. “Theological and Ethical Reflections on Care for Widows from an African Christian Perspective.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, April 12, 2022, 102–14. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2022342. Bonnefoy, Xavier. “Inadequate Housing and Health: An Overview.” International Journal of Environment and Pollution 30, no. 3–4 (2007): 411–29. Bouayed, Jaouad, and Torsten Bohn. Nutrition, Well-Being and Health. BoD–Books on Demand, 2012. Dalinjong, Philip Ayizem, Paul Welaga, Daniel K Azongo, Samuel Chatio, Dominic Anaseba, Felix Kondayire, James Akazili, Cornelius Debpuur, and Abraham Rexford Oduro. “A Retrospective Analysis of the Association between Tobacco Smoking and Deaths from Respiratory and Cardiovascular Diseases in the Kassena-Nankana Districts of Northern Ghana.” Tobacco Induced Diseases 13, no. 1 (December 26, 2015): 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12971-015-0037-8. Frimpong, Prince Boakye. “The Quest for Equity in the Provision of Health Care in Ghana.” African Review of Economics and Finance 4, no. 2 (2013): 254–72. Ghana Statistical Service. Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS). Accra: Ghana Statistical Service, 2019. Heaney, Catherine A, Barbara A Israel, Karen Glanz, B K Rimer, and K Viswanath. “Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice.” American Psychological Association. Jossey-Bass, Washington, DC, USA, 2008. Ibrahim, Abdallah, Ernest T. Maya, Ernestina Donkor, Irene A. Agyepong, and Richard M. Adanu. “Perinatal Mortality among Infants Born during Health User-Fees (Cash & Carry) and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Eras in Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Study.” BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 16, no. 1 (December 8, 2016): 385. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-016- 1179-2. Nelson, Thomas. New Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995. Novignon, Jacob, Justice Nonvignon, Richard Mussa, and Levison S Chiwaula. “Health and Vulnerability to Poverty in Ghana: Evidence from the Ghana Living Standards Survey Round 5.” Health Economics Review 2 (2012): 1–9. Nyarko, Godfred Adjei. “Poverty in Ghana: Theological Reflection on the Response of Some Churches in Kumasi Metropolitan Area .” Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, 2012. Boaheng,I. & Amoako,C./ E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Vol.5 No.10 Special Issue (2024) pp.12-24 E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 24 Opoku, John Kwaku, Eric Manu, and Victor Selorme Gedzi. “Church and Poverty Alleviation Through Health Care Delivery in the Kumasi Metropolis.” Developing Country Studies 9, no. 10 (October 2019). https://doi.org/10.7176/DCS/9-10-08. Osei-Wusu Adjei, Prince. “The Impact of Poverty on the Health of Rural Communities in Ghana: A Case Study of the Amansie West District, Ashanti Region.” Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, 2008. Peters, David H, Anu Garg, Gerry Bloom, Damian G Walker, William R Brieger, and M Hafizur Rahman. “Poverty and Access to Health Care in Developing Countries.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1136, no. 1 (2008): 161–71. Scheffler, Eben. “Poverty Eradication and the Bible in Context: A Serious Challenge.” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 39 (2013): 129–53. Simkins, Ronald A. “Care for the Poor and Needy: The Bible’s Contribution to an Economic and Social Safety Net.” Journal of Religion & Society. Supplement 14 (2017): 4–13. Singleton, Jennifer L. “Negotiating Change: An Analysis of the Origins of Ghana’s National Health Insurance Act.” Sociology Honors Projects 4 (2006). Sulemana, Aminu, and Romanus D Dinye. “Access to Healthcare in Rural Communities in Ghana: A Study of Some Selected Communities in the Pru District.” European Journal of Research in Social Sciences 2, no. 4 (2014). Tuchscherer, Rebekah. “A Changing Perspective: A Church’s Role in Healthcare,” October 9, 2019. https://www.sdpb.org/blogs/margins/a-changing-perspective-a-churchs-role-in-healthcare/. United States of America. Department of Health and Human Services. Alcohol Alert 71 . Washington D.C.: US Department of Health and Human Services, 2007. University of Ghana. School of Public Health. . Accra: University of Ghana, 2018. World Health Organization. DAC Guidelines and Reference Series Poverty and Health. OECD Publishing, 2003.	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	Online 2720-7722 \| Print 2821-8949
dc.identifier.uri	http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/30638
dc.description	FACULTY/STAFF PUBLICATION	en_US
dc.description.abstract	ABSTRACT Access to quality healthcare is a key requirement in every modern society. In developed countries, majority of the populace has access to quality and affordable healthcare. However, in developing countries such as Ghana, hospitals with quality infrastructure, healthcare equipment, drugs, and well-trained health practitioners are limited and expensive to access. Given the significant number of people living in extreme poverty in Ghana, it is not surprising that many people experience deterioration in their health and eventually die due to the inability to access and/or afford quality healthcare. In the current situation, where economic hardship keeps increasing in the country, there is a need to engage in a discussion on how healthcare can be made available and affordable to people of all economic classes. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to assess the limitations that poverty places on people in their quest to access healthcare and offer solutions from theological and pastoral perspectives. This paper employed qualitative and historical descriptive research designs to describe the current state of affairs of the impact that poverty has on access to health care in Ghana. The paper used data collected from secondary sources such as books, journal articles and dissertations. After a careful analysis of the subject matter from the Ghanaian and biblical perspectives, the paper made recommendations for the nation (Ghana), the church, and all stakeholders to contribute to the provision of quality, accessible, and affordable healthcare for all irrespective of one’s financial background or economic status. Keywords: Poverty, Hindrance, Quality Health, Ghana	en_US
dc.description.sponsorship	CHRISTIAN SERVICE UNIVERSITY	en_US
dc.language.iso	en	en_US
dc.publisher	CHRISTIAN SERVICE UNIVERSITY	en_US
dc.relation.ispartofseries	Volume 5;Issue 10
dc.subject	Poverty, Hindrance, Quality Health, Ghana	en_US
dc.title	Poverty as a Hindrance to Accessing Quality Healthcare in Ghana: A Theological and Pastoral Reflection	en_US
dc.title.alternative	E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (EHASS)	en_US
dc.type	Article	en_US