Bridging the Gap Between Self-Medication and Access to Healthcare in Ghana
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Date
2017-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
This research seeks to recognize the barriers that hinder the access of Ghanaians in the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions from access to Western medical care, and the routes Ghanaians use to cure any ailments. The inaccessibility of licensed medical attention and the unrestricted availability of drugs on the market have prevented people from attending hospitals, leading Ghanaian citizens to purchase Western and indigenous medicine that are available and capable of curing their ailments. The purpose of this study is to reveal the influence that informal education, economic standing, and convenience have on self-medication. To accomplish this, I used the phenomenological method to conduct thirty-six interviews with subjects from different social backgrounds. This is a non-probability sampling technique that ensures that the research is portrayed from the perspective of the research participants. Under this technique, I chose the Accidental or Convenience sampling method to get my target populations, considering it as more appropriate for the research. Alongside the interviews, I reviewed several published journals on self-medication. Results from interviews suggest that self-medication is influenced by informal education and undoubtedly depends on the nation’s economic struggles. The only form of education participants receive about a particular medication, besides consulting an herbalist or a pharmacist, is from media advertisement or friends and family. Because of informal education, economic standing, and convenience, people are more inclined to discuss health issues for free with a pharmacist or herbalist that live in close proximity to them than they would to a medical doctor. It can be concluded that, the only way to encourage regular medical checkups, and limit self-medication, is by government interference through economic investment in the health sector and educating citizens on the dangers of self-medication.
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Keywords
Self-Medication, Healthcare, Access to Healthcare, West Africa, Ghana