Factors influencing the utilisation of University of Cape Coast hospital by the undergraduate students

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to find out which factors influence the utilisation of health care services provided at the University of Cape Coast hospital. Three research questions were posed to guide the study. The descriptive quantitative survey was used to conduct the study at University of Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana among levels 200-400 both resident and non-resident students. Out of the 11,698 students, 300 (107 males and 186 females with an average age of 23 years) were conveniently sampled for the study. Self-developed questionnaire items were used to elicit data from the respondents. Data collected from the respondents were subjected to both descriptive (frequencies and percentages) and inferential (Pearson’s product moment correlation) statistical analysis. The study revealed that knowledge about availability of health care services (68%) was related to utilisation (79%) of U.C.C. hospital. Majority of the undergraduate students had access to healthcare services (97%) at the U.C.C. hospital in terms of location, demand and cost. Also, perceived quality of services at the hospital (83.2%) influenced utilisation of the services at the hospital. It was recommended that the university administration should intensify the dissemination of information to make the students aware and more knowledgeable of healthcare services of the hospital. The university administration must deepen the priorities given to students on accessibility of the university hospital’s services to maximise utilisation of the services.