Abstract:
Sickle Cell Disease is a chronic disease of public health concern that accounts
for significant mortalities and hospitalisation worldwide. Sickle cell disease
(SCD) is marked by both immediate and long-term complications, frequently
necessitating the utilization of healthcare services.There is a paucity of research
on the determinants of care utilization. Therefore, the determinants of healthcare
service use among people living with SCD should be identified and addressed.
This study aimed to assess the utilization of healthcare services and its
determinants among SCD patients in the Upper West Region. The study adopted
the quantitative approach using a cross-sectional survey design involving a
sample size of 248. SPSS version 22.0 software was used to analyse the data.
Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The findings showed that
92% of the respondents had used healthcare services within the last 12 months.
Specifically, SCD patients had utilised OPD services 62%, Emergency services
57.7% and Inpatient services 39.5% three or more times within the last
12months. It was also observed that 58% of the 248 respondents had poor
accessibility to healthcare facilities providing SCD-specific care, with an
overall mean of accessibility of 13.5. The major factors that were found to have
influenced healthcare utilisation were age (p<0.001) and closeness to the
healthcare facility (p <0.005). Healthcare service utilization was predicted by
being aged 40+ years (AOR=12.6, 95%CI=1.40-113.81, p=0.024), and nearness
to health facility (AOR=0.03, 95%CI=0.00-0.98, p=0.026). Efforts such as
investment into healthcare infrastructure, incorporating SCD-specific care in all
health facilities, and training specialists should be increased to improve
accessibility, service availability, utilization, and quality of service.
