Digital access, media exposure, and maternal health service utilization among women in Ghana
Abstract
Maternal health service utilization remains a critical strategy for reducing maternal and neonatal mortality, yet gaps persist across antenatal care (ANC), skilled birth attendance (SBA), and postnatal care (PNC) in Ghana, particularly among rural women. While mass media and digital access have been linked to improved utilization of maternal health services in Sub-Saharan Africa, evidence specific to Ghana remains limited. This study assessed the association between media exposure (radio, television, newspaper) and digital access (phone ownership, internet use) with four maternal health service utilization outcomes: ANC use (4+ visits), adequate ANC (8+ visits), SBA, and PNC among women in Ghana, stratified by place of residence. We analyzed data from 4,982 women in the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey using multilevel logistic regression, adjusting for sociodemographic and healthcare-access covariates. Utilization was high for ANC4+ (88.5%), SBA (86.7%), and PNC (86.3%), but substantially lower for ANC8+ (38.7%), with rural women underperforming urban women across all outcomes. After adjustment, mobile phone ownership emerged as the most consistent correlate of service utilization. Basic phone ownership was associated with higher odds of ANC use, SBA, and PNC, while smartphone ownership was associated with higher odds of ANC use and SBA. Weekly radio listening was associated with higher odds of adequate ANC in the total sample, but no other media exposure variable or regular internet use was independently associated with any outcome. These findings suggest that mobile phone ownership is more consistently associated with maternal healthcare use in Ghana than traditional mass media exposure or internet use. Health policy and implementation research is therefore needed to examine how mobile phone-based approaches, differentiated by phone type and tailored to urban and rural contexts, may support efforts to reduce persistent disparities in maternal health service utilization in Ghana.
Related
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- Digital access and maternal healthcare inequalities in Pakistan, 2024-2025: a population-based cross-sectional study.
- Interpersonal Trauma, Marginalization, and Low-Resource Settings: Understanding Sexual and Gender Minority People’s Help-Seeking and Service Utilization Experiences
- Telemedicine and Cardiac Service Utilization After the COVID-19 Pandemic
BibTeX
@misc{adu2026digital,
title = {{Digital access, media exposure, and maternal health service utilization among women in Ghana}},
author = {S. B. Adu and N. A. A. O. Ahenkan and K. A. Gyamera and J. A. Basil and S. O. Ansong and Y. O. Ansong snr},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.15.26363143},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.15.26363143v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Digital access, media exposure, and maternal health service utilization among women in Ghana
AU - S. B. Adu
AU - N. A. A. O. Ahenkan
AU - K. A. Gyamera
AU - J. A. Basil
AU - S. O. Ansong
AU - Y. O. Ansong snr
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.15.26363143
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.15.26363143v1
AB - Maternal health service utilization remains a critical strategy for reducing maternal and neonatal mortality, yet gaps persist across antenatal care (ANC), skilled birth attendance (SBA), and postnatal care (PNC) in Ghana, particularly among rural women. While mass media and digital access have been linked to improved utilization of maternal health services in Sub-Saharan Africa, evidence specific to Ghana remains limited. This study assessed the association between media exposure (radio, television, newspaper) and digital access (phone ownership, internet use) with four maternal health service utilization outcomes: ANC use (4+ visits), adequate ANC (8+ visits), SBA, and PNC among women in Ghana, stratified by place of residence. We analyzed data from 4,982 women in the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey using multilevel logistic regression, adjusting for sociodemographic and healthcare-access covariates. Utilization was high for ANC4+ (88.5%), SBA (86.7%), and PNC (86.3%), but substantially lower for ANC8+ (38.7%), with rural women underperforming urban women across all outcomes. After adjustment, mobile phone ownership emerged as the most consistent correlate of service utilization. Basic phone ownership was associated with higher odds of ANC use, SBA, and PNC, while smartphone ownership was associated with higher odds of ANC use and SBA. Weekly radio listening was associated with higher odds of adequate ANC in the total sample, but no other media exposure variable or regular internet use was independently associated with any outcome. These findings suggest that mobile phone ownership is more consistently associated with maternal healthcare use in Ghana than traditional mass media exposure or internet use. Health policy and implementation research is therefore needed to examine how mobile phone-based approaches, differentiated by phone type and tailored to urban and rural contexts, may support efforts to reduce persistent disparities in maternal health service utilization in Ghana.
ER -