Assessing the contextual effect of community in the utilization of postnatal care services in Ghana.

Background: Inequalities in the use of postnatal care services (PNC) in Ghana have been linked to poor maternal and neonatal health outcomes. This has ignited a genuine concern that PNC interventions with a focus on influencing solely individual-level risk factors do not achieve the desired results. This study aimed to examine the community-level effect on the utilization of postnatal care services.

Socioeconomic inequalities in the use of caesarean section delivery in Ghana: a cross-sectional study using nationally representative data.

Background: Inappropriate use of Caesarean Section (CS) delivery is partly to blame for Ghana's high maternal mortality rate. However, previous research offered mixed findings about factors associated with CS use. The goal of this study is to examine use of CS in Ghana and the socioeconomic factors associated with it.

The social determinants of health facility delivery in Ghana.

Background: Many women still deliver outside a health facility in Ghana, often under unhygienic conditions and without skilled birth attendants. This study aims to examine the social determinants influencing the use of health facility delivery among reproductive-aged women in Ghana.

Methods: Nationally representative data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey was used to fit univariable and multivariable logistic regression models to estimate the influence of the social determinants on health facility delivery.

Provincial health expenditure and cardiovascular disease mortality, a panel data study of Canadian provinces.

Objective: Health expenditures on cardiovascular disease (CVD) account for a large proportion of health care expenditures of all the diseases in Canada, and hence there is a need to examine the responsiveness of CVD outcomes to health expenditures. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between health care expenditures and CVD mortality, as a health care outcome at the provincial level in Canada.

Methods: A 10-year (2000-2009) panel dataset was constructed from multiple data sources for the purposes of this study.

The relationship between sociodemographic factors and reporting having terminated a pregnancy among Ghanaian women: a population-based study.

Background: Pregnancy termination is an illegal medical procedure in Ghana and 88% of induced abortions are performed in unsafe conditions, thus recipients face an elevated risk of abortion-related complications. This study aims to explore the associations between sociodemographic factors and reporting having terminated a pregnancy among Ghanaian women.

Methods: Logistic regression models were estimated using data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (n=9396).