"From experts to locals hands" healthcare service planning in sub-Saharan Africa: an insight from the integrated community case management of Ghana.

Background: Although community participation remains an essential component globally in healthcare service planning, evidence of how rural communities participate in the planning of rural-based healthcare programs has less been explored in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: We explored communities' participation in health care planning in hard-to-reach communities, within the context of Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM), a community-based health program implemented in Ghana.

Methods: Qualitative data were collected from eleven (11) hard-to-reach communities through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) as well as district-level studies (Nadowli-Kaleo, and WA East districts of Ghana).