Health insurance determines antenatal, delivery and postnatal care utilisation: evidence from the Ghana Demographic and Health Surveillance data

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the effect of maternal health insurance status on the utilisation of antenatal, skilled delivery and postnatal care. DESIGN: A population-based cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: We utilised the 2008 Demographic and Health Survey data of Ghana, which included 2987 women who provided information on maternal health insurance status. PRIMARY OUTCOMES: Utilisation of antenatal, skilled delivery and postnatal care. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Multivariable logistic regression was applied to determine the independent association between maternal health insurance and utilisation of antenatal, skilled delivery and postnatal care. RESULTS: After adjusting for socioeconomic, demographic and obstetric factors, we observed that among insured women the likelihood of having antenatal care increased by 96% (OR 1.96; 95% CI 1.52 to 2.52; p value<0.001) and of skilled delivery by 129% (OR 2.29; 95% CI 1.92 to 2.74; p value<0.001), while postnatal care among insured women increased by 61% (OR 1.61; 95% CI 1.17 to 2.21; p value<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that maternal health insurance status plays a significant role in the uptake of the maternal, neonatal and child health continuum of care service.