ENHANCING MATERNAL HEALTH EDUCATION: PERCEPTIONS FROM THE WA MUNICIPALITY OF GHANA

Abstract

Interactions between physicians and patients from different cultural backgrounds in health education, care and information delivery is becoming a difficult task. As a result, physicians attempt to improve health care and information delivery through health education to give equal access of health information to the general public. But these conflicting encounters appear to go beyond socioeconomic barriers to create unequal access to health information to improve maternal health. Most clinicians lack information to understand how culture influences clinical encounter and the approaches to integrate health education strategies to improve maternal health care and information delivery. The study examines how health education strategies can be translated into practical programmes in the Wa Municipality. The study employed qualitative and quantitative methods. Emphasis was also laid on how cultural values could be incorporated into the existing strategies to enhance maternal health education. Findings of the study indicated drama, interpersonal discussions, "gong-gong", festivals and durbar as perceived approaches to translate maternal health education into practical programmes. The study recommends that, government and Ministry of Health should encourage stakeholders' involvement in the management of maternal health education activities in the Wa Municipality to improve maternal health care and information delivery.