Challenges Confronting Rural Dwellers in Accessing Health Information in Ghana: Shai Osudoku District in Perspective

The focus of the study was to investigate health information seeking behavior as well as the barriers to health information seeking among rural dwellers in Ghana using Shai Osudoku District as a case study. The convenient and purposive sampling technique was used to sample 210 community members within Shai Osudoku District. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0 was employed to process the quantitative data. The data was processed into statistical tables and charts for interpretation and discussion. The outcome of the study revealed that the most common sources of health information seeking among rural community members in the district of investigation are posters, health care providers and families/friends, with radio being the most used platform. It was also revealed that those respondents with higher level of education are more likely to use the Internet and television in accessing health information (p = 0.001 and 0.000 respectively). Similarly, respondents with primary education or informal education were more likely to contact family members for health information (p = 0.001) The outcome of the study also shows that many rural communities in Ghana, particularly rural dwellers of Shai Osudoku District, face numerous challenges in accessing health information. Notable among them are language barrier, location of the villages and inaccessibility to emerging technologies such as mobile phones and television sets. We conclude that, policies for improving health information access and reducing barriers to health information seeking in rural communities should be designed and implemented by Ghana health service. Also, education on how to access health-related information with easily accessible sources either free or at low-priced could be a way to help people in rural settings in Ghana with limited health information.