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. 2024 Aug 15:48:179.
doi: 10.11604/pamj.2024.48.179.40814. eCollection 2024.

Understanding adolescent health care services in Ghana: a scoping review

Sheila Agyeiwaa Owusu  1   2   3 , Allysa Warling  4 , Joshua Arthur  5 , Charles Martyn-Dickens  2 , Anthony Enimil  2 , Ransford Bio  5 , Angela Osei-Bonsu  2 , Leah Ratner  4   6
Affiliations

Understanding adolescent health care services in Ghana: a scoping review

Sheila Agyeiwaa Owusu et al. Pan Afr Med J. .

Abstract

Over the last several decades, successful interventions in the health of newborns, infants, and children mean more children survive to become adolescents. There has been a global demand to improve health and care delivery for the adolescent population, guided by the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. However, with this deadline fast approaching and with a rising adolescent population, this demand is ever more critical. Adolescent health requires a similar rights-based approach to ensure equitable distribution of healthcare interventions and service delivery going forward. This scoping review aims to explore the existing landscape of adolescent-responsive healthcare and service delivery in Ghana. It was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidelines and reported according to the PRISMA-Scr standards. We searched the PubMed database from inception through May 2022 using the following search criteria: "Ghana" + "Adolescent" + "Health". A total of 3172 studies were identified based on the search strategy outlined above, out of which 248 met the inclusion criteria. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted on all 248 studies to help synthesize findings. Overall, this review found that adolescent health care receives significant attention in Ghana, majority of which is focused on sexual and reproductive health (SRH). The studies available were a plethora of cross-sectional methods with large sample sizes, but their limited numbers of longitudinal studies and randomized control trials (RCTs) that could yield more robust evidence. This review is a call to action for a more comprehensive range of youth-driven, youth-responsive studies, interventions, and health programs that represent the whole range of challenges that confront adolescents in Ghana. This increased attention to adolescent needs will support a healthy cohort as they age into adulthood.

Keywords: Ghana; adolescent care services; adolescent health; adolescent healthcare; developing countries; health policy; health services; scoping review; sexual and reproductive health; young adult.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
flowchart of study extraction, screening, and final inclusion
Figure 2
Figure 2
breakdown of areas studies addressed
Figure 3
Figure 3
relative frequency of the top ten most common qualitative themes
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kyilleh JM, Tabong PTN, Konlaan BB. Adolescents´ reproductive health knowledge, choices and factors affecting reproductive health choices: a qualitative study in the West Gonja District in Northern region, Ghana. BMC Int Health Hum Rights. 2018 Jan 24;18(1):6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization Adolescent and young adult health. Accessed on Jun 20 2023.
    1. Oliveira WA de, Silva JL da, Andrade ALM, Micheli DD, Carlos DM, Silva MAI. Adolescents´ health in times of COVID-19: a scoping review. Cad Saude Publica. 2020;36(8):e00150020. - PubMed
    1. United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund Situation Analysis - Adolescent Girls in Ghana. Accessed on Jun 20 2023.
    1. World Health Organization First WHO report highlights efforts to improving health and well-being of adolescents worldwide. Accessed on Jun 20 2023.

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