Cost of implementing a community-based primary health care strengthening program: The case of the Ghana Essential Health Interventions Program in northern Ghana.
BACKGROUND:The absence of implementation cost data constrains deliberations on consigning resources to community-based health programs. This paper analyses the cost of implementing strategies for accelerating the expansion of a community-based primary health care program in northern Ghana. Known as...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2019-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211956 |
| _version_ | 1818833245328900096 |
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| author | Edmund Wedam Kanmiki James Akazili Ayaga A Bawah James F Phillips John Koku Awoonor-Williams Patrick O Asuming Abraham R Oduro Moses Aikins |
| author_facet | Edmund Wedam Kanmiki James Akazili Ayaga A Bawah James F Phillips John Koku Awoonor-Williams Patrick O Asuming Abraham R Oduro Moses Aikins |
| author_sort | Edmund Wedam Kanmiki |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BACKGROUND:The absence of implementation cost data constrains deliberations on consigning resources to community-based health programs. This paper analyses the cost of implementing strategies for accelerating the expansion of a community-based primary health care program in northern Ghana. Known as the Ghana Essential Health Intervention Program (GEHIP), the project was an embedded implementation science program implemented to provide practical guidance for accelerating the expansion of community-based primary health care and introducing improvements in the range of services community workers can provide. METHODS:Cost data were systematically collected from intervention and non-intervention districts throughout the implementation period (2012-2014) from a provider perspective. The step-down allocation approach to costing was used while WHO health system blocks were adopted as cost centers. We computed cost without annualizing capital cost to represent financial cost and cost with annualizing capital cost to represent economic cost. RESULTS:The per capita financial cost and economic cost of implementing GEHIP over a three-year period was $1.79, and $1.07 respectively. GEHIP comprised only 3.1% of total primary health care cost. Health service delivery comprised the largest component of cost (37.6%), human resources was 28.6%, medicines was 13.6%, leadership/governance was 12.8%, while health information comprised 7.5% of the economic cost of implementing GEHIP. CONCLUSION:The per capita cost of implementing the GEHIP program was low. GEHIP project investments had a catalytic effect that improved community-based health planning and services (CHPS) coverage and enhanced the efficient use of routine health system resources rather than expanding overall primary health care costs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T02:15:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-10e86fe98715467ca68b8add448758d8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T02:15:51Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-10e86fe98715467ca68b8add448758d82022-12-21T20:40:24ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032019-01-01142e021195610.1371/journal.pone.0211956Cost of implementing a community-based primary health care strengthening program: The case of the Ghana Essential Health Interventions Program in northern Ghana.Edmund Wedam KanmikiJames AkaziliAyaga A BawahJames F PhillipsJohn Koku Awoonor-WilliamsPatrick O AsumingAbraham R OduroMoses AikinsBACKGROUND:The absence of implementation cost data constrains deliberations on consigning resources to community-based health programs. This paper analyses the cost of implementing strategies for accelerating the expansion of a community-based primary health care program in northern Ghana. Known as the Ghana Essential Health Intervention Program (GEHIP), the project was an embedded implementation science program implemented to provide practical guidance for accelerating the expansion of community-based primary health care and introducing improvements in the range of services community workers can provide. METHODS:Cost data were systematically collected from intervention and non-intervention districts throughout the implementation period (2012-2014) from a provider perspective. The step-down allocation approach to costing was used while WHO health system blocks were adopted as cost centers. We computed cost without annualizing capital cost to represent financial cost and cost with annualizing capital cost to represent economic cost. RESULTS:The per capita financial cost and economic cost of implementing GEHIP over a three-year period was $1.79, and $1.07 respectively. GEHIP comprised only 3.1% of total primary health care cost. Health service delivery comprised the largest component of cost (37.6%), human resources was 28.6%, medicines was 13.6%, leadership/governance was 12.8%, while health information comprised 7.5% of the economic cost of implementing GEHIP. CONCLUSION:The per capita cost of implementing the GEHIP program was low. GEHIP project investments had a catalytic effect that improved community-based health planning and services (CHPS) coverage and enhanced the efficient use of routine health system resources rather than expanding overall primary health care costs.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211956 |
| spellingShingle | Edmund Wedam Kanmiki James Akazili Ayaga A Bawah James F Phillips John Koku Awoonor-Williams Patrick O Asuming Abraham R Oduro Moses Aikins Cost of implementing a community-based primary health care strengthening program: The case of the Ghana Essential Health Interventions Program in northern Ghana. PLoS ONE |
| title | Cost of implementing a community-based primary health care strengthening program: The case of the Ghana Essential Health Interventions Program in northern Ghana. |
| title_full | Cost of implementing a community-based primary health care strengthening program: The case of the Ghana Essential Health Interventions Program in northern Ghana. |
| title_fullStr | Cost of implementing a community-based primary health care strengthening program: The case of the Ghana Essential Health Interventions Program in northern Ghana. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cost of implementing a community-based primary health care strengthening program: The case of the Ghana Essential Health Interventions Program in northern Ghana. |
| title_short | Cost of implementing a community-based primary health care strengthening program: The case of the Ghana Essential Health Interventions Program in northern Ghana. |
| title_sort | cost of implementing a community based primary health care strengthening program the case of the ghana essential health interventions program in northern ghana |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211956 |
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