2026-10-07T02:42:10Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34005159 2026-09-27T15:20:39Z category_27496 category_27190 category_27187 category_27193 category_27199 category_27202 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

<b>Does postpartum welfare clinic utilization impact child survival? Evidence from a cross-sectional study of postnatal healthcare determinants in Ghana.</b> Samuel Amon (14029704) Mortality Health equity Community child health Health promotion Preventative health care Social determinants of health postpartum care child welfare clinic utilization postnatal healthcare services child survival Ghana <p dir="ltr">In Ghana, the principal vehicle for operationalizing PHC and advancing UHC is the Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) initiative, introduced nationwide to bring essential health services directly to rural and underserved communities. Within this framework, Child Welfare Clinics (CWCs) - operating both as static facility units and routine mobile outreach sessions - serve as the primary post-natal platforms for routine child healthcare monitoring. CWCs deliver a comprehensive package of essential postnatal and early childhood services, including growth monitoring, preventive nutritional counselling, routine infant immunizations (such as DTP, Polio, Hepatitis B, Measles, and Yellow Fever), and micronutrient supplementation (e.g., Vitamin A)</p><p dir="ltr">Although literature extensively documents the theoretical benefits of preventive child healthcare, empirical evidence evaluating whether sustained, routine postpartum child welfare clinic utilization directly translates into improved longitudinal under-five survival remains rare. Many studies focus narrowly on single clinical interventions, such as specific routine vaccines or exclusive breastfeeding, without assessing the cumulative impact of overall postnatal welfare clinic attendance patterns and check frequencies relative to structural and socioeconomic determinants. Furthermore, out-of-pocket indirect expenses, spatial distance to health centers, and maternal socioeconomic status continue to act as major confounding drivers of both service utilization and child survival outcomes across Ghanaian communities. Understanding whether, and to what extent, postpartum CWC utilization reduces the hazard of under-five mortality is essential for refining national PHC policies and accelerating progress toward SDG 3.2. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of postpartum CWC utilization and postnatal healthcare determinants on under-five child survival, utilizing retrospective cross-sectional data from two underserved (Volta and Northern) regions in Ghana.</p> 2026-09-27T15:20:39Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.34005159.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/_b_Does_postpartum_welfare_clinic_utilization_impact_child_survival_Evidence_from_a_cross-sectional_study_of_postnatal_healthcare_determinants_in_Ghana_b_/34005159 CC BY 4.0