Integration of STI services into FP/MCH Services

Health service and social contexts in rural Ghana

Bibliographic Data

ID3972830
AuthorsSusannah H Mayhew (0000-0002-2433-3809, Nuffield Health, corresponding author)
Year2000
Volume8
Issue16
Pages112-124
Publication date2000-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueReproductive Health Matters (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0968-8080 • E-ISSN: 1460-9576
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1016/s0968-8080(00)90193-9
PMID11424239
OpenAlexW1966165933
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited6

Ghana, like many countries, has taken up the call to integrate STI management with MCH/FP services. Since 1994 a range of policies has been developed on safe motherhood and family planning, as well as syndromic STI management guidelines for 'mid-level' staff and an all-encompassing 'reproductive health' policy. The success of these policy initiatives depends to a large extent on the processes and contexts of implementation, yet analysis of this has rarely been undertaken. This paper analyses the rural context of policy implementation in the rural Upper East Region of northern Ghana and suggests that a 'blanket' policy to integrate STI and FP/MCH services may be inappropriate in particular contexts. It illustrates how the implementation of health policies is influenced--and often impeded--not only by local service contexts, economic and epidemiological factors but also by culturally defined social attitudes and behaviours. These can influence not only whether a policy is accepted by a population but also how it is implemented by health staff. Future reproductive health policy needs to address these issues in order to develop goals which can realistically be implemented in specific settings. Enhancing at district level the voice of nurses working at community level and promoting collaborative, culturally-specific and community-based initiatives could facilitate this

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