Faith-inspired Health Care Provision in Ghana: Market Share, Reach to the Poor, and Performance

This paper relies on administrative, household surveys and qualitative data to answer three questions about the services provided by faith-inspired health care providers in Ghana, asking: (1) what is the market share of faith-inspired providers as compared to other types of providers; (2) are there differences in market shares among the poor between faith-inspired providers and other types of providers; and (3) how satisfied are patients with the services received and why are patients choosing faith-inspired providers for care? While estimates based on facilities data, especially for hospitals, suggest that the market share of faith-inspired providers is at 30 percent to 40 percent, estimates from household surveys are at less than ten percent. The market share among the poor of faith-inspired providers appears to be similar to that of public providers, but higher than that of private non-religious providers. The qualitative data suggests that the reasons that lead patients to choose faith-inspired providers are not related directly to religion per se, but rather (perhaps indirectly) to the quality of the services provided, including (but not only) through the values of dignity and respect for patients that these facilities exhibit.