Abstract
Background: The availability and accessibility of Prosthetics and Orthotics (P&O) services in Ghana remain largely unquantified, with anecdotal evidence suggesting significant disparities between urban and rural areas.
Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional geospatial design was utilized in this study using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map P&O service distribution. Data on regional population density and P&O facility locations were integrated. Spatial analysis in ArcGIS Pro 2.4 involved generating choropleth maps for population density, overlaying facility locations, and performing spatial joins to aggregate facility counts per region. Pearson correlation and linear regression analyses were conducted in SPSS 26.0 to assess the relationship between population density and P&O facility distribution.
Findings: The analysis revealed a concentrated distribution of P&O facilities in Ghana, predominantly in the southern and central regions, aligning with areas of higher population density. A strong, statistically significant positive correlation was found between regional population density and the distribution of P&O facilities (r = 0.74, p < 0.001). The linear regression model indicated that population density significantly predicts facility distribution, though it only explains 54% of the variability. This suggests that non-density factors, such as urban bias and historical economic investment, could play a substantial role in shaping the observed disparities.
Conclusion: This study provides evidence of the uneven geographic distribution of P&O services in Ghana, with a marked clustering in high-density southern regions and significant gaps in northern and less urbanized areas.
Keywords
Prosthetics and orthotics, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Healthcare accessibility, Ghana, Spatial distribution