Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on use of Skilled Delivery Services (SDS) at health facilities by pregnant women in the central region of Ghana.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used to conduct the study. A stratified sampling technique was used to select a sample of 1100 pregnant women. Structured questionnaire was used to collect the data and analyzed using frequencies, percentages and binary logistic regression where missing values were imputed using multiple imputation by chained equations.
Results: The sociodemographic factors that determine the use of SDS were religion (OR=1.70, 95% CI=1.11-2.58, p=0.015) and person in authority who takes decision on where a person should deliver (OR=2.60, 95% CI=1.61-4.39, p=0.0004) and having valid national health insurance (OR=1.78, 95% CI=1, 06-3.00, p=0.030).
Conclusion: In conclusion, more need to be done to address the issue of minority Muslim communities in the Central Region by providing cost effective and easy access to health facility within those communities, place more emphasis on facility delivery education, and counselling. Women need to be empowered to be independent in taking decision regarding health facility delivery.

Keywords: Delivery; Health facility; Pregnant women; Utilization