{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T06:04:23Z","timestamp":1789365863244,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789344000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Glob. Women\u2019s Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Maternal healthcare utilization among refugee populations remains a major public health concern due to intersecting social, structural, and health system barriers. Guided by Andersen's Healthcare Utilization Theory (1995), this study examined the determinants of antenatal care, skilled delivery, and postnatal care among refugee women in Ghana.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 410 refugee women aged 15\u201349 years residing in the Krisan and Ampain refugee camps in the Western Region of Ghana. Eligible women who had experienced a pregnancy within the preceding two years were recruited using a census approach. Data were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Because the prevalence of ANC attendance (\u22654 visits) was low, Firth's penalized likelihood logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with ANC utilization. For skilled delivery and PNC utilization, conventional multivariable logistic regression was used. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported, and statistical significance was assessed at\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&amp;lt;\u20090.05. Camp location was included as a fixed effect in all models. Multilevel modeling was not employed as only two camps were included, which is insufficient for reliable random effects estimation\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The majority of refugee women attended fewer than four ANC visits (93.9%), while 72.4% delivered with skilled birth attendants and only 31.0% received postnatal care. ANC utilization was significantly higher among women residing in Krisan Camp (AOR\u2009=\u20099.54; 95% CI: 1.68\u201354.30) and those receiving transport support (AOR\u2009=\u20094.31; 95% CI: 1.12\u201316.58). Income was not significantly associated with ANC attendance, with women earning GHS 100\u2013499 (AOR\u2009=\u20090.06; 95% CI: 0.00\u20131.00) and\u2009\u2265\u2009GHS 500 (AOR\u2009=\u20090.03; 95% CI: 0.00\u20131.05) having lower odds of ANC attendance. Trustful social networks were paradoxically associated with lower ANC utilization (AOR\u2009=\u20090.32; 95% CI: 0.11\u20130.96). Skilled delivery was associated with education, with secondary or higher education linked to lower odds (AOR\u2009=\u20090.56; 95% CI: 0.31\u20130.99), while media exposure showed a marginal positive effect. Postnatl utilization was higher among Muslim women (AOR\u2009=\u20092.02; 95% CI: 1.15\u20133.55) and lower among married women (AOR\u2009=\u20090.62; 95% CI: 0.39\u20130.98).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Maternal healthcare utilization among refugee women in Ghana is influenced by complex interactions between social support, access-related factors, and individual characteristics. Interventions that strengthen social networks, improve transport and service accessibility, and address contextual barriers within refugee camps are critical to improving maternal health outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fgwh.2026.1807016","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T05:39:31Z","timestamp":1789364371000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Determinants of maternal health service utilisation among refugee women in Krisan and Ampain camps, Ghana: a cross-sectional analysis"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Linus","family":"Baatiema","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, Faculty of Public Health, University of Port Harcourt","place":["Port-Harcourt, Nigeria"]},{"name":"Africa Centre of Excellence in Public Health & Toxicological Research (ACE-PUTOR), University of Port Harcourt","place":["Choba, Port-Harcourt City, Rivers State, Nigeria"]},{"name":"Centre for Migration and Security, University of Business and Integrated Development Studies","place":["Wa, Ghana"]},{"name":"Ghana Health Service, Upper West Regional Health Directorate","place":["Wa, Ghana"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"John Kuumuori","family":"Ganle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, School of Public Health, University of Ghana","place":["Legon, Ghana"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francis","family":"Appiah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Graduate Studies, Lingnan University , , Hong Kong SAR","place":["Tuen Mun, China"]},{"name":"Department of Social Sciences, Berekum College of Education","place":["Berekum, Bono Region, Ghana"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daprim Samual","family":"Ogaji","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Africa Centre of Excellence in Public Health & Toxicological Research (ACE-PUTOR), University of Port Harcourt","place":["Choba, Port-Harcourt City, Rivers State, Nigeria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1596\/1813-9450-9917","article-title":"Social cohesion and refugee\u2013host interactions: evidence from east Africa","author":"Betts","year":"2022"},{"key":"B2","volume-title":"Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2024","year":"2025"},{"key":"B3","first-page":"60","volume-title":"Strengthening Local Engagements and Collaborations for More Effective Health Emergency Management: WHO Localization Strategy","year":"2025"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"117","DOI":"10.1186\/1472-6963-12-117","article-title":"Accessing maternal and child health services in Melbourne, Australia: reflections from refugee families and service providers","volume":"12","author":"Riggs","year":"2012","journal-title":"BMC Health Serv Res"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1048700","DOI":"10.3389\/fgwh.2022.1048700","article-title":"System-level factors influencing refugee women's access and utilization of sexual and reproductive health services: a qualitative study of providers\u2019 perspectives","volume":"3","author":"Vu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Glob Womens Health"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0307192","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0307192","article-title":"A qualitative study exploring the factors influencing maternal healthcare access and utilization among Muslim refugee women resettled in the United States","volume":"19","author":"Yeo","year":"2024","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"B7","volume-title":"Social Cohesion, Resilience and Peace Building Between Host Population and Rohingya Refugee Community in Cox\u2019s Bazar, Bangladesh. 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