objective To characterise the population that presents to the Accident and Emergency Centre (AEC)
at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) and to identify risk factors associated with bypassing
proximal care facilities.
methods A structured questionnaire was verbally administered to patients presenting to the AEC over
2 weeks. The questionnaire focused on the use of health care resources and characteristics of current
illness or injury. Measures recorded include demographics, socioeconomic status, chief complaint,
transportation and mobility, reasons for choosing KATH and health care service utilisation and cost.
results The total rate of bypassing proximal care was 33.9%. On multivariate analysis, factors
positively associated with bypassing included age older than 38 years (OR: 2.18, P 0.04) and prior visits
to facility (OR 2.88, P 0.01). Bypassers were less likely to be insured (OR 0.31, P 0.01), to be seeking
care due to injury (OR 0.42, P 0.03) and to have previously sought care for the problem (OR 0.10,
P < 0.001).
conclusions Patients who bypass facilities near them to seek care at an urban AEC in Ghana do so for
a combination of reasons including familiarity with the facility, chief complaint and insurance status.
Understanding bypassing behaviour is important for guiding health care utilisation policy decisions and
streamlining cost-effective, appropriate access to care for all patients.