Determinants of Abortions in Rural Ghana

George Adjei, Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC)
Yeetey A. Enuameh, Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC)
Abubakari Sulemana, Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC)
Charles Zandoh, Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC)
Stephaney Gyaase, Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC)

Abortion leads to about 50% of maternal deaths in Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest death rate from induced abortion. Unless a concerted effort is made to reduce abortion, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa cannot achieve the Millennium Development Goal 5 of reducing maternal mortality by half by the year 2015. There is therefore the urgent need to investigate factors that determine abortion to inform appropriate intervention strategies. Furthermore due to the sensitive nature of abortion, there is paucity of literature on rural Ghana. This study has a cross-sectional design and was conducted in a rural setting covered by the Kintampo Health and Demographic Surveillance System (KHDSS)- an area where a quantitative study of this nature has never been conducted. This study explored factors associated with abortion (induced or spontaneous). In the multivariate regression analysis, marital status, higher educational level and older age were found to be associated with abortion.