ArticleHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2017
Strengthening the Referral System through Social Capital: A Qualitative Inquiry in Ghana.
Article in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed.
- Optimizing people's movement across the health system: a scoping review of referral systems within a primary health care approach.Primary health care research & development · 2025Article
- Determining the minimum data set of geriatric assessment at the Iran primary health care referral system: shifting from fragmentation to integration care for older people.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- The Challenges of Implementing a Health Referral System in South Africa: A Qualitative Study.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2024Article
- Experiences of referral with an obstetric emergency: voices of women admitted at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, South Western Uganda.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- The "No bed syndrome" in Ghana - what, how and why? A literature, electronic and print media review.Frontiers in health services · 2023Review
- Health Behaviors and Health Literacy: Questing the Role of Weak Social Ties Among Older Persons in Rural and Urban Ghana.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- An evaluation of the structure and process of stroke rehabilitation in primary, secondary and tertiary hospitals in Ghana.The South African journal of physiotherapy · 2022Article
- A multidimensional study of public satisfaction with the healthcare system: a mixed-method inquiry in Ghana.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- Factors affecting the successful implementation of the referral system: A scoping review.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2021Article
- Polypharmacy Exposure, Aging Populations, and COVID-19: Considerations for Healthcare Providers and Public Health Practitioners in Africa.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Article
- Healthcare in Ghana amidst the coronavirus pandemic: a narrative literature review.Journal of public health research · 2021Article
- Bypassing primary healthcare facilities for maternal healthcare in North West Ghana: socio-economic correlates and financial implications.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- Assessing the functionality of an emergency obstetric referral system and continuum of care among public healthcare facilities in a low resource setting: an application of process mapping approach.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- The Relationship among Functional Health Literacy, Self-Rated Health, and Social Support among Younger and Older Adults in Ghana.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Article
- "Who'll do all these if I'm not around?": Bonding social capital and health and well-being of inpatients.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2018Article
- Article
- Social Networks and Health: Understanding the Nuances of Healthcare Access between Urban and Rural Populations.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Article
- Social participation, health literacy, and health and well-being: A cross-sectional study in Ghana.SSM - population health · 2018Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
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Abstract
The referral system in health care has been noted as very influential in determining which services are accessed and when. Nonetheless, existing studies have relied on specific measurable factors relating to health personnel, transportation and communication infrastructure, and finance to explain the challenges facing the referral policy in developing countries. While this is understandable, the role of social capital remains mostly uncharted even though it is implicit in the well-known lay referral system. Using various facets of the social capital concept, this paper empirically examines how the resources embedded in both structural and cognitive aspects of social relationships influence knowledge of, and adherence to, referral policy. This study is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted with 79 adults in the Ashanti Region of Ghana in 2015. Of the 79 participants, 28 lived in urban areas and 51 in rural localities. Eight health personnel and eight community leaders also contributed to the study. Additionally, six focus group discussions were held. The findings indicated that both cognitive and structural forms of social capital considerably underpinned the ability and willingness of people to adhere to the referral process. Moreover, the role of social capital was double-barrelled. It contributed in a significant way to encouraging or dissuading potential patients from rightly embracing the policy. In addition, precepts of social capital reinforced both positive and adverse effects of the other determinants of the policy such as finance and transportation. However, the magnitude of such impact was linked to how 'resourceful' and 'trustworthy' one's available social acquaintances were. The paper suggests that a cautious engagement with social capital will make it a potentially powerful tool for understanding the gaps in and improving the effectiveness of referral policy.
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