Placing a Health Equity Lens on Non-Community Diseases in Ghana

Helena Dagadu, Vanderbilt University

Using the World Health Organization Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE), Wave 1, this paper examines how factors at the micro, meso, and macro levels of society affect the odds of being diagnosed with a non-communicable disease (NCD) in Ghana. Focusing on angina, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, the central questions driving this investigation are: What is the pattern of NCDs in Ghana? How, if any, do NCDs vary by sociodemographic factors as well as factors within communities and Ghana more broadly? Further this paper tests the Equitable Longevity Framework; a framework the author is developing to examine how factors at the macro, meso, and micro levels shape non-communicable diseases, particularly in Ghana. Preliminary findings suggest that Ghanaian men and women differ in types of NCDs diagnosed as well as risk exposure and health equity measures. Policy implications of research findings are also considered.