Conference Abstract | Volume 9 (ConfPro8): Abstract 54 | Published: 08 Oct 2026
Victor Owusu Ampaw1,&, Emmanuel Konadu2, Julius Kwabena Karikari2,3, Francis Appiah2, Daniel Gyaase2, Douglas Aninng Opoku2,3, Yeetey Enuameh2
1University Clinic, University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (USTED), Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana, 2Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, School of Public Health, Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana, 3University Hospital, KNUST, Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana
&Corresponding author: Victor Owusu Ampaw, University Clinic, University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (USTED), Kumasi, Email: ampawv@gmail.com
Received: 11 Mar 2026, Accepted: 30 Aug 2026, Published: 08 Oct 2026
Domain: Maternal and Child Health
Keywords: Preconception care, healthcare integration, maternal health, routine healthcare services
©Victor Owusu Ampaw et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Victor Owusu Ampaw et al., Preconception care in Ghana: Evidence of implicit delivery within routine health services in the absence of a national program. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2026;9(ConfPro8):54. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO8-0054
Preconception Care (PCC) is an important intervention aimed at improving maternal and newborn health outcomes through risk assessment, health promotion, and early interventions before conception. Despite growing global recognition of PCC, in Ghana, and other LMICs, there is limited formal PCC programs. However, some PCC components may already be delivered implicitly through routine healthcare services. This study assessed PCC components currently delivered within routine health services in the Kumasi Metropolis and explored opportunities for their integration into a structured PCC framework.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 331 postpartum women aged 15-49 years in the Kumasi Metropolis. Participants were selected from three health facilities using systematic random sampling. Data collected were via structured questionnaires that collected data on socio-demographic characteristics, utilisation of PCC patterns and identify opportunities for integration into a structured PCC framework. Overall PCC utilisation was set at achieving at least 50% of a set composite utilisation measure across all PCC components.
Overall PCC utilisation was low. Only 19.9% of participants received comprehensive PCC prior to conception. However, utilisation of several components was relatively high, including immunization and vaccination (92.1%), lifestyle modification interventions (89.1%), family planning and birth spacing services (87.3%), nutritional counselling and supplementation (76.1%), and physical examinations (75.5%). In contrast, reproductive health assessments (8.2%), fertility assessment (12.7%), mental health screening (13.6%) and hereditary /genetic assessment (18.7%) were not adequately utilised. Fragmented delivery exceeded 65% across PCC components, indicating that women frequently received isolated interventions rather than coordinated PCC packages.
Although comprehensive PCC utilisation remains low in Ghana, several PCC-related interventions are already being delivered through routine healthcare services. Strengthening coordination, provider training, standardized guideline, and referral pathways may facilitate integration of these fragmented services into a comprehensive PCC framework capable of improving maternal and newborn outcomes.
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