Table 1.
Primary health care facilities sampled within each country
| Country | Districts | Health facilities* | Total health facilities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana | Fanteakwa |
Community health and planning services (CHPS) (n = 6) Health centres (n = 3) Faith-based health centre (n = 1) Hospital (n = 1) |
11 |
| Suhum |
CHPS (n = 11) Health centres (n = 5) Hospitals (n = 1) |
17 | |
| Yilo Krobo |
Health centres (n = 5) Polyclinics (n = 2) |
7 | |
| Uganda | Luwero |
Level IV (n = 5), Level III (n = 13) Level II (n = 9) |
27 |
| Wakiso |
Hospital (n = 1) Level IV (n = 5) Level III (n = 22) |
28 | |
| Nakaseke |
Hospital (n = 1) Level IV (n = 2) Level III (n = 7) Level II (n = 9) |
19 | |
| Malawi | Dowa |
Hospital (n = 1) Health centres (n = 11) |
12 |
| Ntchisi |
Hospital (n = 1) Health centres (n = 6) |
7 | |
| Salima |
Hospital (n = 1) Health centres (n = 9) |
10 | |
| Total | 138 |
*In Ghana, CHPS offer community health activities and basic out-patient care services; health centres are the main providers of primary health care, offering out-patient care services, laboratory services, antenatal care and basic obstetric and postpartum services; hospitals and polyclinics offer all services provided by health centres in addition to comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care services; blood transfusion and operative care. In Uganda, Level II health centres provide basic out-patient care services, Level III provide antenatal care and basic emergency obstetric care and postpartum services, and Level IV offer all services provided at Level III in addition to operative care and laboratory services. Hospitals provide comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care services, blood transfusion, and laboratory services. In Malawi, health centres provide basic out-patient primary care services, whereas hospitals offer both inpatient and outpatient care, often acting as referral centres for health centres. Staffing wise, more rural health centres would consist of a medical assistant, nurses, health surveillance assistants, and environmental health officers, whereas hospitals would include cadres spanning health surveillance officers to specialists