Effect of financial services access on health services utilisation among rural older adults in Ghana

This study explored the effect of access to financial services on rural older adults' health services utilisation. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted to gather data (N = 310; mean age = 66.13 years and standard deviation [SD] = 24.72) in selected rural communities in Ghana. We applied endogenous treatment Poisson regression (ETPR), an econometrics model that accounts for self-selection bias, to estimate the association between access to financial services and the use of health services. Findings revealed that education, internet use, club membership, employment status, proximity to financial institution (FI) and regional location were associated with access to financial services. Importantly, access to financial services was associated with increased health services use. The study results suggest that access to financial services may help increase the use of health services among rural older adults in Ghana.