Objectives: To map access to depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) from licensed chemical sellers (LCS); to estimate the proportion of women of reproductive age in areas with access; and to examine affordability and variability of costs.
Methods: A geospatial analysis was conducted using data collected from 298 women who purchased DMPA from 49 geocoded LCS shops in the Amansie West and Ejisu-Juabeng districts of Ghana from June 4 to August 31, 2012. The women reported on cost and average distance traveled to purchase DMPA.
Results: In Amansie West, 21.1% of all women of reproductive age lived within average walking distance and 80.4% lived within average driving distance of an LCS. In Ejisu-Juabeng, 41.9% and 60.1% of women lived within average walking and driving distance, respectively. Distribution of affordability varied across each district.
Conclusions: Access to LCS shops is high, and training LCS to administer DMPA would increase access to family planning in Ghana, with associated time and cost savings.
Keywords: Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate; Family planning; Geographic information systems; Geospatial analysis; Ghana; Licensed chemical sellers.
Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.