Geographic and Socioeconomic Inequities in Access to Ghana’s Free Maternal Health Policy: A Scoping Review Protocol

This research project is a scoping review focused on mapping the geographic and socioeconomic inequities regarding access to Ghana’s free maternal health policy. Introduced in 2008 under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the policy was designed to eliminate financial barriers by removing user fees for services like antenatal care (ANC), skilled delivery, and postnatal care (PNC). Despite nearly two decades of implementation, evidence regarding the policy's success in reaching vulnerable populations remains fragmented.The primary purpose of this study is to synthesize existing evidence to understand how factors such as wealth, education, and regional location (specifically rural vs. urban) influence a woman's ability to utilize these free services. By using the Penchansky & Thomas five-dimensional framework, the project will analyze access through the lenses of Availability, Accessibility, Affordability, Accommodation, and Acceptability