Research Article
Classification of Public Health Centres in Accra through a
Web-Based Portal Integrated with Geographical Information
System (GIS)
Nana Yaw Asabere ,
1
Gare Lawson,
1,2
Godwin Badu-Marfo,
2,3
Lydia Kwofie,
1
Daniel Opoku Mensah,
2
and Reginald Lartey
1
1
Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Accra Technical University (ATU), Accra, Ghana
2
DexAfrica Limited, Accra, Ghana
3
Department of Geography Urban Planning and Environmental Studies, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Correspondence should be addressed to Nana Yaw Asabere; yawasabere2005@yahoo.com
Received 30 September 2021; Accepted 18 November 2021; Published 3 December 2021
Academic Editor: Khairunnisa Hasikin
Copyright © 2021 Nana Yaw Asabere et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
A health system is described as a logically organized collection of resources, agents, and institutions that offer healthcare to a
specific population based on the finance, regulation, and delivery of health services. Many health centres have been established in
Accra, the capital city of Ghana, due to the importance of good health. People in other developed nations can seek adequate
healthcare, since information about relevant health centres is readily available. However, there is a paucity of information about
the services provided by existing health institutions in Ghana, particularly in Accra. e majority of patients commute to either
Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital or Greater Accra Regional Hospital, putting a considerable medical strain on these facilities. In this
study, we use a Geographic Information System (GIS) to establish a database for all of Accra’s health centres and categorize them
according to the services they provide. is research tackled the previously mentioned problem by proposing and developing a
web-based map called Geohealth for the classification of public health centres in Accra using GIS to assist users in accessing
information and locating health centres. We utilized a mixed-method approach consisting of quantitative as well as Build
Computer Science Research Methods. Results of our study show that the majority of the participants and stakeholders in our
research are eager to embrace Geohealth. Furthermore, in comparison with existing techniques such as Google Maps, our
proposed approach, Geohealth, takes less time to obtain information and locate public health centres in Accra, Ghana.
1. Introduction
Health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO)
as “a condition of complete physical, mental, and social
quality of life, not only the absence of sickness or disability”
[1]. According to Ramzi and El-Bedawi [2], effective delivery
of healthcare critically requires allocating resources, eco-
nomic growth, and the geographic distribution of inhabi-
tants and communities across a country, as well as
interconnectedness and accessibility from urban regions.
However, in Africa, existing spatially explicit population
data, on the other hand, are mostly based on obsolete and
low-resolution input demographic data. Consequently, the
required details to quantify rural settlement patterns are
insufficient [3].
In developing nations, systematic healthcare facilities
and accessible systems are largely centered in metropolitan
regions rather than in rural areas, causing inconvenient
access to healthcare centres for low- and middle-income
citizens [4]. Generally, driving and walking (especially in
rural areas) are the two main commutation procedures used
to arrive at a health centre.
Mansour [5] highlighted that the basic concept of health
utility delivery inside larger cities is the dispersal of health
facilities in metropolitan regions. Exploring and assessing
the geographical link between health centre sites and
Hindawi
Journal of Healthcare Engineering
Volume 2021, Article ID 4178161, 13 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/4178161