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Despite a growing burden of stroke in low‐middle‐income countries, research on patient's experiences and access to rehabilitation services remains limited. This study explores the experiences of stroke patients in relation to access and use of stroke rehabilitation services, coping strategies and strategies to improve care in Ghana. A cross‐sectional study was conducted. A total of 136 adult stroke patients hospitalised and subsequently discharged in three major referral hospitals in Ghana participated in the study. A paper‐based questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were inputted into STATA version 12, cleaned and analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi‐Square tests. Findings showed that stroke patients experience stroke differently. Early detection (awareness) of stroke symptoms at onset was low (29.4%). Hypertension was the major (58.1%) predisposing risk factor for stroke, followed by diabetes (14.7%). Multiple barriers impede access to outpatient rehabilitation services: high cost of medications (43.4%), transportation constraints (10.3%), long waiting time (6.6%), forgetfulness about appointment (4.4%), limited education on rehabilitation (20.6%), lack of community support (12.5%) and ineffective communication with healthcare providers (5.2%). Recommended strategies to improve access to rehabilitation care included public education on stroke and its associated risk, reduction in the cost of drugs and increased stroke rehabilitation funding by the NHIS, especially for physiotherapy consultation and training support to caregivers on patient care. Given the difference in stroke experience and barriers in accessing rehabilitation care, multi‐level health policy and service delivery reforms are needed to improve access to rehabilitation care, including national public awareness campaigns on early signs of stroke and subsidised cost of stroke rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatitis B testing is the gateway for prevention and care. However, previous studies document low hepatitis B testing uptake in sub‐Saharan Africa. This study investigated knowledge, stigma endorsement and knowing someone with hepatitis B as correlates of hepatitis B testing behaviours among people in the Greater Accra and Northern regions of Ghana. A cross‐sectional survey was completed by 971 participants (Greater Accra = 503, and Northern region = 468) between October 2018 and January 2019. Approximately 54% of the participants reported having been tested for hepatitis B. The logistic regression analyses showed that having greater hepatitis B knowledge was positively associated with hepatitis B testing (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.14–1.30). Higher hepatitis B stigma endorsement was negatively related to hepatitis B testing (OR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.96–0.99). Also, participants who knew someone (i.e. parent, sibling and/or friend) with hepatitis B were more likely to have tested compared to those who did not know someone with hepatitis B (OR = 7.15, 95% CI: 5.04–10.14). This study demonstrates that knowing someone with hepatitis B increases the likelihood of testing, highlighting the need to create safe and non‐judgmental contexts for people with hepatitis B (PWHB) to disclose if they want to. Also, given that greater hepatitis B knowledge increases testing and hepatitis B stigma endorsement impedes testing, interventions that increase knowledge and reduce stigma should be incorporated in efforts to promote testing in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]