-
Factors Affecting Utilization Of Health Care Services
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 2]
Page 2 of 2
-
-
-
Rapid population growth
Increasing demand for health services against dwindling resources
Faulty allocation of limited resources
Internal inefficiency of government health care programs and health services.
Poor quality of private health care services
Inadequate support infrastructural facilities like water, electricity and good roads.
These
problems have resulted in inappropriate structures, faulty allocation
of resources and incongruent staff scheduling which would not have
arisen if potential utilization had formed the bases upon which the
establishment of the facilities were initially hinged. This situation is
a call to restructuring which can only be facilitated by x-raying the
relationship between distribution of resources, health problems and
patterns of utilization whereby identified determinants would reveal the
services to be provided for the growing population as well as their
magnitude.
Utilization of service is the actual coverage and it is
categorized into ambulatory medical care services (outpatient and home);
inpatient services (hospital); and preventive services. To achieve
optimal levels of utilization, all the three categories must enlist the
cooperation and initiative of the population as well as those of the
health service providers. Hitherto, the assumption has been that the
Health Ministry and other providers of health services knew the demand
on their resources, upon which planning was based, by the number of
people that demand services. There is at present increasing evidence,
especially in the developing world, that many more who attempt to obtain
such services are not getting them for a number of reasons. In Nigeria,
particularly in Kwara State, the discrepancy between what the levels of
health care utilization are and what they ought to be is easily
discernible. This underlines current efforts in relating utilization to
resources as well as to past and present planning efforts. It has been
said that there is need to review planning efforts and their
appropriateness, especially when viewed from the context of utilization
of health care services.
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 2]
Page 2 of 2
-
-
ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]
Good utilization of health services improves the health status of the population. However , the presence of health facilities alone is not enough to guarantee use as other socio - economic factors could influence access and utilization. This study assessed the community perceptions and factors affecting the utilization of health services in a rural community in Southern Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Anegbette, a rural community in Etsako Central Local Governme ... Continue reading---
