Healthcare Service Delivery System and Households' Welfare Status in Urban Southwest Nigeria

摘要

This study examined available health care services in urban southwest Nigeria, the problems inherent in them and households' welfare status. A multistage random sampling technique was used to select 450 respondents comprising households and health care service providers. The results of the data analysis showed that the respondents are young with a mean age of 42 years. Average household size of respondents was 8. However, available health care services in the study area include hospitals/clinics, local doctors, spiritualists, patent medicine stores and self-medicators. The study found that majority of the respondents rely on local doctors, spiritualists, and patent medicine stores for health care. Meanwhile, respondents' age, income, educational level and asset value were positively related to respondents' welfare status but household size, location, primary occupation and gender of respondents were negatively related to it. It is therefore recommended that considerable investment in human capital should be made since education enhances human wellbeing. Also, sensitisation on family planning technique should be intensified because increased household size translates to lowered income per capita which in turn leads to reduced well-being.