FINANCIAL STATUS, INFRASTRUCTURAL FACILITIES AND INADEQUATE STAFF AS PERCEIVED FACTORS MITIGATING AGAINST UTILIZATION OF PRIMARY HEALTH CARE SERVICES IN KWARA STATE

Abstract

Primary health care is the cornerstone of health care system because they serve as the first contact between the people and the health care system. The study examined factors influencing the utilization of primary health care services in Kwara State. The purpose of the study was to examine whether financial status, infrastructural facilities, and inadequate staff are factors mitigating against the utilization of primary health care services in Kwara State. A descriptive research design of survey type was employed for this study. The population comprised all the residents of Kwara State, totaling, 3,834,000. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 384 respondents for the study. Structured questionnaire validated by experts and tested for reliability using split half method, which yielded 0.82r. was used for data collection. Frequency count and percentage was used to analyse the demographic data, while inferential statistics of Chi-Square at 0.05 levels of significance was used to answer the research questions. The findings revealed that; Financial status, Infrastructural facilities and inadequate staff were perceived factors mitigating against the utilization of primary health care services in Kwara State. The study concluded that financial status, infrastructural facilities and inadequate staff are perceived factors mitigating against the utilization of primary health care services in Kwara State. The researcher therefore recommended, among others, that all tiers of government should allot more funds to health care system and employ more skilled health and medical personnel to cater for the large population.