TITLE:
Factors That Influence Household Access to Healthcare Services in Eldoret Municipality, Kenya
AUTHORS:
Nicholas Walter Otieno Ajwang’
KEYWORDS:
Access, Households, Healthcare, Health Insurance, Referral
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.11 No.2,
February
15,
2023
ABSTRACT: Against a background of limited access to healthcare services, this paper
examines the factors that influence household access to healthcare services in
Eldoret municipality, Kenya. The main objective of the study was to identify
the factors that influence household access to healthcare services in the municipality.
The study was guided by the following specific objectives: to investigate the
socio-economic factors that influence household access to healthcare services;
to assess the influence of health insurance on household access to healthcare services; and to establish the
influence of referral system on household access to healthcare services.
It is hoped that the results of the study will improve policy-makers
understanding on factors that influence access to healthcare services and to
serve as an important tool for any possible intervention aimed at improving
access to healthcare. Health Belief Model (HBM) is employed as the theoretical
framework. Research design takes survey form. The unit of analysis constituted
household heads in the municipality. Stratified, systematic, purposive and
convenience sampling procedures were used to arrive at a sample size of two
hundred and sixty household heads. Data was derived from both primary and
secondary sources and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences (SPSS) to ascertain statistical relationships between variables. The
findings indicate that: there are specific urban dimensions on access to
healthcare; among the respondents, there is substantial unmet healthcare
need; and for many urban families using healthcare services is determined by
much more than being able to reach them physically. It further answers the questions: do socio-economic
characteristics, health insurance and referral system have any role in access
to healthcare? Besides, the findings of the study raise new areas
for further research in healthcare.