Stakeholders Perceived Influence Of Primary Health Care Services On Realization Of Health For All In Kwara State Nigeria

Primary Health Care (PHC) services were adopted as a means of achieving “health for all”. Nigeria adopted the policy to ensure sustainable health development at the grassroots, but its effectiveness has been underscored due to some lapses noted in the implementation of the component services. This study investigated stakeholders‟ perceived influence of PHC services on realization of “health for all” in Kwara State, Nigeria. The objectives of this study were to examine stakeholders‟ perceived influence of: (i) PHC service of health education on prevailing health problems; (ii) adequate supply of water and basic sanitation; (iii) maternal and child health including family planning; and (iv) immunization against infectious diseases.rnA descriptive research design of survey type was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised of 7079 stakeholders which include village heads, health care providers, and members of PHC committees in the sixteen (16) Local Government Areas of Kwara State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 9880 respondents for the study. Researcher‟s designed questionnaire and focus group discussion guide validated by three experts from related fields were used for data collection. The reliability of the research instruments was determined using test re-test method in which correlation coefficient of 0.76 was obtained. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse demographic data, while Spearman Brown Rank Order Correlation and chi-square statistics were used to test the hypotheses in the study. Thematic analysis was done for the qualitative data generated from focus group discussion.rnThe findings of the study were that:rni. PHC services were key to the realization of health for all, [cal. r-value (0.99) > critical value (0.06)];rnii. PHC services of health education on prevailing health problems and method of preventing them influence realization of health for all, [cal. x2 value (743.06) > critical value (21.03)];rniii. PHC services of adequate supply of water and basic sanitation influence realization of health for all, [cal. x 2 (586.82) > critical value (21.03)];rniv. PHC services of maternal and child health, including family planning influence realization of health for all, [cal. x 2 value (708.32) > critical value (21.03)]; andrnv. The results of the thematic analysis revealed that most health facility committees in the State were not employing appropriate strategies for the realization of Health for All.rnThe study concluded that PHC services delivery had influence on the realization of Health for All. This implies that PHC services are functioning well in Kwara State. The study therefore recommended that the Local Government Area Primary Health Care committees within the state should be encouraged to continue the delivery of all the component services by employing different strategies such as cohesive team approach, situation analysis, community mobilization, advocacy, community diagnosis and intersectoral collaboration.

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