Assessment of women accessibility to health-care facilities in a typical rural local government area in Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to assess the accessibility of women to health-care facilities in the rural areas with a view to unties possible recommendation of enhancing its service delivery. It provides an insight into the levels of satisfaction of the services provided by conventional health-care providers in the area where the majority in the developing countries concentrated. The study unravels the reasons for the low patronage of regular health-care facilities to boost unscientific ones by rural women. Design/methodology/approach The study relies on extensive field work conducted in the study area mainly rural nature. data was sourced by questionnaire, mainly administered on the women in the area and field observation. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. Findings The paper provides information on the low socio-economic attributes of rural women. It is further showed that medical facilities and personnel were not relatively available and performed in health-care centres to the satisfaction of the users. Poor roads, poor human relation, low quality of services, inadequate medical personnel and drug shortage hindrance to women accessing appropriate health-care facilities in the rural areas. Rural women, therefore, opted for self-medication folk medicine, disguising and spiritual remedies. Health-care facilities suffered poor patronage as a result of these obstacles The study recommended proper overhauling of health-care facilities. Originality/value The paper builds a relationship on the reasons for health-care facilities neglect in the rural area in developing countries and revealed unscientific means by which health care needs are realised rural women.