Exploring factors affecting government delivery of social welfare services using a multi-method approach

Abstract

The reality is that social welfare services in Nigeria exclude more people than they cover, resulting in the deprivation of basic human needs such as water, sanitation, shelter, healthcare, and education that have hindered the betterment of the living conditions of the citizens (Nkpoyen et al., 2021; Okpa, 2022). This study explored factors affecting the government delivery of social welfare services in Nigeria. Five hundred and seventy (570) respondents’ opinions were purposively sampled using the 36-item Social Welfare Service Delivery Questionnaire (SWSDQ) and an in-depth interview guide. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square statistical technique, and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software, version 20. As a supplement to the quantitative data, the qualitative data were analysed in themes. Findings from this study revealed that although all the respondents reported knowing about available social welfare services, 44.3% reported not accessing the existing social services because of such factors as political expediency, transparency, accountability, corruption, and perception of social service providers. A key policy issue, therefore, is the need to look into the eradication or mitigation of these factors ascribed to be hindering the delivery of social welfare services. This will expedite the blanket spread of the delivery, accessibility, and utilisation of social welfare services for residents, not just in the study area but across the country