Health Status of Households and Access to Health Facilities in Nigeria: Interrogating the Public and Private Sectors Participation
Authors: Echeta Desmond O , Chima Christian C , Obikee Adaku C 
Published: August 2024

This research studied the imperatives of health status of households and access to health facilities in Nigeria through the vista of Public and Private Sectors participation. Its aim is to make health care delivery accessible, available and affordable, inclusive of all the members of the households without discriminations. This is in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Goal 3, which crux is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. Contemporarily, economists have contended that health care delivery system should through fiscal readjustments incorporate both the public and private sectors. Since health is a public good, the discourses should not be centred on the public alone as seen in most developing countries, Nigeria inclusive. In this era of fiscal deficit with respect to production of health outcomes, the government and the governed must synergize in a comprehensive fashion to change the narrative. Thus, Nigeria government should be interested in the well-being of her citizens towards the provision of accessible health care and improvement in health care infrastructure. Consequently, policies must be put in place to harness the various resources in the economy. The study garnered data from the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria through a well-structured questionnaire in a likert- five point scale. Utilizing the Ordinary Least Squares technique, the following results were obtained; the outcomes of the health care system (HOS), quality of health service used as input in production of health (QHS), efficiency of the health care system on the health status (EHS), accountability, transparency and regulation of the health care system (AHS) were all significant in explaining the variations in the health status of Nigerians. In all, the most important finding from the global statistic is the significance of explanatory variables in explaining the variations in the health status of Nigerians. The study concluded that; improvements in the quality of healthcare can lead to better health outcomes; Longer travel times often correlate with poorer health outcomes; higher levels of education generally lead to better hygiene practices; efficient healthcare systems make optimal use of financial, human, and technological resources; there is a positive impact of accountability and transparency on the health status of the population. The study recommended that: healthcare providers should adopt and maintain high-quality standards and continuously improve care delivery processes to enhance patient outcomes; establish more healthcare facilities and encourage the public –private sectors participation in underserved areas to reduce travel times and improve access to care; include hygiene education in school curricula and community programs to instill good practices from an early age; the implementation of continuous quality improvement initiatives to enhance the effectiveness of healthcare services and achieve better health outcomes ;efficiency in healthcare delivery ensures that patients receive timely care, which is critical for successful treatment outcomes and can prevent conditions from worsening and the establishment of robust reporting and monitoring systems. The implication of the findings of this study is that, robust participation of both sectors in healthcare delivery will lead to improved access and better management of health resources.