UTILIZATION OF PRIMARY HEALTH CARE SERVICES BY MOTHERS FOR MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH SERVICES IN RURAL NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The overall aim of the study was to identify factors which determine utilization of Primary Health Care (PHC) services for
Maternal and Child Health Services (MCHS) in rural Niger State. Following World Health Organization's 1991 systematic
cluster sampling technique, three clusters with twelve households from each cluster were selected through Probability
Proportional to Size basis to ensure equal spread of population across the selected study area. The data collected through the household survey were processed using SPSS version 18.0 software. A codebook was developed for using the data files
indicating the variable name, label, description of code values and column locations, and finally estimates of the overall
effects of independent variables on the use of PHC services for MCHS were determined using logistic regression. It was
found that family education was associated with the use of PHC facilities: the higher the education levels the higher the use of PHC. Socio-economic condition of people was also found to be a factor in the use of the PHC: people of relatively higher socio-economic condition use the PHC more than people of low and medium status. People are not well informed about the services that are meant to be available in the PHC. Poor quality of services was found to be the main reason for underutilization of the PHC. The study recommends the formation of a “Local Health Authority" comprising
representatives from different government and non-profit organizations along with people's representatives as this will
improve the utilization of PHC in rural Niger State.