Analysis of the Effect of Socio-Cultural and Economic Factors on Healthcare Choices in Minna Metropolis.

Abstract

Socio-cultural and economic factors often determine the choice of healthcare facility. This study therefore investigates the effects of Sociocultural and Economic factors on health care choice in Minna, Niger State, Nigeria with the objectives of examining the effect of income and marital status on the choice of healthcare facilities among the residents of Minna metropolis. The study adopted a questionnaire method in collecting data while Chi-Square and logistic regression were used to estimate the effect of socio cultural and economic factors on healthcare choice among Minna residents. Finding from the studies reveal that predisposition factors such as age, marital status, gender and religious inclination were all significant in determining the choice of healthcare facilities while education was found to be insignificant. The enabling factors such as user’s fee, waiting time, accessibility, and availability of trained health personnel were all found to be significant in determining the choice of health care facilities. Income was also found to be significant in influencing the choice of healthcare facilities. Based on these findings, the study recommends that the government should equip all the public hospital with modern facilities and drugs, keep the user fees very low for affordability, trained more medical personnel and build more health centers for easy accessibility.