Women’s Healthcare Accessibility and Utilisation Post-COVID-19 in the Niger-Delta Region of Nigeria

Résumé

Worldwide, the healthcare system has witnessed significant changes in accessibility and utilization during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been a reported marked reduction observed globally in healthcare utilization, especially after the pandemic. This research scrutinized the influence of several determinants of healthcare accessibility and utilization after COVID-19. The data was quantitatively analysed from a household survey of 2423 female rural participants from Delta and Edo States in the Niger-Delta Region of Nigeria. SPSS 23 software was used for the results examined, while Arc GIS 10 Software was used for Map production. Descriptive and multiple regression techniques were used to analyse the data. The research findings depicted the change in healthcare utilization from primary healthcare to hospital due to challenges in the quality of healthcare in rural areas. The region is characterized by (84% of) women who have low or no income and are either farmers or traders. Healthcare services utilized include maternal and child care (pre-natal, delivery, family planning) among the research participants. Twenty-four variables explained rural women’s healthcare accessibility and utilization at 77% which is statistically significant. This research recommends the improvement in women’s productivity and livelihood, change in social infrastructure to boost equality between the genders, combating the social and economic consequences after COVID-19 and integration of active community and government participation in the healthcare system.