Utilization of Health Care Facilities/Services and the Control of Infant Morbidity and Mortability in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the effect of utilization of health care facilities/services and the control of infant morbidity and mortality in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.  Correlational survey design was adopted.  A sample size of 284 subjects was used for the study.  The utilization of healthcare facilities Inventory (UHFI) and Control of Infant Morbidity and Mortality Inventory (CIMMI) instruments were used.  The instruments were validated by experts in Education and Public Health.  The reliability of the instruments was established using the Cronback Alpha Method to obtain indices of 0.86 and 0.73 for UHFI and CIMMI respectively.  Data obtained was analyzed using regression/ANOVA statistical techniques for analysis of the data.  The result revealed that: out of the three independent variables correlated and regressed with the criterion measure of control of infant morbidity and mortality, income was the best predictor.  It had the strongest predictive power than education and distance.  Capacity building of health workers for the improvement in their skills of maternal and child health interventions, alongside government developing a workable framework for the incorporation of the private sector into the financially demanding task of healthcare delivery were among the proffered recommendations.

Keywords: Health Facility/Service, Utilization, Infant morbidity and mortality.