Income level and healthcare utilization in Calabar Metropolis of Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

Throughout the world, socio-economic status differentials of individuals have a lot of influence on privileges and opportunities enjoyed by society members. The different social and economic positions of individuals and income levels oftentimes hinder them from effective use of health care facilities. It is against this background, that the study was designed to investigate income differentials and its influence on utilization of healthcare services among the people of Calabar Metropolis in Cross River State, Nigeria. Relevant body of literature were reviewed and survey design method was adopted. The instruments used were the questionnaire, interview and Focus Group Discussions (FGD). A sample of 360 respondents was selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure for the study. Data was presented using simple percentage calculation while Chi-Square and ANOVA statistical tool was used to test and ascertain the relationship between income level and healthcare services usage at 0.05 level of significance. Findings of the study revealed that level of income and occupational status of individual influence health care service utilization among people in Calabar Metropolis. At the end of the study, several recommendations were made among which were a general improvement of socio-economic status of the people in areas of availability and compulsory education, employment opportunities as well as equitable distribution of income and minimizing cost of health care services for effective and equal utilization.

Community-Dwelling Older Adults’ Intended Use of Different Types of Long-Term Care in China and Its Associated Factors Based on the Andersen Behavioral Model

“…Concerning the intended use of medical care, income was the only influential factor in enabling resources. This finding provided further evidence that poor income can be a hindrance to health seeking and the utilization of care services [ 15 , 31 ]. However, the intended use of medical care was not influenced by other factors of the enabling resources.…”

“…The predisposing characteristics of age, gender, and education level were found to be significant predictors [ 12 , 13 ]. Moreover, enabling resources (such as marital status, living arrangements, and income) were reported to be associated with older adults’ needs [ 14 , 15 ]. In addition, physical health status, as the need factor, also strongly impacts older adults’ demand for care services [ 16 , 17 ].…”

Socioeconomic Disparities in Hospital Utilization Among Female Workers in Indonesia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…19 People with better economic groups can get better health services than people in low economic groups. 20 Socioeconomic factors will influence the decision-making and individual behavior to obtain good health services. 21 Several studies have shown that countries with low economic capacity will affect individuals to pay for health services.…”

Factors Influencing Aged Preferences for Healthcare Services in Selected Rural Communities of Ayedaade Local Government Area, Osun State

“…In a typical Nigerian village, majority of the population comprises old people who are mostly economically unproductive due to ill health brought about by ageing (Anele, 2012). According to Archibong et al (2020), individuals with low financial capacity and socio-economic status anywhere in the world are exposed to and defenceless against a great deal of health risks. Many times, the rural aged in Nigeria have low income and no access to benefits covering the costs of medications and therefore go without or spend a large part of their incomes on medications.…”