The Challenges of the Healthcare System in Nigeria and the Fight against Coronavirus
Journal of Medical Library and Information Science,
Vol. 3 (2022),
29 January 2022
,
Page 1-11
https://doi.org/10.22037/jmlis.v3i.38897
Abstract
Introduction: The Nigerian healthcare system faces a shortage of healthcare workers, facilities, and equipment. Moreover, massive corruption has been found to bedevil the healthcare system, i.e., the little resources allocated to the health sector are often embezzled by those saddled with the responsibility of implementation. The objective of this study is to examine the current state of the country's health sector and how it combats the Coronavirus.
Methods: A one-time survey was adopted in this study; 60 hospitals comprising public and private were randomly selected from the six geopolitical zones, and questionnaires were administered to 3000 purposively selected respondents comprising health workers and patients. One hundred fifty in-depth interviews were conducted with 100 in-patients and 50 health workers.
Results: The findings revealed that the problem of inadequate healthcare facilities, such as hospital buildings, bed spaces, hospital equipment, and personal protective equipment for health workers and patients, inadequate health workers characterized almost all the health facilities investigated either at maximum or minimum degrees.
Conclusion: Therefore, it was recommended that the government at all levels of authority should prioritize investing funds in the health sector and increasing the coverage of the health insurance scheme.
- Health care system
- Health services
- Coronavirus
- Health disparity
How to Cite
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