Influence of Financial Support on Access to Maternal and Child Healthcare in Narok North Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

Globally, access to healthcare services constitutes a fundamental social right guaranteed by international law and states’ constitutions. Kenya has entrenched healthcare services in the Constitution as a right, with the national and county governments having shared roles in healthcare provision. Narok County is listed among highly burdened areas on maternal and neonatal health challenges occasioned by the high mortality rate. This study seeks to examine how financial support promotes access to maternal and child healthcare in Narok –North SubCounty. The study is guided by Andersen’s Behavioural Model of Health Utilization. A concurrent mixed methods design was adopted for the study, and the target population was 59,996 households and 20 key informants in Narok-North Sub-County, Kenya. A sample size of 381 respondents participated in the study. The study employed the use of questionnaires and the interview guide as research tools for the collection of primary data, which was corroborated with secondary data. The study used simple random sampling to select participants from every household, while purposive sampling was used to select key informants. Data analysis was done using a convergent parallel mixed method where qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis and presented using themes, sub-themes, and narrations. Quantitative data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and presented using means, tables, graphs, and charts. The study results revealed that 57.2% of the respondents noted that there was a low budgetary allocation from the Government, and this had a negative implication on maternal and child health care in Narok North Sub-County. The study concluded that the implementation of the health policy in the Sub-county had not achieved the intended objectives and thus recommends that the Government needs to prioritize timely disbursements of funds to allow health facilities to provide consistent maternal and child health services. There is also a need to expand healthcare infrastructure and strengthen human resource capacity to tackle accessibility challenges for maternal and child healthcare.