Impact of the decision to use healthcare facilities among farming households on labour productivity in Ogun State, Nigeria

Productivity of agricultural labour is central to the improvement of livelihoods of rural population. This study used an instrumental variable approach to examine the impact of healthcare facilities use on household labour productivity using distance to healthcare facilities as an instrument. A multistage sampling procedure was used in selecting 200 households comprising 96 users and 104 non-users of healthcare facilities. The result revealed that the agricultural productivity of users of healthcare facilities was ₦652.34 (USD 1.65) per man-day higher than non-users. The result further showed that age (p < 0.1), sex (p < 0.05), contact with health extension worker (p < 0.01), incapacitation due to illness (p < 0.05) and distance to healthcare facilities (p < 0.01) significantly influenced the decision to use healthcare facilities while membership of cooperative society (p < 0.05), area cultivated and use of health care facilities (p < 0.1) significantly influenced labour productivity. The study concluded that increased distance to healthcare facilities reduces its utilisation while being member of cooperative society and utilisation of healthcare facilities increases labour productivity. This study recommended that health extension workers need to intensify their efforts in educating the households on the need to use healthcare facilities when they are sick; this is expected to improve the healthy time of the households which will invariably increase their productivity

Factors influencing choice of healthcare facilities utilisation by rural households in Ogun State, Nigeria

Understanding the choice of healthcare facility utilisation is essential to the provision of need-based healthcare services to the population. This study was carried out to estimate factors influencing the choice of healthcare facilities utilised by rural households. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 240 rural households comprising 1440 persons. Data were collected with the use of a structured questionnaire and analysed with descriptive techniques and a multivariate probit (MVP) model. The MVP result showed that households supplement public healthcare facilities with private clinics, support traditional medical treatment with self-medication, and replace self-medication with public healthcare facilities and private clinics. Similarly, age, gender, household size, cost of drugs, distance to public healthcare facilities, travelling cost, contact with community health workers, total income, awareness of public health facilities, quality of health facilities, and terrain of health facilities influence the choice of healthcare facilities utilised. The study concluded that increased total income, contact with community health extension workers, awareness of health facilities, and perceived quality of services rendered positively influence the choice of healthcare facilities sorted after while the increase in the cost of drugs, distance to health facilities, travelling cost and difficult terrain of health facilities negatively impact the choice of healthcare facilities utilised. The study recommended that public healthcare facilities should be located within the reach of the people and equipped with essential drugs at a reduced cost. Households should also engage in activities that will increase their income so that they can use better healthcare facilities