Spatial Distribution of the Primary Health Care Facilities in Enugu State, Nigeria

SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE PRIMARY HEALTH CARE FACILITIES IN ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

(A GIS Approach )
By Adewara Monsur Babalola

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Abstract

The analytical capability of GIS has been explored in this work in an attempt to enhance the distribution of primary health care services in Enugu State Southeast Nigeria. With due consideration to the importance of health to the overall well being of every nation, the need for effective planning and management of the health care facilities in order to achieve optimum result in the country, can not be overemphasized. Information as to what is where is ever useful for any meaningful planning programme to be achieved. To facilitate the necessary information needs of a PHC services model, two major data types were obtained for this research, viz: statistical data and spatial data. The In order to achieve smooth database management and integration, object- oriented database creation method using ArcGIS 9.2 GIS package, was adopted. The method of database development is also described. Various forms of analysis were performed on the PHC data using the ArcGIS spatial analyst Arc toolbox with the aim to determine the various distribution patterns as well as the number of PHC facilities within a stipulated radius from each identified community /LGA Headquarters in the state.

Keywords: Primary Health Care (PHC), Database, Nearest Neighborhood Ratio (NNR), Proximity analysis.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL OVERVIEW

1.1 Introduction

The primary health care service delivery in Nigeria has been described as having mixed achievements. Depending on which perspective of observation, some have applauded the effort of the government in providing grass root health care services whereas in some quarters such services have been marred by inefficiency (Adeyemo, 2005). This is evidenced in the number of ailing hospitals across the country. Besides, the problem of inadequate manpower, obsolete equipment and

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