Assessment of Healthcare Utilization among Fishing Households in Coastal Areas of Lagos State

This study assessed health care utilization among fishing households in coastal areas of Lagos State, Nigeria. One hundred and twenty (120) fishing households were selected from five purposively selected coastal fishing communities based on intensity of fishing, using a two-stage sampling procedure. Data were elicited with the aid of interview schedule and analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and binary logistic regression model. Results revealed that 36.7% of the fishers subscribed to health insurance schemes, 72.5% had health care facilities within 10km distance to their communities, and 84.2% spent not more than N5000 on monthly basis on health care. Higher proportions of the artisanal fishers sourced information on health issues from radio (88.3%), interpersonal communications from friends/relatives (58.3%) and community-based health campaigns (5.3%). Also, cholera (x̄= 2.31), cough (x̄=2.15) and catarrh (x̄=2.05) were reported as the most common health problems among the fishers. Most of the fishers patronized health care facilities for laboratory tests (84.2 %), treatment of minor injuries (84.2 %), immunization of children (83.3 %), family planning (77.5%), voluntary testing and counseling (66.7 %), antenatal care (65.8%), and nutritional support (61.7 %). Furthermore, 62.5% of the fishing households utilized modern health care facilities at moderate level. High cost of transportation (x̄=1.36±0.919), lack of awareness of health facilities (x̄=1.22±0.903), high cost of treatment fee (x̄=1.13±0.874), and inadequate health care facilities (x̄= 1.03±0.842) were serious constraints to health care utilization. Results of binary logistic regression model revealed that gender (β=-2.540, Wald =5.809) and income (β=0.001, Wald =14.561) contributed significantly to the likelihood of fishers’ utilization of modern health care facilities at p≤0.05. Results therefore show that modern health care facilities were utilized at moderate levels. The study suggests that artisanal fishers should be sensitized on the need to intensify the patronage of modern health care facilities.