Unmet need for primary healthcare and associated individual and household-level factors in Kenya: results from a national survey

• Main Authors: Peter O Otieno, Francis Kiroro, Cynthia Runyenje, Pauline Kamau
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2021-06-01
• Series: BMJ Open
• Online Access: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/5/e041032.full
• ISSN: 2044-6055

Objective To determine the prevalence of unmet need for primary healthcare and associated individual and household-level factors in Kenya.Design The data for this study are drawn from the 2016 Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS). A multistage sampling technique involving a systematic selection of clusters at the national level and final selection of households was used.Setting This study was conducted in Kenya. The KIHBS is a nationally representative survey on a wide range of indicators to assess the progress made in improving the living standards of the population at the national level.Participants A total of 9447 households comprising 15 539 household members who reported a sickness or injury over the 4 weeks preceding this survey were included in this study. The study respondents comprised of the household heads.Primary outcome measure The primary outcome of this study is unmet need for primary healthcare defined as an unexpressed demand for primary healthcare following a reported sickness or injury over the 4 weeks preceding this survey.Results About one in every five study participants experienced an unexpressed demand for primary care. The odds of having unmet need for primary healthcare were 68% higher among participants without health insurance coverage compared with those with health insurance (adjusted OR 1.68; p<0.001; 95% CI 1.34 to 2.09) and 45% higher among households headed by single or unmarried persons compared with the those who were in a marital union (adjusted OR 1.45; p<0.05; 95% CI 1.06 to 1.98).Conclusions Our findings show that there is still a considerable unexpressed demand for primary care services despite widespread implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Kenya, with households without a health insurance cover bearing the highest burden. Therefore, the design of UHC reforms in Kenya should focus on embedding social health protection to escalate the demand for primary healthcare services.