HEALTHCARE DELIVERY AND QUALITY OF CARE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC HOSPITALS IN WUKARI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

Abstract

Healthcare provision in Nigeria remains a multifaceted challenge, and while researchers have examined the problem from several angles, comparative studies of public and private healthcare delivery specific to Wukari Local Government Area remain limited. The present study was carried out in Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State, involving 401 adult residents. The study adopted a survey research design and utilised a structured questionnaire for data collection. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, an independent-samples t-test, and multiple regression. The findings indicate a statistically significant difference in the perceived quality of healthcare between users of private healthcare facilities (M = 2.5027, SD = .76125) and users of public healthcare facilities (M = 2.2439, SD = .97178); t(436.70) = 3.523, p < .001. Significant predictors of choosing a public healthcare facility included age, education, socioeconomic income, distance from the healthcare facility, occupation, perceived satisfaction with healthcare services, and public health knowledge, R² = .424, F(10, 390) = 28.708, p < .001. The study concludes with policy-relevant recommendations for strengthening public healthcare delivery in the study area.