Analysis of accessibility to university hospital services among the Makerere University Students: a case study of School of Statistics Students

Abstract

Utilization of health services at Makerere University Hospital by Makerere University students is low for several reason. According to anecdotal data from the University Hospital (UH) Director (Dr. Margret Wandera), only about 1.9 – 2.5% of the student population receives health services at the hospital. The goal of this paper was to discuss the determinants of accessibility to the UH services, both descriptive and correlational research designs was employed to assess the determinants of university Hospital accessibility among the university students. Means, standard deviations, minimum and maximum values of the factors were obtained on a sample of 114 students of SSP, association between the factors and UH service accessibility was tested using Pair wise correlation coefficients calculation and binary logistic regression were different hypotheses were tested, the study found out that MasterCard Sponsored students accessed the UH service (p value=0.040), Students who said they are Roman Catholics had a significant association with UH services access(p value=o.012) and those who said they belong to other religious denominations also accessed the UH services(p value=0.0.05). And lastly informed students about UH Services also had a significantly association to accessibility to University Hospital services (p value=0.011). The researcher recommended that more students should apply for the MasterCard Sponsorship program because of the welfare benefits provided for its beneficiaries. Furthermore, University Hospital medical practitioners are also advised to understand the religious beliefs of individuals to effectively meet the health care needs of patients. The researcher also mentioned that the UH management and Makerere University administrators should ensure that students are informed about the Services at the University Hospital