Emmanuel Ndumdi Orji and Henry Ikechukwu Imah

Dept. of Science Education (Health Education Unit) University of Delta, Agbor.

Abstract

Primary Health Care (PHC) serves as the first point of healthcare contact to the communities and remains the closest healthcare to the ordinary average person. However, there are couple of barriers to an easy accessibility and utilization of this tear of healthcare in Nigeria. Therefore, the aim of this review is to look at the roles health education plays as a tool for reducing the barriers and improving the facilitators of accessibility and utilization of primary health care (PHC) in Nigeria. All organizations, people and activities whose primary aim is the promotion, restoration, and maintenance of health is the health care system. Nigerians seek health care services from numerous sources. However, PHC is the nearest, most available and accessible health care system to the people. It is the first level of contact of individuals, family, and the community with the health care system and it is with about ten components, including health education. Primary Health Care is the ‘front door’ of the health care system and the most inclusive, equitable and cost-effective way to achieve universal health coverage, but barriers that results to under-accessibility and under-utilization. The barriers are long distances to the PHC facilities, uneven distribution of PHC facilities and dearth of health personnel, insufficient funding, corruption, cultural hindrances, and lack of will power on the part of governments among others. However, the literature reviewed revealed that the involvement of professional health educators is inadequate, creating a gap that would have done the work of convincing all stake holders of the need for optimum dedication to the development of the PHC sector. Therefore, the researchers recommended among others that health education professional associations in Nigeria -should strategize and influence government policies and practices concerning the deployment of professional health educators to all PHCs in the country as a primary agenda.