WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

Dr. Doubrapade Walker*

ABSTRACT

Background: Primary health care is a grassroot-oriented health care delivery system that hinges its success on effective community engagement. Strong community engagement will improve trust, responsiveness, and overall utilization of primary health care services in rural communities. Method: The study adopted a cross-sectional correlational survey research design. Four research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. A sample of 309 primary health care workers was used for the study. Multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted to select the respondents for the study. The instrument for data collection was a 28-item, self-developed questionnaire, with a 4-point Likert scale. Data obtained were coded into Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 26 and analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation, and inferential statistics of multiple linear regression analysis. Results: The study findings revealed that, all the community engagement variables under study such as community participation (X?=2.66), community mobilization (X?=2.56), leadership and governance (X?=2.58), and community organization (X?=2.80), predicted effective utilization of primary health care services in high extent. This result was subsequently, reaffirmed by the multiple linear regression analysis, where community participation, leadership and governance were significant positive predictors of effective utilization of primary health care services in rural communities in Bayelsa State. Conclusion: The study concluded that all the community engagement variables are predictors for effective utilization of primary health care services in rural communities of Bayelsa State. Based on the findings, it was concluded among others that government should institutionalize mechanisms to strengthen community participation in primary health care programmes.

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