CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Per capita income in Nigeria as we all know has a
lot to do with the day to day live of Nigerians as it determines the
quality of services rendered with the health care sector having a lot
to do with per capita income of Nigeria.It is important for
policymakers to know the relationship between health care expenditure
and income, knowing this relationship helps them to make wise
judgments, plan health reforms, and allocate resources efficiently. In
Nigeria, health care cost is a direct consequence of per capita income
as the amount of money earned determines the quality of health care
rendered. Okoro (2011: 46). Per capita income is simply means
the mean money income received in the past 12 months computed for every
man, woman, and child in a geographic area. It is derived by dividing
the total income of all people 15 years old and over in a geographic
area by the total population in that area (Wikipedia). Per capita
income for a geographical area or country like Nigeria has a lot to do
with economic development amongst health care cost. Health is a
delicate sector in Nigeria; a healthy nation is a nation that achieves
great economic development and progress. Per capita income determines
in some sort the health care cost. Nigeria being a developing country
needs to know the unique relationship between the per capita income and
health care cost. Understanding this would help in programming holistic
health care laws that would assist and protect the poor who do not
have access to quality health care. Nigeria is a country blessed with
several health care outlets ranging from teaching hospitals to clinics
and health research institutes just to mention but a few. The
availability of these centers isn’t enough in confronting health care
challenges in Nigeria. The holistic improvement of health care gores
beyond just building of hospitals. This hospitals need to be affordable
to the poor masses a vast majority which live on less than a dollar
daily.
Aim and objective of the study
It is important for policymakers to know the
relationship between health care expenditure and per capita income,
knowing this relationship helps them to make wise judgments, plan
health reforms, and allocate resources efficiently and at the same time
help in accommodating the poor in quality health care delivery bearing
in mind the health care cost.
Statement of the General problem
Quality health care delivery and its cost has
been a major problem in Nigeria, a vast majority of Nigerians are being
denied quality health care delivery as a result of its cost. This sole
problem has led us into this research work inother to know the
relationship between health care cost and per capita income in other to
advice policy makers in ways of making holistic plans that would have a
positive far reaching effect on Nigerians, especially the poor in the
society.
Significance of the study
A cardinal significance of this study seeks to
advice policy makers on the best way to make robust plans on quality
health care cost in relation to per capita income. This would help
policy makers in effective distribution of resources. This study seeks
to recommend ways of making health sector accessible by all and sundry
which would help the poor gain access to quality health care delivery.
Scope of the study
The scope of this study is on the impact of per capita income on
the health care cost (a case study of university of uyo teaching
hospital)
Limitation of the study
A major limitation of this study is lack of sufficient data to
carry out the study. There were presence of missing data but this
missing data wasn’t significant enough to affect the potency of the
study and its analysis.
Research hypothesis
H0: There is no significant impact of per capita income on health care cost.
H1: There is a significant impact of per capita income on health care cost.
Definition of Terms
- Per capita income:this is the mean money income received in the past 12months computed for every man, woman, and child in a geographical area.
- Health: the condition of a person’s body or mind.
- Health care: the organized provision of medical care to individuals or communities.
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