A Framework for Assessing Community Utilization of Health Services in Health Facilities Using Geographical Information System

Abstract

Access to health services by patients in most parts of Tanzania is a challenge due to the fact that some of the villages have no health facilities. Availability of health facilities near people’s residents contributes significantly to healthier community. In this study GIS techniques namely Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) methods were used to determine geographical and demographical factors affecting accessibility and utilization of health facilities. To achieve the study objectives, data from 56 operating health facilities in Kibaha district was collected from February 2018 to July 2018. Handheld Geographical Positioning System (GPS) through field survey was used to collect and geo-reference water point, village center and health facility coordinates points in Kibaha district. Questionnaire with closed and open questions was used to collect health services information from health facility staff members. Documentary review was used in collecting secondary data in Kibaha district, shapefile of Kibaha District, Open Street Map (OSM) for road networks, population and number of patients attending health facilities were the secondary data collected.