Quality of health care in Nigeria: a myth or a reality

Abstract

The delivery of high quality health care is crucial to achieving enhanced health benefits, patient safety and a positive patient experience of health care. This article provides insight on the quality of the health care delivery in Nigeria and aim to uncover if quality health care in Nigeria is a reality or a myth. Relevant information was abstracted from included articles and used to provide both descriptive and analytical discourse on the subject. Discussions and reflections were carried out along an established quality framework of treatment effectiveness, acceptability, efficiency, the appropriateness of the means of delivery as well as equity. The slow pace of development of quality systems in health service delivery in Nigeria is evidenced by the poor quality of health services as well as the poor health status of the population. The pace of developing quality systems in health care delivery in Nigeria is unsatisfactory. There is a need to galvanise the efforts of relevant stakeholders including the patient in charting a new agenda for health care quality improvement in Nigeria.