Effect of Universal Health Coverage on the Availability of Medicines in Public Health Facilities in Kisumu County, in Kenya

Abstract

Background Stock outs of medicines and unaffordable cost are two major barriers of access to healthcare. Universal Health Coverage (UHC) seeks to ensure that all people have access to quality essential health services without suffering financial hardship. Objective The main objective of the study was to determine the effect and challenges of UHC program on the availability of medicines in public health facilities in Kisumu County. Methodology The study used a Pretest-posttest research design. The study was carried out in twentynine health facilities that were selected using stratified random sampling. Data was collected using key informant interviews with a health worker in each facility. Participants also involved four hundred and forty-four patients selected from the chosen facilities using consecutive sampling. Data from patients was collected using researcher administered questionnaires. Results The availability of medicines improved by 3.4% for 20 tracer medicines since the introduction of the pilot UHC in Kisumu County. This was also supported from the patient’s perspective (n= 444; 79.5%). However, in spite of this, health workers experienced challenges which included inadequate supply, delays and stock out of some medicines. Other challenges were overworking, shortage of qualified staff and inconsistent supplies. Rwanda J Med Health Sci 2021;4(2): 269-280.