Awareness and perception toward referral in health care: A study of adult residents in Ilorin, Nigeria

Abstract

There is low awareness and poor perception of referral protocol in the health care system among the people of Ilorin. The higher the level of education, the more knowledge the respondents have about referral in the health system and the more likely they have correct perception of referral in health care. The Nigeria health care system policy on referral and appropriate hospital utilization could be more effective if public awareness is created about it via the media while making effort to improve the credibility of the PHC.

Knowledge, attitude, and perception of the referral system among tertiary health-care workers in Kaduna metropolis, Nigeria

“…[11] A number of studies have been conducted (particularly in developed countries) to ascertain the influence of health workers' role on the referral system, with regards to their behavior, communication, skills, commitment, etc. [12,13] Furthermore, a study by Abodunrin et al in North-Central Nigeria alludes to the need for health-care providers to have adequate knowledge of the referral procedure of their healthcare system, [5] in order for it to function optimally. In this study, which assessed the knowledge, attitude, and perception of health workers in four receiving facilities in a Nigerian urban area (Kaduna metropolis), the respondents displayed a high level of awareness and knowledge of "referral" as a term.…”

“…[3] Al-Mazrou et al define it as "any process in which health-care providers at lower levels of the health system, who lack the skills, facilities, or both to manage a given clinical condition, seek the assistance of providers who are better equipped or specially trained to guide them in managing, or to take over responsibility for a particular episode of a clinical condition in a patient." [4] Other abridged definitions include "a continuum of care in which case a health-care worker assesses that his client may benefit from accessing additional or expert services elsewhere" [5] and "a process of requesting another physician to examine a patient to obtain advice or management." [6] It stands to reason, therefore, that referral does not occur in isolation or unilaterally by one individual or an institution.…”

Inpatients’ Perception of Doctors’ Attitude towards the Management of Their ill Health in a Nigerian University Teaching Hospital

“…The Nigeria health system operates three levels of health care, namely, the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, which interact through a referral system. 2 The primary health care (PHC) is the entry point to health care system and ideally should be able to provide majority of the essential and basic health care services. The secondary level hospitals are to provide general out-and in-patient services accepting referrals from urban and rural PHC, while tertiary hospitals are to provide specialized services to referrals from secondary hospitals.…”

“…however, the Nigeria health system is faced with the challenge of "inverse care law" in which case people who need healthcare the most have the least access to it mainly as a result of poor administration and management. 2 The under utilization of the PHC has over burdened the higher levels of care and sometimes these higher levels find it difficult to compulsorily demand for referral before attending to patients, which should have been the ideal situation. 2 In Nigeria, the referral system can be said to be at best non-operational and there is just no continuity of care and this contributes especially to increased maternal and child morbidities and mortalities.…”

“…2 The under utilization of the PHC has over burdened the higher levels of care and sometimes these higher levels find it difficult to compulsorily demand for referral before attending to patients, which should have been the ideal situation. 2 In Nigeria, the referral system can be said to be at best non-operational and there is just no continuity of care and this contributes especially to increased maternal and child morbidities and mortalities. patient's satisfaction has long been considered as an important component when measuring health outcome and quality of care.…”