Access to health care for children aged from 0 to 5 in the Kikwit Sud health zone, Democratic Republic of Congo: Parents' perspectives, determinants and solutions

Abstract

International public policies aim to make access to healthcare uniform, ensuring equal access for the entire population. However,
around 1.4 billion people worldwide still lack access to essential health services. In the Kikwit Sud health zone, many families
face economic difficulties that limit their access to medical care. The aim of this study is to determine, based on the experiences
of the children's parents, the perspectives, determinants and interventions that could promote access to healthcare in the Kikwit
Sud health zone. A phenomenological approach operationalized by semi-directed interviews was used. Information saturation
was reached from the eighth respondent onwards, but ten respondents were finally interviewed to confirm the absence of new
themes. The results of our study show that parents are informed about available services, but often favor home care to limit the
often high costs of care. Some parents reported that a warmer welcome is reserved for families with greater financial resources.
To improve access to care for children, parents suggested cost reduction, increased availability of medicines, improved
infrastructure, increased financial support, free or more accessible services, improved working conditions for caregivers, and
the establishment of an integrated healthcare system.