African Journal of Public Health and Health Systems | 18 April 2004
Mobile Health Clinics' Impact on Access to Healthcare in Ethiopian Highlands: An Intervention Study
G, u, s, a, m, i, n, G, e, b, r, e, a, b, ,, Y, a, r, e, d, A, b, e, r, a, ,, Z, e, r, i, h, u, n, H, a, i, l, e, ,, T, e, k, l, e, h, a, i, m, a, b, l, e, A, s, s, e, f, a
Abstract
The Ethiopian Highlands face significant challenges in accessing healthcare due to geographic isolation and limited infrastructure. A mixed-methods approach including pre- and post-intervention assessments, surveys, and qualitative interviews was employed to measure changes in service utilization and patient satisfaction. Mobile health clinics significantly reduced travel times by an average of 45 minutes per visit compared to traditional healthcare facilities, with a positive trend observed in both patient attendance rates (82% increase) and overall satisfaction scores (median score improvement from 3.5 to 4 out of 5). Mobile health clinics have demonstrated substantial potential in improving access to healthcare for remote populations in the Ethiopian Highlands. Continued investment in mobile health services, along with targeted community engagement strategies, is recommended to sustain and expand these benefits. mobile health clinics, access to healthcare, remote residents, Ethiopia, geographic isolation Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p<em>i)=\beta</em>0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.