Health Care for All : A Qualitative Exploration of Health, Space, and Accessability in Kajiado, Kenya.

Abstract: Background: Health inaccessibility is a global phenomenon: as of today, askewed distribution of health care can be seen in both low- and high-incomecountries. Mostly affected are however nomadic people in Sub-Saharan Africa. Departing from a more subjective understanding of both health and space, theresearch explored how health care workers involved at Swedish organization NewLife Mission’s clinics viewed health care accessibility in the rural area ofMashuuru, in which a large percentage of population are Masai.Aim: The aim of this research was to through the eyes of health care workersexamine factors affecting nomadic pastoralist people’s access to health care.Method: Manifest data on the topic was qualitatively collected by the means ofnine semi-structured interviews, all exploring accessibility in a broader notion.Results: The data resulted in four themes: External factors, Clinic features,Provider attitudes as well as Patient attributes. Respondents emphasized thatclinic and provider behavior affected accessibility substantially, but that also external factors such as poverty, government negligence and cultural differencesostracized accessibility.Conclusion: In order to assure a more encompassing health care coverage, asadvocated by the UN, WHO and the International Codex for Nurses,understanding the ambiguity of health care accessibility is crucial when workingin an increasingly multicultural world.