Utilization of the Primary Health Care Services in the Tshwane Region of Gauteng Province, South Africa

BACKGROUND: In South Africa, the provision of primary health care is a basic service designed to be cost effective and bring healthcare as close as possible to the population, particularly to those people of low economic status. It is a service which is provided free of charge by the South African government and as part of the millennium health goals, it is intended that the service should be accessible to the populace and be effectively utilized. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the accessibility and utilization of the primary health care services in three community health care centres in the Tshwane of the Gauteng Province, South Africa. METHODOLOGY: Data were obtained from participants attending three Community Health Care Centres in the Tshwane Region using self-administered structured questionnaires. A document review of the Community Health Care Centres records was conducted to investigate the utilization trends of the services provided and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data obtained. RESULTS: The results showed that the Community Health Care Centres in the Tshwane Region are accessible to most participants who lived within 5 km of such centres and who traveled 30 minutes or less to the clinic. Using a taxi or walking were found to be the most common means of transport used to gain access to such a clinic. The findings showed that generally, participants were satisfied with the services provided. CONCLUSION: Participants of this study have access to the community health care centres in the Tshwane Region and there seems to be effective utilization by patients attending them.