Barriers to Healthcare Access and its associated factors among Reproductive-Age Women in Somalia: Based On Somalia Demographic and Health Survey 2020 Data: Cross-sectional Study

Barriers to Healthcare Access and its associated factors among Reproductive-Age Women in Somalia: Based On Somalia Demographic and Health Survey 2020 Data: Cross-sectional Study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Barriers to Healthcare Access and its associated factors among Reproductive-Age Women in Somalia: Based On Somalia Demographic and Health Survey 2020 Data: Cross-sectional Study Yahye Dayib Aw-Ali, Hodo Abdikarim, Abdisalam Hassan Muse, Badri Mohamed Hassan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5851435/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: Access to health care services is a common problem in developing countries including Somalia. SDG 3 advocates for the provision of quality healthcare and the promotion of overall well-being for everyone, regardless of age, underscoring the necessity of addressing health inequalities. Hence, this study aims to assess the magnitude and factors associated with problems to healthcare access in Somalia using insights from SDHS. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional analysis of secondary data from the Somalia Demographic and Health Survey 2020. A sample size of 10,733 reproductive-age women was utilized. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of healthcare access problems. Results: The prevalence of barriers to healthcare access was 72.60% (95%CI: .717-.734. Women in higher education (AOR: 2.63; 95% CI: 1.79-3.85), widowed women (AOR: 1.28; 95%CI: 1.03-1.58), second wealth quantile (AOR: 1.50; 95%CI: 1.28-1.76), middle quantile (AOR: 2.16; 95%CI: 1.78-2.61) fourth quantile (AOR: 2.74; 95%CI: 2.26-3.33) fifth quantile (AOR: 3.57 95%CI: 2.92-4.37), being a resident in the regions of Togdheer (AOR: .477; 95%CI: .363-.626), Sanaag (AOR: .611; 95%CI: .470-.794), Mudug (AOR: .675; 95%CI: .511-.892), Galgaduud (AOR: .582; 95%CI: .433-.783), Hiraan (AOR: .684; 95%CI .513-.913), Banaadir (AOR: .627; 95%CI: .491-.801), Bay (AOR: .279; 95%CI: .176-.442), Gedo (AOR: 1.47; 95%CI: 1.12-1.93), Lower juba (AOR: 1.80; 95%CI: 1.38-2.33), and having five or more than five children (AOR: .802; 95%: .718-.896) were identified as the predictors of barriers to healthcare access in Somalia. Conclusion: The study identifies significant barriers to Somali women's access to healthcare, which are influenced by variables such as family size, wealth index, marital status, and education. the study encourages focused interventions to lower healthcare inequities by enhancing affordability, raising awareness, and improving infrastructure. Healthcare services access problems reproductive women Somalia Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 May, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 17 Feb, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 23 Jan, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 21 Jan, 2025 First submitted to journal 17 Jan, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5851435","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":440741250,"identity":"7a555462-5e97-4b5e-a731-f99ba4c47f00","order_by":0,"name":"Yahye Dayib Aw-Ali","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABBklEQVRIie3Qv0rDQADH8V85yXSNa0qo7SNcCQRKKj5LCKRLENwylUJXzWzAh8iU+cpBs1iynrjoHqEuYkHBS8joQd0c7ksIx3Ef7g9gMv3LaPsj6qODl26CA86phLA/ElDLOYmwar9zDggmrBru0mOyCDNOts8UqwstebyOR/dYzgphx093ZRzm3IoCCuFpCU98Vy0YFIL6cliKsOC0neHhWkfqxne/IK5acvPdkfMPRVZ6ItUugFqpCOl3sRQhWjKSjTe/ZcsoF3bkjsvYy4XlzR+Y/i52nczkZxpcZvV++/5WLsZZtXmVTap/sSnHmQPWDfpId2AdACZrkEM/MJlMJtPv/QA/FFoxTM0cDgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Amoud University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yahye","middleName":"Dayib","lastName":"Aw-Ali","suffix":""},{"id":440741251,"identity":"82fc01b7-7a78-4ebd-b21a-3f07f4c1f043","order_by":1,"name":"Hodo Abdikarim","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Amoud University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hodo","middleName":"","lastName":"Abdikarim","suffix":""},{"id":440741254,"identity":"a934dea9-859e-41c6-a87a-07ce84eca9ce","order_by":2,"name":"Abdisalam Hassan Muse","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Amoud University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Abdisalam","middleName":"Hassan","lastName":"Muse","suffix":""},{"id":440741256,"identity":"f096d306-ea4e-4a3a-8570-24141ceadd21","order_by":3,"name":"Badri Mohamed Hassan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Amoud University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Badri","middleName":"Mohamed","lastName":"Hassan","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-01-17 19:23:10","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5851435/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5851435/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":80506985,"identity":"21ac5936-4d2c-41f6-bbcf-f759e3f4dc15","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-14 05:43:19","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":357343,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"BarrierstoHealthCareAccesinSomalia.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5851435/v1_covered_67b677e8-f9a1-4cd6-a4b8-43526856e07b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Barriers to Healthcare Access and its associated factors among Reproductive-Age Women in Somalia: Based On Somalia Demographic and Health Survey 2020 Data: Cross-sectional Study","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"reproductive-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"reph","sideBox":"Learn more about [Reproductive Health](http://reproductive-health-journal.biomedcentral.com)","snPcode":"12978","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/12978/3","title":"Reproductive Health","twitterHandle":"@Reprod_Health","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Healthcare services, access, problems, reproductive women, Somalia","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5851435/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5851435/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eBackground: Access to health care services is a common problem in developing countries including Somalia. SDG 3 advocates for the provision of quality healthcare and the promotion of overall well-being for everyone, regardless of age, underscoring the necessity of addressing health inequalities. Hence, this study aims to assess the magnitude and factors associated with problems to healthcare access in Somalia using insights from SDHS.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMethods: This study was a cross-sectional analysis of secondary data from the Somalia Demographic and Health Survey 2020. A sample size of 10,733 reproductive-age women was utilized. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of healthcare access problems.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eResults: The prevalence of barriers to healthcare access was 72.60% (95%CI: .717-.734. Women in higher education (AOR: 2.63; 95% CI: 1.79-3.85), widowed women (AOR: 1.28; 95%CI: 1.03-1.58), second wealth quantile (AOR: 1.50; 95%CI: 1.28-1.76), middle quantile (AOR: 2.16; 95%CI: 1.78-2.61) fourth quantile (AOR: 2.74; 95%CI: 2.26-3.33) fifth quantile (AOR: 3.57 95%CI: 2.92-4.37), being a resident in the regions of Togdheer (AOR: .477; 95%CI: .363-.626), Sanaag (AOR:\u0026nbsp; .611; 95%CI: .470-.794), Mudug (AOR: .675; 95%CI: .511-.892), Galgaduud (AOR: .582; 95%CI: .433-.783), Hiraan (AOR: .684; 95%CI .513-.913), Banaadir (AOR: .627; 95%CI: .491-.801), Bay (AOR: .279; 95%CI: .176-.442), Gedo (AOR: 1.47; 95%CI: 1.12-1.93), Lower juba (AOR: 1.80; 95%CI: 1.38-2.33), and having five or more than five children (AOR: .802; 95%: .718-.896) were identified as the predictors of barriers to healthcare access in Somalia.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConclusion: The study identifies significant barriers to Somali women's access to healthcare, which are influenced by variables such as family size, wealth index, marital status, and education. the study\u0026nbsp;encourages focused interventions\u0026nbsp;to lower healthcare inequities by enhancing affordability, raising awareness, and improving infrastructure.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Barriers to Healthcare Access and its associated factors among Reproductive-Age Women in Somalia: Based On Somalia Demographic and Health Survey 2020 Data: Cross-sectional Study","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-04-14 05:35:14","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5851435/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"329026206240674776636459161764762436137","date":"2025-06-03T20:59:42+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"74516445604086543357309100649572750746","date":"2025-06-02T18:17:57+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"291800711663716599148368523495247040707","date":"2025-05-07T12:51:31+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"11015287962848664287729758939209334640","date":"2025-05-04T13:44:08+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-02-17T12:27:21+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-01-23T15:25:04+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-01-22T01:27:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Reproductive Health","date":"2025-01-17T19:13:45+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"reproductive-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"reph","sideBox":"Learn more about [Reproductive Health](http://reproductive-health-journal.biomedcentral.com)","snPcode":"12978","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/12978/3","title":"Reproductive Health","twitterHandle":"@Reprod_Health","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"dfbcbe01-13f3-4b49-b95e-e88a2a5c2862","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 14th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-04-14T05:35:14+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-04-14 05:35:14","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5851435","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5851435","identity":"rs-5851435","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}