Geographical accessibility to public healthcare facilities and undernutrition in children under-5 in Uganda
A cross-sectional spatial analysis
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21835540 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rik U Lubbers (University Medical Center Groningen), Rik Lubbers (0000-0002-2772-1524, University Medical Center Groningen, corresponding author), Tamar Waiswa-Goossens (The Ark), Gerd Weitkamp (0000-0002-7367-8467, University of Groningen), Regien Biesma (0000-0002-5532-0242, University Medical Center Groningen) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 263-281 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-16 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | African Geographical Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1937-6812 • E-ISSN: 2163-2642 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/19376812.2025.2538772 |
| OpenAlex | W4412634057 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 42 |
In Uganda, 29% of all children under-5 experience some form of undernutrition, a key predictor of health outcomes. Healthcare accessibility is a key determinant of undernutrition. Longer travel times to healthcare may increase undernutrition due to access barriers. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of geographical accessibility on undernutrition in children under-5 in Uganda. The Ugandan Demographic Health Survey from 2016 (UDHS-2016) was used in combination with the AccessMod tool to estimate the travel time by walking to the nearest public healthcare facility. Travel time costs depend on distance, elevation, landcover, and road data. Three multivariate linear regression models were created for stunting (height-for-age Z-scores), wasting (weight-for-height Z-scores) and underweight (weight-for-age Z-scores) while accounting for covariates like parental- and child sociodemographic- & health factors. The study included 4,287 children with a mean travel time of 93 minutes (median: 77 min.). Urban clusters must travel significantly less than rural clusters. Travel times ranged from 12 min. (Kampala) to 142 min. (Acholi). All three regression models estimated no statistically significant association between travel time and either stunting, wasting, or underweight (p > 0.05). More research is required to understand the association between healthcare accessibility and undernutrition
Cross-sectional study · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Geography · Health care · Malnutrition · Public health · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Global Maternal and Child Health · Medicine · Nursing · Urban Transport and Accessibility
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |