Geographic Access Barriers and Student Healthcare Needs at Kaduna State College of Education, Gidan-Waya, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47514/kjg.2026.08.01.001Keywords:
Distance–Decay; Medical Outreach; Public Tertiary Institutions; Rural–Urban Interface; Spatial Analysis; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Abstract
Geographic accessibility is a fundamental constraint to healthcare delivery in rural–tertiary interfaces. Framed by the Okanagan Charter’s call to embed health into campus operations, this study evaluates student healthcare needs and spatial barriers at the Kaduna State College of Education (KSCOE), Gidan-Waya. Using a descriptive survey of 357 students via multi-stage sampling, findings reveal a profound "utilization–need gap": while 73% of students report unaddressed conditions, primarily surgical/gastrointestinal issues (52%, including appendicitis, hernias, and ulcers), malaria (29%), and visual impairments (25%), clinic utilization stands at a marginal 9%. Spatial analysis confirms a "spatial trap"; students face an 18km isolation from secondary healthcare, while a population surge in Gidan-Waya Ward (from 35,200 in 2006 to over 61,000 in 2024) "crowds out" student access to limited primary resources. The study concludes that the current "Sick Bay" model is spatially exclusionary and clinically obsolete, rendering students "structurally invisible." To align with the Healthy Universities framework, the study recommends an urgent upgrade of the facility to secondary-level status, institutionalized semester-based outreach, and formal "town-gown" partnerships to mitigate these inequities.
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The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. P. D. Averik, Dr. I. Amos, D. V. Martins, R. U. Danjuma, J. M. Bature, A. Y. Tabat, A. Madaki (Author)
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