Corruption and Healthcare Delivery: Towards a Progressive Intervention in Nigerian Correctional Centres

Abstract

Corruption is a complex and multifaceted challenge of global concern. The correctional setting in Nigeria is not exempted from the more general context of this issue. Nigeria has a poorly structured service for correctional healthcare system driven by a collection of socioeconomic and legal factors especially corruption. One of the pressing challenges in Nigerian public health is to provide services to those who need them the most, particularly those behind bars and therefore hard to reach. Yet, it remains obvious that, a significant majority of those with health problems are incarcerated in the correctional centers of Nigeria. This study which is anchored on Economic Theory of Corruption examined corrupt practices associated with healthcare delivery in Kano Central and Goron Dutse Correctional Centers. The study utilized quantitative and qualitative methods in eliciting data from convicted and awaiting trial inmates and healthcare providers. Thus, a total of 350 inmates were sampled across convicts and awaiting trial inmates through the simple random sampling technique using Wiseman’s 1999 table of sample size. In addition, two respondents (healthcare officials) were purposively sampled for in-depth interview. The findings revealed some level of negation especially as it concerns referrals and the inmates’ treatment charges outside the correctional setting. The study recommends the need for complete overhaul of the correctional healthcare delivery system in line with recommended global best practices.