Abstract
ABSTRACTThe increasing use of mobile telephone technology is having significant implications for the study of urban travel. This is because mobile communication has brought about tremendous improvements in person-to-person connectivity. Existing literature has established the fact that the heavy traffic congestion in Lagos has adversely affected the movement of patients to the hospital. This paper examined the effectiveness of mobile telephone usage on trip reduction to healthcare centres. The Telecommuting and Travel Concept (TTC) provided the framework for the study. Using a systematic random sampling technique, a structured questionnaire focusing on socio-economic characteristics of out-patients, mobile telephone usage to seek healthcare services, travel behaviour, and eliminated trips to healthcare centres were administered on 711 out-patients. Results showed that mobile communication between patients and medical doctors predicted a significant reduction in patients’ trips to healthcare centre (r = 0.891). This study recommends that public health policy-makers should encourage mobile communication usage to further reduce the number of trips made to healthcare centres in order to increase access to healthcare services in Nigeria.
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