What question did this study set out to answer?

To identify factors influencing barriers to healthcare access among married women in Somalia.

March 5, 2026Open Access

Determinants of barriers to accessing healthcare services among married women in Somalia: a multilevel analysis of nationwide survey data

AAAbdirasak Sharif Ali YHYahye Sheikh Abdulle Hassan MAMohamed Mustaf AhmedSIMAD University

Key Points

To identify factors influencing barriers to healthcare access among married women in Somalia.
Cross-sectional analysis using the 2020 Somalia Demographic and Health Survey data.
Sample included 30,311 married women aged 15-49 with complete data.
Analyzed barriers such as financial costs, distance to facilities, permission requirements, and social reluctance.
77.06% of women reported at least one barrier to accessing healthcare.
Common barriers included financial cost (69.91%) and distance to health facilities (65.95%).
Higher household wealth correlated with fewer reported barriers (aOR=0.27).
Women with secondary education and educated husbands reported more obstacles (aOR=1.19 and aOR=1.23 respectively).
Urban residents faced more barriers compared to nomadic women (aOR=1.40).

Abstract

Objectives To identify the individual and community-level factors associated with barriers to accessing healthcare services among currently married women in Somalia. Design A cross-sectional analysis using data from the 2020 Somalia Demographic and Health Survey. Setting Somalia. Participants A nationally representative sample of 30 311 currently married women aged 15–49 years with complete data on outcome and explanatory variables. Primary outcome measures The primary outcome was ‘reporting at least one barrier to accessing healthcare’, a composite binary variable based on four specific problems: obtaining permission to go for treatment, getting money for treatment, distance to the health facility and not wanting to go alone. Results A substantial majority (77.06%) of married women reported experiencing at least one barrier to accessing healthcare. Financial cost was the most common barrier (69.91%), followed by distance to health facilities (65.95%), reluctance to go alone (49.64%) and the requirement for permission (46.03%). Multilevel analysis confirmed that higher household wealth was strongly protective (richest vs poorest: adjusted OR (aOR)=0.27, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.32). Paradoxically, factors typically considered protective were associated with increased barriers: women with secondary education (aOR=1.19, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.41) and those with educated husbands (aOR=1.23, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.33) reported more obstacles. Similarly, urban residents faced higher odds of barriers than their nomadic counterparts (aOR=1.40, 95% CI 1.27 to 1.55). Significant regional disparities were evident, with community-level context explaining 26.30% of the total variance in reporting barriers. Conclusion Access to healthcare for married women in Somalia is predominantly hindered by economic, educational and community-level constraints. Targeted interventions addressing socioeconomic disparities, infrastructural deficits and specific community contexts are essential to alleviate these barriers.

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