Barriers in primary healthcare service utilization among adults in Borama in the northwestern Awdal region of Somaliland

Primary health care is a key sector and a basic healthcare unit in the overall health system of a country. This basic unit does not only tackle the important task of providing care for everyone but it is also a cornerstone for every well-functioning health system. However, there are various factors that affect the utilization of healthcare services and influence the health seeking behaviors of populations. Therefore, this current mixed design study identifies barriers in utilization of primary healthcare among adults in the Borama district of Somaliland. Using the Andersen's model, the study addresses rural-urban disparities, the characteristics of individuals, as well as, other factors that influence utilization of primary health care services. The study result shows that socio economic inequalities between rural and urban exist and the overall utilization of primary healthcare was low in this area. In conclusion the study attributes this low level of utilizations to be caused from both supply and demand side barriers.