Cost, Distance and Shortages Block Nuclear Medicine Access in Nigerian Study

Patients seeking nuclear medicine services at University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, Nigeria, face severe obstacles rooted in money, geography and scarce service capacity, according to a qualitative study published in BMC Health Services Research. The research, led by Aderonke Omotayo Aliu with Akintunde Orunmuyi and Ayodele Samuel Jegede, examined the barriers and facilitators affecting patient access to the advanced diagnostic and therapeutic technologies that nuclear medicine offers for cancer and other non-communicable diseases, which remain limited in Nigeria and concentrated in urban centers.

The team adopted a descriptive phenomenological qualitative design, using Max Weber’s Social Action Theory as its theoretical framework. The evidence base combined 36 in-depth interviews with patients, 16 case studies, and 11 key informant interviews with healthcare providers and administrators, all analysed thematically with MaxQDA software. From these accounts, three major barriers emerged. Financial constraints proved overwhelming: patients reported paying between ₦80,000 and ₦750,000 for radioiodine therapy alone, excluding accommodation, transportation and subsistence costs. Geographic accessibility posed a second challenge, as patients had to travel long distances from across Nigeria because the services are concentrated in Ibadan. Third, limited service availability, including shortages of radiopharmaceuticals and equipment, further constrained access.

Against these barriers, one facilitator stood out. Social support networks, particularly family and community contributions, emerged as the primary mechanism enabling patients to overcome financial barriers through collective resource mobilisation. The authors conclude that patient access to nuclear medicine services at UCH is severely constrained by financial, geographic and systemic barriers, and that there may be heavy reliance on informal social support networks in reaching care. As a qualitative, single-center study drawing on patients and providers at one hospital in southwestern Nigeria, the findings describe the lived experience of access at that site rather than measuring access nationwide.

The policy implications the researchers draw are direct. They argue that interventions should prioritise expanding health insurance coverage for cancer care, expanding nuclear medicine services, and strengthening healthcare financing systems, so that access to these technologies does not rest so heavily on what families and communities can mobilise together.

Subject of Research: Barriers and facilitators to patient access to nuclear medicine services in Ibadan, Nigeria

Article Title: Social science perspective on barriers and facilitators to patient access to nuclear medicine services in Ibadan, Nigeria: a qualitative study

Article References: Aliu, A. O., Orunmuyi, A., & Jegede, A. S. (2026). Social science perspective on barriers and facilitators to patient access to nuclear medicine services in Ibadan, Nigeria: a qualitative study. BMC Health Services Research. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-15879-z

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12913-026-15879-z

Keywords: nuclear medicine, Nigeria, qualitative study, radioiodine therapy, out-of-pocket payments, social support networks, health financing, cancer care, radiopharmaceutical shortages, University College Hospital Ibadan, health access, health policy