Accès aux soins de santé pour les enfants de 0 à 5 ans dans la zone de santé de Kikwit Sud, République Démocratique du Congo : Perspectives des parents, déterminants et solutions

International public policies aim to make access to healthcare uniform, ensuring equal access for the entire population. However, around 1.4 billion people worldwide still lack access to essential health services. In the Kikwit Sud health zone, many families face economic difficulties that limit their access to medical care. The aim of this study is to determine, based on the experiences of the children's parents, the perspectives, determinants and interventions that could promote access to healthcare in the Kikwit Sud health zone. A phenomenological approach operationalized by semi-directed interviews was used. Information saturation was reached from the eighth respondent onwards, but ten respondents were finally interviewed to confirm the absence of new themes. The results of our study show that parents are informed about available services, but often favor home care to limit the often high costs of care. Some parents reported that a warmer welcome is reserved for families with greater financial resources. To improve access to care for children, parents suggested cost reduction, increased availability of medicines, improved infrastructure, increased financial support, free or more accessible services, improved working conditions for caregivers, and the establishment of an integrated healthcare system.