Cost and output of mobile clinics in a commercial farming area in Zimbabwe.

Mobile clinics may be useful to improve the geographic accessibility of health services, but their cost may be higher than that of static clinics. In this paper it is determined to what extent mobile clinics in a commercial farming area in Zimbabwe improve geographic accessibility. The opportunity cost of mobile clinics, comprising cost of staff time and transport is estimated. Staff time appears to be more efficiently utilized in mobile clinics than in static clinics. The cost of transport comprises the cost to the health service and that to the population using the service. The consequences of two extreme assumptions are determined. If the first assumption (outreach does not increase coverage) were true, total transport cost would increase if outreach were discontinued. If the second assumption (outreach increases coverage by the number of attendances at mobile clinics) were true, a substantial increase in coverage would be obtained in particular for growth monitoring, immunizations and child spacing, without increasing the cost per contact. It is concluded that outreach clinics should continue in this commercial farming area. The sites of the mobile clinics are being reconsidered as a result of this study.