Demand and supply-side barriers and opportunities to enhance access to healthcare for urban poor populations in Kenya: a qualitative study.

Despite many targeted interventions to improve the health and well-being of the urban poor, slum residents are still unable to obtain quality healthcare because of persistent and new barriers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a devolved health system, paying attention to health services managers' abilities to assess and respond to population health needs is vital. The limited use of existing accountability mechanisms requires attention to ensure that the mechanisms enhance, rather than limit, access to health services for the urban slum residents. The uniqueness of poor urban settings also requires in-depth and focused attention to social determinants of health within these contexts. To address individual, community and system-level barriers to quality healthcare in this and related settings and expand access to health services for all, multisectoral strategies tailored to each population group are needed.