Social networks, access to healthcare and the health‐related quality of life among young people in the informal sector : the case of Nigeria

Over 2 billion people (approximately 61.2 per cent of the world’s employed population) are currently employed the informal sector. With 77 per cent of the total youths in employment constituted in the informal sector, young people are the largest labour contributors to this sector. Unfortunately, the jobs held by these people (young people) are usually associated with low pay, no legal (employment contracts) and social protection (pensions and health insurance), and poor working conditions. These conditions contribute significantly to limited access to social services like healthcare services, makes them (informal workers) vulnerable and exposed to calamitous health conditions. Evidence from existing empirical research has thoroughly corroborated the link between social networks, access to healthcare, and the health of informal workers. However, health-related research in Nigeria have largely neglected this critical relationship among some vulnerable groups especially young people working in the informal sector. To address this problem, this proposed study will utilise the concept of social network (the social ties between individuals and the characteristics of those ties) to investigate how and to what extent social networks influence access to healthcare and the health of young people in the informal sector. This study will use a mixed-method research design to answer this question.