Inequities in Access to Maternal Health Care in Enugu State: Implications for Universal Health Coverage to Meet Vision 2030 in Nigeria
We explored the equity issues in access to maternal health services in Enugu State, Nigeria. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1,600 women who had babies within 6 months prior to the survey, drawn from four urban and rural local government areas in Enugu State of Nigeria, using structured questionnaire. Focus group discussions were held […]
Barriers for health care access affects maternal continuum of care utilization in Ethiopia; spatial analysis and generalized estimating equation
Background Although Ethiopia had made a significant change in maternal morbidity and mortality over the past decades, it remains a major public health concern. World Health Organization designed maternal continuum of care to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. However, majority of the mothers didn’t utilize the maternal continuum of care. Therefore, this study aimed to […]
How intra-familial decision-making affects women’s access to, and use of maternal healthcare services in Ghana: A qualitative study
Background: There is some evidence to suggest that within the household, family and community settings, women in sub-Saharan Africa often have limited autonomy and control over their reproductive health decisions. However, there are few studies that examine how intra-familial decision-making power may affect women’s ability to access and use maternal health services. The purpose of […]
Geographical access to point-of-care testing for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy as an integral part of maternal healthcare in Ghana
Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are associated with high maternal mortality in Ghana and globally. Evidence shows that there is poor availability of pregnancy-related point-of-care (POC) tests in Ghana’s primary healthcare (PHC) clinics (health centre or community-based health planning services facilities). Therefore, we employed geographic information systems to estimate the geographical distribution of and […]
Increasing women’s access to skilled pregnancy care to reduce maternal and perinatal mortality in rural Edo State, Nigeria: a randomized controlled trial
Background: Nigeria presently has the second highest absolute number of maternal deaths and perinatal deaths (stillbirth and neonatal deaths) in the world. The country accounts for up to 14% of global maternal deaths and is second only to India in the number of women who die during childbirth. Although all parts of the country are […]
Overcoming barriers to access and utilization of maternal, newborn and child health services in northern Nigeria: An evaluation of facility health committees
Background: Poor quality of health services and socio-cultural dynamics may severely limit utilization of health services. Facility health committees were established in several states in northern Nigeria to reduce these barriers. The committees were charged with mobilizing communities, improving quality of health services, and promoting utilization of maternal and child health services. This study assessed […]
Maternal mortality and access to obstetric services in West Africa
OBJECTIVES: Process evaluation has become the mainstay of safe motherhood evaluation in developing countries, yet the extent to which indicators measuring access to obstetric services at the population level reflect levels of maternal mortality is uncertain. In this study we examine the association between population indicators of access to obstetric care and levels of maternal […]
Mapping maternal healthcare access in selected west african countries
Background: The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) three emphasizes the need to improve maternal and newborn health, and reduce global maternal mortality rate to less than 70 per 100 000 live births by 2030. Achieving the SDG goal 3.1 target will require evidence based data on the distribution of maternal health outcomes and their linkage to […]
Access and utilization of maternal healthcare in a rural district in the forest belt of Ghana
Background: Poor maternal health delivery in developing countries results in more than half a million maternal deaths during pregnancy, childbirth or within a few weeks of delivery. This is partly due to unavailability and low utilization of maternal healthcare services in limited-resource settings. The aim of this study was to investigate the access and utilization […]
Barriers and facilitators of access to maternal services for women with disabilities: Scoping review protocol
Background: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasises the increasing equitable coverage of quality health care and provision of integrated services as means of reducing maternal mortality. Despite so much effort being placed on improved access to maternity health care, studies show that women with disabilities are being systemically excluded from the mainstream maternal health services. […]
