Gender dynamics affecting maternal health and health care access and use in Uganda
Despite its reduction over the last decade, the maternal mortality rate in Uganda remains high, due to in part a lack of access to maternal health care. In an effort to increase access to care, a quasi-experimental trial using vouchers was implemented in Eastern Uganda between 2009 and 2011. Findings from the trial reported a […]
Exploring inequalities in access to and use of maternal health services in South Africa
Background: South Africas maternal mortality rate (625 deaths/100,000 live births) is high for a middle-income country, although over 90% of pregnant women utilize maternal health services. Alongside HIV/AIDS, barriers to Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care currently impede the countrys Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing child mortality and improving maternal health. While health system barriers to […]
Geographic Access and Maternal Health Services Utilization in Sélingué Health District, Mali
Introduction: Maternal mortality is one of the main causes of death for women of childbearing age in Mali, and improving this outcome is slow, even in regions with relatively good geographic access to care. Disparities in maternal health services utilization can constitute a major obstacle in the reduction of maternal mortality in Mali and indicates a […]
Information and communication technologies and access to maternal and child health information: Implications for sustainable development
Maternal and child mortality pose a great challenge in developing nations notwithstanding the robust initiatives instituted at both the global and national levels to ameliorate it. This study is aimed at ascertaining women’s perception of the impact of information and communication technologies on access to maternal and child health information and its implication on sustainable […]
Measurement and analysis of inequality of opportunity in access of maternal and child health care in Togo
Background: Access to maternal and child health care in low- and middle-income countries such as Togo is characterized by significant inequalities. Most studies in the Togolese context have examined the total inequality of health and the determinants of individuals’ health. Few empirical studies in Togo have focused on inequalities of opportunity in maternal and child […]
Seasonal variation in geographical access to maternal health services in regions of southern Mozambique
Background: Geographic proximity to health facilities is a known determinant of access to maternal care. Methods of quantifying geographical access to care have largely ignored the impact of precipitation and flooding. Further, travel has largely been imagined as unimodal where one transport mode is used for entire journeys to seek care. This study proposes a […]
Disparities in mobile phone access and maternal health service utilization in Nigeria: A population-based survey
Background: Mobile communication technologies may reduce maternal health disparities related to cost, distance, and infrastructure. However, the ability of mHealth initiatives to accelerate maternal health goals requires in part that women with the greatest health needs have access to mobile phones. Objective: This study examined if women with limited mobile phone access have differential odds […]
Maternal Influences on Access to and Use of Infant ARVs and HIV Health Services in Uganda
Vertical transmission of HIV is responsible for about 14 % of new HIV cases reported each year in sub-Saharan Africa. Barriers that prevent women from accessing and using antiretroviral medications (ARVs) for themselves and their infants perpetuate the epidemic. To identify influences on access to and use of infant HIV health services, specifically nevirapine administration, we […]
Equity and access to maternal and child health services in Ghana a cross-sectional study
Background: Inequities in the distribution of and access to maternal and child health care services is pervasive in Ghana. Understanding the drivers of inequity in maternal and child health (MCH) is important to achieving the universal health coverage component of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and poverty reduction in developing countries. However, there is increasing […]
Access factors linked to maternal deaths in Lundazi district, Eastern Province of Zambia: A case control study analysing maternal death reviews
Background: Access factors associated with maternal death are important to understand because they are considered to be an essential measure of women’s health and indicative of the performance of health care systems in any community globally. This study aimed to analyse the access risk factors linked to maternal deaths in Lundazi district of the Eastern […]
