Expanding access to maternal, newborn and primary healthcare services through private-community-government partnership clinic models in rural Kenya: The Ubuntu-Afya kiosk model
Background: Fifteen counties contribute 98.7% of the maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality in Kenya. The dismal maternal and newborn (MNH) outcomes in these settings are mostly attributable to limited access to skilled MNH services. Public health services are stretched and limited in reach, and many social programmes are not sustainably designed. We implemented a […]
Improving Access and Utilization of Maternal Healthcare Services through Focused Antenatal Care in Rural Ghana: A Qualitative Study
Improved access to and utilization of various maternal healthcare services have been seen as the panacea to poor maternal and child health outcomes characterizing many developing countries. Focused Antenatal Care (FANC) replaced the regular antenatal care model about a decade and a half ago. This study sought to document empirical outcomes of how the FANC […]
Covid-19 pandemic impact on maternal and child health services access in Nampula, Mozambique: a mixed methods research
Background: The Covid-19 pandemic has so far infected more than 30 million people in the world, having major impact on global health with collateral damage. In Mozambique, a public state of emergency was declared at the end of March 2020. This has limited people’s movements and reduced public services, leading to a decrease in the […]
Access to maternal health services: Geographical inequalities, united republic of Tanzania
Objective To determine if improved geographical accessibility led to increased uptake of maternity care in the south of the United Republic of Tanzania. Methods In a household census in 2007 and another large household survey in 2013, we investigated 22 243 and 13 820 women who had had a recent live birth, respectively. The proportions […]
Equity in Maternal Health in South Africa: Analysis of Health Service Access and Health Status in a National Household Survey
Background:South Africa is increasingly focused on reducing maternal mortality. Documenting variation in access to maternal health services across one of the most inequitable nations could assist in re-direction of resources.Methods:Analysis draws on a population-based household survey that used multistage-stratified sampling. Women, who in the past two years were pregnant (1113) or had a child (1304), […]
Improved access to comprehensive emergency obstetric care and its effect on institutional maternal mortality in rural Mali
Objective To evaluate the effect of a national referral system that aims to reduce maternal mortality rates through improving access to and the quality of emergency obstetric care in rural Mali (sub-Saharan Africa). Methods A maternity referral system that included basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric care, transportation to obstetric health services and community cost-sharing schemes […]
Characteristics of community savings groups in rural Eastern Uganda: Opportunities for improving access to maternal health services
Background: Rural populations in Uganda have limited access to formal financial Institutions, but a growing majority belong to saving groups. These saving groups could have the potential to improve household income and access to health services. Objective: To understand organizational characteristics, benefits and challenges, of savings groups in rural Uganda. Methods: This was a cross-sectional […]
Inequalities in access to birth by caesarean section in the context of user fee exemption for maternal health services in southwest and north central Nigeria
Background: User fee exemption for maternal healthcare services was introduced with a focus on providing free maternal health services, including caesarean sections (CS), in Nigeria. This policy has had a positive impact on access to facility-based delivery; however, the extent to which inequality in access to CS exists in the context of user fee exemption […]
What does access to maternal care mean among the urban poor? Factors associated with use of appropriate maternal health services in the slum settlements of Nairobi, Kenya
Objectives: The study seeks to improve understanding of maternity health seeking behaviors in resource-deprived urban settings. The objective of this paper is to identify the factors which influence the choice of place of delivery among the urban poor, with a distinction between sub-standard and “appropriate” health facilities. Methods: The data are from a maternal health […]
Using vouchers to increase access to maternal healthcare in Bangladesh
The maternal mortality ratio (322) is comparatively high in Bangladesh. The utilization of maternity care provided by trained professionals during and after delivery is alarmingly low, primarily due to lack of knowledge and money. The overall objective of this operations research project was to test the feasibility and effectiveness of introducing financial support (voucher scheme) […]
