Factors Determining Acccess to Maternal Health Services: a Case of Pregnant Women Visiting Karatina Level Five Hospital in Mathira Sub-county, Nyeri County

Abstract

This study set out to examine the aspects that underlie access to maternal health services among pregnant mothers in Nyeri County. Its specific objectives were to: To find out the level of access to maternal health care services among expectant women; to examine the influence of mother-related factors in accessingmaternal health care services among expectant women; to establish the role of socio-economic factors in access to maternal health care services; to investigate the influence of facility-based factors on access to maternal health care services among expectant women in Nyeri County. The premise employed in this research entails the health utilization proposition and the rational choice view. This research used a cross-sectional survey design to arrive at the statistics from a sample of 153 pregnant mothers as main respondents and 11 medical personnel as key informants. Quantitative data were gathered using a questionnaire from the targeted pregnant women while qualitative data was obtained through usage of key informant guide on targeted medical personnel. Quantitative information analysed using (SPSS) software. Descriptive statistics (means, frequencies, percentages) were used while Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to calculate the correlation between the study variables. Open-ended questions were analyzed for content. The findings obtained were presented in tables and charts for ease of presentation and interpretation. The findings obtained show that all the factors under investigation in this study influenced access to maternal health care services among expectant women in Nyeri County. In this regard, it was apparent that there was high access to these services especially among women who lived closer to the facilities and who had high socioeconomic statuses. Awareness of women about the services available also contributed to the level of access with those who were more aware tending to seek more services than those who had less knowledge. Religious and cultural factors also interfered with their tendency of accessing maternal healthcare services. Facility-based factors also influenced access to maternal health care services among expectant women. The more facilities and equipment a health facility had, the more its services were sought by women. The study recommends more equipment, physical infrastructure as well as drugs be provided. There was also need to increase and diversify per capita finance flows to the health sector as to ensure that maternal healthcare was available for all. Civic education was thus recommended so as to encourage response to the existent maternal healthcare services at grassroots levels. It was also important to enhance acceptance of NHIF cards as well as those from other insurance schemes in various hospitals. Accountability should also be strengthened so as to check wastage of the resources committed to enhance access to free maternal healthcare. Lastly, there was need to encourage medical personnel to have the right attitudes when providing services to pregnant women.