Influence of Socio-economic Factors on the Access to Free Maternal Healthcare Program Services in Embu East Sub-county, Kenya
Abstract
Maternal health1care services are health services provided to mothers of reproductive ages
and their children. Over the past ten years, the interest in maternal1health1care services has
been increasing across the globe. Despite the initiatives and policies created by the
government1and other1stakeholders to provide free maternal health care program services,
access to maternal health care remains an issue in most African countries, including Kenya.
The objective was to determine the socio-economic1factors influencing access to free
maternal1health care program services in Embu East sub-county, Kenya. The specific
objectives focused on how; distance to health facilities, quality of service, household
characteristics, and individual attributes influence access to maternal health care program
services. A descriptive1survey research1design was adopted. Quantitative1and qualitative
data were collected using a standardized questionnaire and an interview schedule,
respectively. The study's target population was 17,528 women aged 18-49 years seeking free
maternity healthcare services in level 4 hospitals. The sample1size formula used in this study
was1Yamane's formula, which resulted in a sample1size1of 391 respondents being chosen
using stratified random selection techniques. In addition, medical personnel providing
maternal health care services in the Runyenjes Level 4 and Kianjokoma Level 4 hospitals
were purposively selected during the study and interviewed. The1researcher tested the
validity and reliability of the research tools in a pilot study with 39 randomly selected
respondents. Validity was assessed using content, face, and construct validity, whilst
reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha1coefficient. To evaluate quantitative data, the
researcher used descriptive1statistics. Frequencies, 1means, and1standard1deviations were
used in descriptive statistics. Regression analysis was used to estimate the relationship
between the variables. Thematic1analysis was1used to evaluate qualitative data. The1study
findings1 showed1that the distance1to the health facility, the quality of service, the household
characteristics and the individual attributes influence access to free1maternal healthcare
program services. The researcher recommends that the Ministry of health collaborate at the
national1and county levels to provide more health facilities nearer to the people. The
management of the1health facilities should ensure that maternal1health care seekers1are kept
for long, considering the sensitivity of the service. In addition, the introduction or
strengthening of existing sensitization and economic empowerment programs for women to
ensure that they can make informed healthcare decisions are recommended by the researcher.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
- School of Economics [237]
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