The quality of the maternal health system in Eritrea
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Date
2011Author
Sharan, M
Ahmed, S
Ghebrehiwet, M
Rogo Khama O.
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
OBJECTIVE: To examine the quality of the maternal health system in Eritrea to understand system deficiencies and its relevance to maternal mortality within the context of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5.
METHODS:
A sample of 118 health facilities was surveyed. Data were collected on 5 dimensions of health system quality: availability; accessibility; management; infrastructure; and process indicators. Data on the causes of hospital admissions for obstetric patients and maternal deaths were extracted from medical records.
RESULTS:
Eritrea has only 11 comprehensive emergency obstetric care (CEmOC) facilities, all of which are grossly understaffed. There is considerable pressure on the infrastructure and health providers at hospitals. Compliance with clinical care standards and availability of supplies were optimal. As a result, the case fatality rate of 0.65% was low. In total, 45.6% of obstetric admissions and 19.5% of maternal deaths were attributed to abortion complications.
CONCLUSION:
In Eritrea, critical gaps in the health system-especially those related to human resources-will impede progress toward MDG 5, and it will not be possible to reduce maternal mortality without addressing the high burden of abortion
URI
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21945424http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/29299
Citation
Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2011 Dec;115(3):244-50Publisher
University of Nairobi Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology World Bank, Washington, USA
Collections
- Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) [10378]
- Journal Articles [329]