Repositioning traditional birth attendants to provide improved maternal healthcare services in rural Ghana

Following the World Health Organization's recommendation for developing countries to discontinue the use of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) in rural areas, the government of Ghana banned TBAs from offering maternal health care services. Since this ban, community‐level conflicts have intensified between TBAs, (who still see themselves as legitimate culturally mandated traditional midwives) and nurses. In this articles, we propose a partnership model for a sustainable resolution of these conflicts. This article emanates from the apparent ideological discontent between people from mainstream medical practice who advocate for the complete elimination of TBAs in the maternal health service space and individuals who argue for the inclusion of TBAs in the health sector given the shortage of skilled birth attendants and continued patronage of their services by rural women even in context where nurses are available. In the context of the longstanding manpower deficit in the health sector in Ghana, improving maternal healthcare in rural communities will require harnessing all locally available human resources. This cannot be achieved by “throwing out” a critical group of actors who have been involved in health‐care provision for many decades. We propose a win‐win approach that involve retraining of TBAs, partnership with health practitioners, and task shifting.     

Improving poor women's access to maternity care: Findings from a primary care intervention in Burkina Faso

To date, there has been little progress in reducing wealth inequities in access to maternity care. This paper describes the results of a maternal health intervention in Burkina Faso that was aimed at increasing access to skilled maternity care by improving availability and quality of maternity care, particularly at primary care health facilities, and promoting its use before, during, and after delivery. Post-intervention data show a large overall increase in use of facility-based maternity care in the intervention district, particularly at primary care facilities, but little change in the comparison district. In addition, large wealth inequities in the use of professional care during childbirth were almost eliminated in the intervention district while they increased in the comparison district—both among all women, and among the subset of women who reported experiencing complications during delivery. Study results suggest that efforts to upgrade maternity services at primary care facilities may be key for improving poor women's access to and use of skilled care during childbirth.     

Is demand-side financing equity enhancing? Lessons from a maternal health voucher scheme in Bangladesh

Demand-side financing (DSF) is used in the less-developed countries of the world to improve access to healthcare and to encourage market supply. Under DSF, households receive vouchers that can be used to pay for healthcare services. This study evaluated the effects of a universal DSF on maternal healthcare service utilization in Bangladesh. A household survey was conducted in and around the voucher scheme area one year after the initiation of the project. Women who gave birth within a year prior to the survey were interviewed. The utilization rates of maternal health services were found to be higher for all socioeconomic groups in the project area than in the comparison areas. Voucher recipients in the project area were 3.6 times more likely to be assisted by skilled health personnel during delivery, 2.5 times more likely to deliver the baby in a health facility, 2.8 times more likely to receive postnatal care (PNC), 2.0 times more likely to get antenatal care (ANC) services and 1.5 times more likely to seek treatment for obstetric complications than pregnant women not in the program. The degree of socioeconomic inequality in maternal health service utilization was also lower in the project area than in the comparison area. The use of vouchers evidenced much stronger demand-increasing effects on the poor. Poor voucher recipients were 4.3 times more likely to deliver in a health facility and two times more likely to use skilled health personnel at delivery than the non-poor recipients. Contrary to the inverse equity hypothesis, the voucher scheme reduced inequality even in the short run. Despite these improvements, socioeconomic disparity in the use of maternal health services has remained pro-rich, implying that demand-side financing alone will be insufficient to achieve the Millennium Development Goal for maternal health. A comprehensive system-wide approach, including supply-side strengthening, will be needed to adequately address maternal health concerns in poor developing countries.     

Providing family planning and reproductive healthcare to Canadian immigrants: perceptions of healthcare providers

Cultural impacts on health experiences and behaviours are profound in the area of reproductive health and family planning. Explored through interviews with family planning healthcare professionals, this paper evaluates their experiences in providing family planning and reproductive healthcare to immigrants in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area of Ontario, Canada. Results reveal the complexity of delivering care to members of this group, particularly when dealing with language barriers, situations when professional and non‐professional interpreters are used, and instances where healthcare professionals realize that they themselves have misconceptions and misunderstandings about other cultures. The paper concludes by discussing future research options and implications for the delivery of reproductive health family planning services to this population.     

基本医疗卫生制度作用下的城乡居民就医行为

卫生体系和卫生政策直接或间接地影响患者的就医行为。基本医疗卫生制度包括基本医疗保障制度、基本药物制度、基本医疗卫生服务体系、基本公共卫生服务体系,旨在通过提供基本医疗卫生服务,缓解"看病难、看病贵"问题,保证居民合理就医。本文将回顾卫生制度和就医行为关系的理论和实证,综述每一项基本医疗卫生制度对城乡居民就医行为的影响,包括影响程度、路径方式等,比较就医行为对不同政策的敏感程度,并指出各项制度调整的方向。     

流动人口妇幼保健服务利用及服务提供模式的定性研究

采用专题小组讨论和个人深入访谈的方法,了解了现行的医疗保健服务系统为流动人口提供妇幼卫生服务以及流动人口妇女儿童对这些服务的利用情况,同时了解了服务提供者对如何提高流动人口妇幼保健服务利用的有关意见和建议。研究发现,对于流动人口这一特殊群体,大多数医疗保健机构仍然只是坐堂行医,没有树立上门服务的思想。医疗保健机构人员配置和经费供给不足等因素影响其为流动人口提供妇幼保健服务。大多数流动人口妇女在大城市艰苦的生活状况和自身的文化素质决定了她们寻求医疗保健服务的态度以及接受医疗保健服务的能力,有相当部分的人就医选择的是私人诊所和非法行医者。建议在目前现有的条件下,充分利用现有资源,调动各方面的力量,建立以社区为依托,多部门合作的流动人口妇幼保健服务模式。同时,政府在重点地区相关机构人员的配备和经费的投入上应该考虑流动人口,适当增加人员和经费。     

Migration and young women's access to maternal healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa

Pregnant young women have increased risk of poor maternal health outcomes and frequently have low rates of skilled maternal healthcare utilization. Migrant youth may suffer even poorer use of maternal health services given the disruption of migration, changes in social support, and potential difficulties in obtaining care in a new community. Using a sample of 46,905 women aged 15–24 from 27 Demographic and Health Surveys collected across sub-Saharan Africa from 2003 to 2009, I examine variation in use of skilled maternal healthcare, looking at three aspects of migration: place, disruption, and adaptation. I find evidence of a significant advantage in migrating to urban versus rural areas, suggesting that there is an urban advantage in maternal healthcare regardless of migrant stream. I find no evidence of positive adaptation on maternal healthcare use, but show that rural-rural migrants experience negative adaptation after longer duration of residence. There are lingering positive effects of this urban advantage for urban-rural migrants, who, despite a dearth of healthcare facilities in rural areas, maintain high use of maternal healthcare well after migration.     

Influence of Distance to Health Facilities on the Use of Skilled Attendants at Birth in Kenya

We sought to determine the spatial variation in the use of skilled providers during deliveries across Kenya and the relationship between distance to health facilities and the use of skilled delivery. We found that women who resided 5 km or less from the nearest health facility were more likely to use skilled care at delivery than women residing at greater distances, although the pattern of choice of health facility level for delivery differed at this distance. Outreach maternity services are urgently required in counties with remote communities in order to improve access to skilled attendants during deliveries in these areas.     

Are Birth-preparedness Programmes Effective? Results From a Field Trial in Siraha District,Nepal

The birth-preparedness package (BPP) promotes active preparation and decision-making for births, including pregnancy/postpartum periods, by pregnant women and their families. This paper describes a district-wide field trial of the BPP implemented through the government health system in Siraha, Nepal, during 2003-2004. The aim of the field trial was to determine the effectiveness of the BPP to positively influence planning for births, household-level behaviours that affect the health of pregnant and postpartum women and their newborns, and their use of selected health services for maternal and newborn care. Community health workers promoted desired behaviours through inter-personal counselling with individuals and groups. Content of messages included maternal and newborn-danger signs and encouraged the use of healthcare services and preparation for emergencies. Thirty-cluster baseline and endline household surveys of mothers of infants aged less than one year were used for estimating the change in key outcome indicators. Fifty-four percent of respondents (n=162) were directly exposed to BPP materials while pregnant. A composite index of seven indicators that measure knowledge of respondents, use of health services, and preparation for emergencies increased from 33% at baseline to 54% at endline (p=0.001). Five key newborn practices increased by 19 to 29 percentage points from baseline to endline (p values ranged from 0.000 to 0.06). Certain key maternal health indicators, such as skilled birth attendance and use of emergency obstetric care, did not change. The BPP can positively influence knowledge and intermediate health outcomes, such as household practices and use of some health services. The BPP can be implemented by government health services with minimal outside assistance but should be comprehensively integrated into the safe motherhood programme rather than implemented as a separate intervention.     

The Association Between Health Insurance Coverage and Skilled Birth Attendance in Ghana: A National Study

Objectives Skilled birth attendance (SBA) is a key health intervention used by roughly two-thirds of women in Ghana. The National Health Insurance Scheme provided by the Government of Ghana is widely expected to improve maternal health outcomes by removing financial barriers to health services. In this paper, we examine if indeed health insurance is able to improve SBA, a key maternal outcome. Methods We use data from the 2011 Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey implemented by the Ghana Statistical Services with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). We use a multivariate logistic model controlling for a number of enabling and predisposing factors and past experience with the health system to examine the effect of health insurance on skilled birth attendance. The sample is 2528 women. Results Our results show that women with health insurance are 47 % more likely to use SBA than women without health insurance. Results also underscore that women with repetitive contact with the health system (such as antenatal care) are more likely to have a skilled delivery (OR 3.00, p value 0.000). We also find that higher parity, rural and poor women are much less likely to use SBA. Conclusions Health insurance may indeed be a useful mechanism to improve coverage of SBA, though many barriers to delivery care still exist for women. Further work to understand the effect of health insurance on other maternal outcomes is also warranted.     

Delivery complications and healthcare-seeking behaviour: the Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey, 1999-2000

Maternal health services have a potentially critical role in the improvement of reproductive health. The use of health services is related to the availability, quality and cost of the services, as well as to social structure, health beliefs and the personal characteristics of the users. The present paper examined the factors that influence the use of maternal health services for some selected pregnancy-related complications (e.g. prolonged labour, excessive bleeding, high fever/discharge and convulsions) in Bangladesh by using data from the Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey, 1999-2000. It was found that younger mothers were significantly less likely to seek professional healthcare at the time of birth. The odds for rural women seeking healthcare services from a doctor, nurse and/or midwife were half those of urban women. The strong influence of the mothers' education and parity on the utilisation of healthcare services is consistent with findings from other studies. The possession of assets emerged as an important predictor of seeking care from health professionals at the time of birth. Another factor, i.e. a husband's concern about pregnancy complications, showed a significant and positive impact on the utilisation of healthcare services, which is very important for rural women when they are dependent on their spouses. It was observed that the respondents living in urban areas, who had higher levels of education and lower parity, and more assets (used as a proxy for income), visited trained healthcare providers more often and were more likely to use healthcare facilities provided by trained personnel at the time of delivery. This is a reflection of the fact that, irrespective of their needs, only people from higher economic or educational groups can afford to seek healthcare from trained personnel in Bangladesh. In other words, predisposing and enabling factors appear to have a strong association with women's healthcare utilisation during pregnancy.     

A qualitative study of patients' knowledge and views of about oral health and acceptability of related intervention in an Australian inpatient alcohol and drug treatment facility

Social factors, health behaviours and the direct effects of substances contribute to the poor oral health and restricted access to dental services experienced by people who are dependent on drugs and/or alcohol. Admission for inpatient withdrawal management provides an opportunity for intervention to promote oral health but to be effective it must be acceptable to patients. To support intervention design, we examined patients' views about oral health, practices and treatment access, and appropriateness of health‐promoting intervention in this context. Given paucity of knowledge in the area we employed a qualitative approach, data were collected in semi‐structured interviews with inpatients of a public specialist alcohol and drug unit in Australia in September 2014. Analysis employed the framework approach. All 14 participants wanted ‘good teeth’ but few diligently attended to oral healthcare; most sought assistance only in emergencies. Participants’ knowledge of services was limited and practical and affective barriers hindered access. With none recalling attention to oral health during admission, support was strong for incorporation of oral health in inpatient assessments. Participants wanted information about the impact of substances on oral health and oral hygiene practices provided in various formats, and facilitated referral to non‐judgemental, affordable treatment. Patients regarded promotion of oral health in the inpatient context as important, relevant and acceptable. Support should respect the different knowledge, practices and motivations for oral health and recovery, of patients. Addressing practical and affective barriers to dental services will require collaboration between drug and alcohol and dental services, and this should be the focus of further research.     

Determinants of the use of maternal health services in rural Bangladesh

Utilization of health services is a complex behavioral phenomenon. Empirical studies of preventive and curative services have often found that use of health services is related to the availability, quality and cost of services, as well as to social structure, health beliefs and personal characteristics of the users. In this paper an attempt is made to examine the factors associated with the use of maternal health care services in Bangladesh on the basis of data from a survey of maternal morbidity in Bangladesh, conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Research for Promotion of Essential and Reproductive Health and Technologies (BIRPERHT). The results from both the bivariate and multivariate analyses confirmed the importance of mother's education in explaining the utilization of health care services. Female education retains a net effect on maternal health service use, independent of other women's background characteristics, household's socioeconomic status and access to healthcare services. The strong influence of mother's education on the utilization of health care services is consistent with findings from other studies. Women whose husbands are involved in business/services also positively influenced the utilization of modern health care services. However, the study results are inconclusive with respect to the influence of other predisposing and enabling factors, such as women's age, number of previous pregnancies and access to health facilities. Multivariate logistic regression estimates do not show any significant impact of these factors on the use of maternal health care. The influence of severity of disease condition in explaining the utilization of maternal health care appears to be significant. Multivariate analysis indicate that women having had a life-threatening condition are little over two times more likely to seek care from a doctor or nurse to treat their maternal morbidities.     

Low use of skilled attendants' delivery services in rural Kenya

The aim of the study was to estimate the use of skilled attendants' delivery services among users of antenatal care and the coverage of skilled attendants' delivery services in the general population in Kikoneni location, Kenya. Data collected from the registers at the Kikoneni Health Centre (KHC) from March 2001 through March 2003 were retrospectively reviewed. Antenatal care attendance, deliveries by skilled attendants, and the percentage of antenatal care attendees who delivered in a healthcare facility were assessed. Deliveries at the KHC were compared with expected births in the population to estimate the coverage of deliveries assisted by skilled attendants in the community. Of 994 women who attended the antenatal care clinic, 74 (7.4%) presented for delivery services. 5.4% of expected births in the population occurred in health facilities. The coverage of deliveries assisted by skilled attendants was far below the national and international goals. The use of institutional delivery services was very low even among antenatal care attendees. Targeted programmatic efforts are necessary to increase skilled attendant-assisted births, with the ultimate goal of reducing maternal mortality.     

Health seeking behaviour and health service utilization in Pakistan: challenging the policy makers

There is a growing literature on health seeking behaviours and the determinants of health services utilization especially in the context of developing countries. However, very few focused studies have been seen in Pakistan in this regard. This paper presents an extensive literature review of the situation in developing countries and relates the similar factors responsible for shaping up of a health seeking behaviour and health service utilization in Pakistan. The factors determining the health behaviours may be seen in various contexts: physical, socio-economic, cultural and political. Therefore, the utilization of a health care system, public or private, formal or non-formal, may depend on socio-demographic factors, social structures, level of education, cultural beliefs and practices, gender discrimination, status of women, economic and political systems environmental conditions, and the disease pattern and health care system itself. Policy makers need to understand the drivers of health seeking behaviour of the population in an increasingly pluralistic health care system. Also a more concerted effort is required for designing behavioural health promotion campaigns through inter-sectoral collaboration focusing more on disadvantaged segments of the population.     

Costs of maternal health care services in three anglophone African countries

This paper is a synthesis of a case study of provider and consumer costs, along with selected quality indicators, for six maternal health services provided at one public hospital, one mission hospital, one public health centre and one mission centre, in Uganda, Malawi and Ghana. The study examines the costs of providing the services in a selected number of facilities in order to examine the reasons behind cost differences, assess the efficiency of service delivery, and determine whether management improvements might achieve cost savings without hurting quality. This assessment is important to African countries with ambitious goals for improving maternal health but scarce public health resources and limited government budgets. The study also evaluates the costs that consumers pay to use the maternal health services, along with the contribution that revenues from fees for services make to recovering health facility costs. The authors find that costs differ between hospitals and health centres as well as among mission and public facilities in the study sample. The variation is explained by differences in the role of the facility, use and availability of materials and equipment, number and level of personnel delivering services, and utilization levels of services. The report concludes with several policy implications for improvements in efficiency, financing options and consumer costs.     

Integrating community outreach into a quality improvement project to promote maternal and child health in Ghana

Quality improvement (QI) is used to promote and strengthen maternal and child health services in middle- and low-income countries. Very little research has examined community-level factors beyond the confines of health facilities that create demand for health services and influence health outcomes. We examined the role of community outreach in the context of Project Fives Alive!, a QI project aimed at improving maternal and under-5 outcomes in Ghana. Qualitative case studies of QI teams across six regions of Ghana were conducted. We analysed the data using narrative and thematic techniques. QI team members used two distinct outreach approaches: community-level outreach, including health promotion and education efforts through group activities and mass media communication; and direct outreach, including one-on-one interpersonal activities between health workers, pregnant women and mothers of children under-5. Specific barriers to community outreach included structural, cultural, and QI team-level factors. QI efforts in both rural and urban settings should consider including context-specific community outreach activities to develop ties with communities and address barriers to health services. Sustaining community outreach as part of QI efforts will require improving infrastructure, strengthening QI teams, and ongoing collaboration with community members.     

How much does it cost to achieve coverage targets for primary healthcare services? A costing model from Aceh,Indonesia

Despite significant investment in improving service infrastructure and training of staff, public primary healthcare services in low‐income and middle‐income countries tend to perform poorly in reaching coverage targets. One of the factors identified in Aceh, Indonesia was the lack of operational funds for service provision. The objective of this study was to develop a simple and transparent costing tool that enables health planners to calculate the unit costs of providing basic health services to estimate additional budgets required to deliver services in accordance with national targets. The tool was developed using a standard economic approach that linked the input activities to achieving six national priority programs at primary healthcare level: health promotion, sanitation and environment health, maternal and child health and family planning, nutrition, immunization and communicable diseases control, and treatment of common illness. Costing was focused on costs of delivery of the programs that need to be funded by local government budgets. The costing tool consisting of 16 linked Microsoft Excel worksheets was developed and tested in several districts enabled the calculation of the unit costs of delivering of the six national priority programs per coverage target of each program (such as unit costs of delivering of maternal and child health program per pregnant mother). This costing tool can be used by health planners to estimate additional money required to achieve a certain level of coverage of programs, and it can be adjusted for different costs and program delivery parameters in different settings. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.