The effect of distance to health facility on neonatal mortality in Ethiopia
Abstract Introduction In Ethiopia, more than half of newborn babies do not have access to Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (EmONC) services. Understanding the effect of distance to health facilities on service use and neonatal survival is crucial to recommend policymakers and improving resource...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2023-02-01
|
| Series: | BMC Health Services Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-09070-x |
| _version_ | 1811171801935380480 |
|---|---|
| author | Getiye Dejenu Kibret Daniel Demant Andrew Hayen |
| author_facet | Getiye Dejenu Kibret Daniel Demant Andrew Hayen |
| author_sort | Getiye Dejenu Kibret |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Introduction In Ethiopia, more than half of newborn babies do not have access to Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (EmONC) services. Understanding the effect of distance to health facilities on service use and neonatal survival is crucial to recommend policymakers and improving resource distribution. We aimed to investigate the effect of distance to health services on maternal service use and neonatal mortality. Methods We implemented a data integration method based on geographic coordinates. We calculated straight-line (Euclidean) distances from the Ethiopian 2016 demographic and health survey (EDHS) clusters to the closest health facility. We computed the distance in ESRI ArcGIS Version 10.3 using the geographic coordinates of DHS clusters and health facilities. Generalised Structural Equation Modelling (GSEM) was used to estimate the effect of distance on neonatal mortality. Results Poor geographic accessibility to health facilities affects maternal service usage and increases the risk of newborn mortality. For every ten kilometres (km) increase in distance to a health facility, the odds of neonatal mortality increased by 1.33% (95% CI: 1.06% to 1.67%). Distance also negatively affected antenatal care, facility delivery and postnatal counselling service use. Conclusions A lack of geographical access to health facilities decreases the likelihood of newborns surviving their first month of life and affects health services use during pregnancy and immediately after birth. The study also showed that antenatal care use was positively associated with facility delivery service use and that both positively influenced postnatal care use, demonstrating the interconnectedness of the components of continuum of care for maternal and neonatal care services. Policymakers can leverage the findings from this study to improve accessibility barriers to health services. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T17:20:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-16fe0213a7b74471909e6b39229715f9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6963 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T17:20:10Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Health Services Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-16fe0213a7b74471909e6b39229715f92023-02-05T12:07:45ZengBMCBMC Health Services Research1472-69632023-02-0123111010.1186/s12913-023-09070-xThe effect of distance to health facility on neonatal mortality in EthiopiaGetiye Dejenu Kibret0Daniel Demant1Andrew Hayen2Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos UniversitySchool of Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology SydneySchool of Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology SydneyAbstract Introduction In Ethiopia, more than half of newborn babies do not have access to Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (EmONC) services. Understanding the effect of distance to health facilities on service use and neonatal survival is crucial to recommend policymakers and improving resource distribution. We aimed to investigate the effect of distance to health services on maternal service use and neonatal mortality. Methods We implemented a data integration method based on geographic coordinates. We calculated straight-line (Euclidean) distances from the Ethiopian 2016 demographic and health survey (EDHS) clusters to the closest health facility. We computed the distance in ESRI ArcGIS Version 10.3 using the geographic coordinates of DHS clusters and health facilities. Generalised Structural Equation Modelling (GSEM) was used to estimate the effect of distance on neonatal mortality. Results Poor geographic accessibility to health facilities affects maternal service usage and increases the risk of newborn mortality. For every ten kilometres (km) increase in distance to a health facility, the odds of neonatal mortality increased by 1.33% (95% CI: 1.06% to 1.67%). Distance also negatively affected antenatal care, facility delivery and postnatal counselling service use. Conclusions A lack of geographical access to health facilities decreases the likelihood of newborns surviving their first month of life and affects health services use during pregnancy and immediately after birth. The study also showed that antenatal care use was positively associated with facility delivery service use and that both positively influenced postnatal care use, demonstrating the interconnectedness of the components of continuum of care for maternal and neonatal care services. Policymakers can leverage the findings from this study to improve accessibility barriers to health services.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-09070-xDistanceMaternal health serviceNeonatal mortality |
| spellingShingle | Getiye Dejenu Kibret Daniel Demant Andrew Hayen The effect of distance to health facility on neonatal mortality in Ethiopia BMC Health Services Research Distance Maternal health service Neonatal mortality |
| title | The effect of distance to health facility on neonatal mortality in Ethiopia |
| title_full | The effect of distance to health facility on neonatal mortality in Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | The effect of distance to health facility on neonatal mortality in Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effect of distance to health facility on neonatal mortality in Ethiopia |
| title_short | The effect of distance to health facility on neonatal mortality in Ethiopia |
| title_sort | effect of distance to health facility on neonatal mortality in ethiopia |
| topic | Distance Maternal health service Neonatal mortality |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-09070-x |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT getiyedejenukibret theeffectofdistancetohealthfacilityonneonatalmortalityinethiopia AT danieldemant theeffectofdistancetohealthfacilityonneonatalmortalityinethiopia AT andrewhayen theeffectofdistancetohealthfacilityonneonatalmortalityinethiopia AT getiyedejenukibret effectofdistancetohealthfacilityonneonatalmortalityinethiopia AT danieldemant effectofdistancetohealthfacilityonneonatalmortalityinethiopia AT andrewhayen effectofdistancetohealthfacilityonneonatalmortalityinethiopia |