Perceptions of prenatal and obstetric care in Sub-Saharan Africa.
BACKGROUND: The maternal mortality ratio in Sub-Saharan Africa remains high, despite progress in reducing maternal mortality in other parts of the world. OBJECTIVE: To explore the perceptions of women and communities to identify barriers to the uptake of obstetric services. SEARCH STRATEGY: A syste...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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2013
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| _version_ | 1826256599276060672 |
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| author | Brighton, A D'Arcy, R Kirtley, S Kennedy, S |
| author_facet | Brighton, A D'Arcy, R Kirtley, S Kennedy, S |
| author_sort | Brighton, A |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | BACKGROUND: The maternal mortality ratio in Sub-Saharan Africa remains high, despite progress in reducing maternal mortality in other parts of the world. OBJECTIVE: To explore the perceptions of women and communities to identify barriers to the uptake of obstetric services. SEARCH STRATEGY: A systematic review of qualitative studies exploring perceptions of pregnancy and obstetric services, with thematic synthesis of the included studies. SELECTION CRITERIA: Qualitative studies reporting findings from focus group discussions and in-depth interviews between 1996 and 2009 were included. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Thematic synthesis involved collating and reviewing quotations taken directly from included studies. Themes were generated and clustered for analysis. MAIN RESULTS: Twenty-seven studies were included and 6 major themes identified: perceptions of healthcare workers; perceptions of the hospital environment; cultural perceptions of women; cultural perceptions of pregnancy; perceptions of traditional birth attendants and traditional healers; and role of the community in pregnancy and birth. CONCLUSION: Community attitudes regarding cultural beliefs and interactions with healthcare providers were identified as barriers to the utilization of healthcare services during pregnancy in Sub-Saharan Africa. These prevent engagement with prenatal care and timely use of medical services. Addressing the barriers will be seminal to the success of any healthcare intervention. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T18:04:47Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:01127c3a-9ec8-4ee3-9a52-82e2cef45be1 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T18:04:47Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:01127c3a-9ec8-4ee3-9a52-82e2cef45be12022-03-26T08:32:49ZPerceptions of prenatal and obstetric care in Sub-Saharan Africa.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:01127c3a-9ec8-4ee3-9a52-82e2cef45be1EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2013Brighton, AD'Arcy, RKirtley, SKennedy, S BACKGROUND: The maternal mortality ratio in Sub-Saharan Africa remains high, despite progress in reducing maternal mortality in other parts of the world. OBJECTIVE: To explore the perceptions of women and communities to identify barriers to the uptake of obstetric services. SEARCH STRATEGY: A systematic review of qualitative studies exploring perceptions of pregnancy and obstetric services, with thematic synthesis of the included studies. SELECTION CRITERIA: Qualitative studies reporting findings from focus group discussions and in-depth interviews between 1996 and 2009 were included. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Thematic synthesis involved collating and reviewing quotations taken directly from included studies. Themes were generated and clustered for analysis. MAIN RESULTS: Twenty-seven studies were included and 6 major themes identified: perceptions of healthcare workers; perceptions of the hospital environment; cultural perceptions of women; cultural perceptions of pregnancy; perceptions of traditional birth attendants and traditional healers; and role of the community in pregnancy and birth. CONCLUSION: Community attitudes regarding cultural beliefs and interactions with healthcare providers were identified as barriers to the utilization of healthcare services during pregnancy in Sub-Saharan Africa. These prevent engagement with prenatal care and timely use of medical services. Addressing the barriers will be seminal to the success of any healthcare intervention. |
| spellingShingle | Brighton, A D'Arcy, R Kirtley, S Kennedy, S Perceptions of prenatal and obstetric care in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| title | Perceptions of prenatal and obstetric care in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| title_full | Perceptions of prenatal and obstetric care in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| title_fullStr | Perceptions of prenatal and obstetric care in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perceptions of prenatal and obstetric care in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| title_short | Perceptions of prenatal and obstetric care in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| title_sort | perceptions of prenatal and obstetric care in sub saharan africa |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT brightona perceptionsofprenatalandobstetriccareinsubsaharanafrica AT darcyr perceptionsofprenatalandobstetriccareinsubsaharanafrica AT kirtleys perceptionsofprenatalandobstetriccareinsubsaharanafrica AT kennedys perceptionsofprenatalandobstetriccareinsubsaharanafrica |