Browsing by Author "Soi, Esther Nthambi"

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    Effects of Parental Education, Household Wealth, and Occupation on Antenatal Care Utilization in Kenya
    (Kenyatta University, 2025-04) Soi, Esther Nthambi
    The Kenyan government implemented a free maternity service policy in June 2013 by eliminating maternity charges in public hospitals and health centres to make maternity services more accessible and affordable, reducing maternal and perinatal deaths, and achieving the global and the Kenya Vision 2030 targets. Despite this effort, maternal deaths are unacceptably high and underutilization of antenatal care still exists among poor, illiterate, and unemployed women living in rural areas. Free maternal services may not sufficiently address antenatal care utilization challenges because other cultural, demographic, and societal factors, such as transport, area of residence, poverty levels, decision-making and literacy levels, can affect access to maternal health services. However, to date, there is limited information at the national perspective in Kenya on how parental education, parental occupation and household wealth affects antenatal care. This study assessed the effects of parental education, parental occupation, and household wealth on antenatal care utilization in Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to establish the effects of parental education on antenatal care utilization, to investigate the effects of household wealth on antenatal care utilization, and to determine the effects of parental occupation on antenatal care utilization in Kenya. The study design was non-experimental, using the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey data (2022) on women aged 15 to 49 years. The data were analyzed using the negative binomial regression model. The findings revealed that 58.7 per cent of the respondents made at least 4-7 visits, but only 3.5 per cent attained the recommended eight ANC visits. Compared to mothers without formal education, those whose husbands/partners had primary education were more likely to use ANC services, holding other factors constant, but the mother’s education level showed no effect on antenatal care utilization. The antenatal care utilization increased with households in the middle-income quintile, and there was no relationship between the mother's or husband's occupation and antenatal care utilization. This study recommends that the government increase investment in the education sector and intensify public awareness of antenatal care services. In addition to the free maternal health care, the government of Kenya can consider formulating ANC policies to eradicate healthcare inequalities among the less privileged by effectively removing all barriers to accessing ANC and ensuring free service delivery to all women, regardless of their socioeconomic status, religion, marital status or place of residence.