Determinants of Focused Antenatal Care Uptake among Women in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya
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Date
2017
Authors
Gitonga, Eliphas
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Abstract
Background. The health status of women is an important indicator of the overall economic health and well-being of a country.
Maternal health is closely linked with the survival of newborns. For every woman who dies, about thirty others suffer lifelong
injuries. Focused antenatal care is one of the interventions to reducematernalmorbidity andmortality. It recommends four targeted
visits during pregnancy within which essential services are offered. The aim of the study was to assess the determinants of uptake
of focused antenatal care among women inTharaka Nithi County, Kenya. Methods. This was a descriptive cross-sectional survey.
Stratified sampling was used to select the health facilities while systematic sampling was used to select the respondents. Chi square,
Fisher’s exact test, and logistic regression were used to analyse the data. Results. The level of uptake of focused antenatal care was
slightly more than half (52%). The determinants of uptake of focused antenatal care are level of education, type of employment,
household income, parity, and marital status of the pregnant women. Conclusion. Despite high attendance of at least one antenatal
visit in Kenya, the uptake of focused antenatal care is proportionally low.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Citation
Advances in Public Health Volume 2017