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Rural/urban and socioeconomic differentials in quality of antenatal care in Ghana.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Approximately 800 women die of pregnancy-related complications every day. Over half of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Most maternal deaths can be prevented with high quality maternal health services. It is well established that use of maternal health services vary by place of residence and socioeconomic status (SES), but few studies have examined the determinants of quality of maternal health services in SSA. The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of antenatal care (ANC) quality in Ghana-focusing on the role of place of residence and SES (education and wealth). The analysis also examines the interactions of these variables and the mediating role of ANC timing, frequency, facility type, and provider type. METHODS:The data are from the Ghana Maternal Health Survey (N = 4,868). Analytic techniques include multilevel linear regression with mediation and moderation analysis. RESULTS:Urban residence and higher SES are positively associated with higher ANC quality, but the urban effect is completely explained by sociodemographic factors. Specifically, about half of the urban effect is explained by education and wealth alone, with other variables accounting for the remainder. The effects of education are conditional on wealth and are strongest for poor women. Starting ANC visits early and attending the recommended four visits as well as receiving ANC from a higher level facility and from a skilled provider are associated with higher quality ANC. These factors partially explain the SES differentials. IMPLICATIONS:Ghanaian women experience significant disparities in quality of ANC, with poor illiterate women receiving the worst care. Targeted efforts to increase quality of ANC may significantly reduce maternal health disparities in Ghana and SSA. A particularly crucial step is to improve ANC quality in the lower level health facilities, where the most vulnerable women are more likely to seek ANC.

SUBMITTER: Afulani PA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4335004 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Rural/urban and socioeconomic differentials in quality of antenatal care in Ghana.

Afulani Patience A PA

PloS one 20150219 2

<h4>Background</h4>Approximately 800 women die of pregnancy-related complications every day. Over half of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Most maternal deaths can be prevented with high quality maternal health services. It is well established that use of maternal health services vary by place of residence and socioeconomic status (SES), but few studies have examined the determinants of quality of maternal health services in SSA. The purpose of this study is to examine the determi ...[more]

PMID: 25695737

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Socioeconomically disadvantaged populations often have higher exposures to particulate air pollution, which can be expected to contribute to differentials in life expectancy. We examined socioeconomic differentials in exposure and air pollution-related mortality relating to larger scale (5 km resolution) variations in background concentrations of selected pollutants across England. METHODS:Ozone and particulate matter (sub-divided into PM10, PM2.5, PM2.5-10, primary, nitrate and sulphate PM2.5) were simulated at 5 km horizontal resolution using an atmospheric chemistry transport model (EMEP4UK). Annual mean concentrations of these pollutants were assigned to all 1,202,578 residential postcodes in England, which were classified by urban-rural status and socioeconomic deprivation based on the income and employment domains of the 2010 English Index of Multiple Deprivation for the Lower-level Super Output Area of residence. We used life table methods to estimate PM2.5-attributable life years (LYs) lost in both relative and absolute terms. RESULTS:Concentrations of the most particulate fractions, but not of nitrate PM2.5 or ozone, were modestly higher in areas of greater socioeconomic deprivation. Relationships between pollution level and socioeconomic deprivation were non-linear and varied by urban-rural status. The pattern of PM2.5 concentrations made only a small contribution to the steep socioeconomic gradient in LYs lost due to PM2.5 per 103 population, which primarily was driven by the steep socioeconomic gradient in underlying mortality rates. In rural areas, the absolute burden of air pollution-related LYs lost was lowest in the most deprived deciles. CONCLUSIONS:Air pollution shows modest socioeconomic patterning at 5 km resolution in England, but absolute attributable mortality burdens are strongly related to area-level deprivation because of underlying mortality rates. Measures that cause a general reduction in background concentrations of air pollution may modestly help narrow socioeconomic differences in health.

Project description:BackgroundAttending antenatal care (ANC) early contribute to better birth outcomes. Studies have shown that many pregnant women in Sub-Saharan Africa do not initiate ANC early (i.e. in the first trimester). This study determined the gestational age of pregnancy at first ANC attendance. It also explored factors that influence initiation of ANC.MethodsThis cross-sectional study, conducted in Ghana, used mixed methods to collect data from women aged 15-45 years who delivered 6 months prior to the study. Crosstabs, chi-square test and logistic regression were used to analyse quantitative data. Also, 33 participants were engaged in focus group discussions (FGDs). Thematic content analysis was used to develop themes from the data.ResultsOf the 431 participants, 8.9, 8, 25.4, 45.3 and 10.7% started ANC in the first, second, third, fourth and fifth months of pregnancy respectively. Formal education, employment and number of living children were predictors of initiating ANC early; by 12 weeks of gestation. Women who attained primary, junior high, secondary education and above had 5.6, 57.5 and 163.2 higher odds respectively of initiating ANC in the first trimester compared to women with no education (p ≤ 0.05). Women with two, three and four to nine living children were 4.1, 3 and 3.5 times respectively more likely to access ANC early compared to primigravidae women. However, women with five or more children and primigravidae women are more likely to initiate ANC late; after 12 weeks gestation. The FGD data also show that most of the participants initiated ANC late. Two themes: visible signs of pregnancy and or sickness influence ANC attendance in the first trimester. The themes that explain late initiation of ANC are: healthy, do not value the benefits of early ANC attendance, desire to avoid embarrassment associated with the pregnancy, unplanned pregnancy, indirect cost of accessing ANC and traditional rites and practices.ConclusionContextual factors influence ANC initiation. Investment in female education, intensification of health promotion activities by health workers, non-governmental organisations, community and religious leaders to sensitise communities on the benefits of initiating ANC at the onset of pregnancy is needed to improve first trimester attendance.

Project description:Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is a recognized risk factor for the global burden of disease in human populations. We are presenting here the application of toxicogenomics in the evaluation of the toxic effects of organic content of atmospheric particle matter (PM), from urban and rural environments (city of Barcelona and village of La Pobla, NE Spain), using the developing zebrafish embryo. The main goal is to identify the metabolic pathways involved in the adverse effects observed in zebrafish embryos exposed to PM organic content from urban and rural environments, also allowing the selection of genes of interest that are differentially expressed. The relevance of particle size to the PM toxicity is also addressed. Indeed, the zebrafish embryos were exposed to PM of aerodynamic diameter larger than 7.2 μm and smaller than 0.5 μm (PM10 and PM0.5, respectively). PM0.5 concentrated biological and toxic activities linked to organic substances. Transcriptomic analyses showed strong induction of the AhR signalling pathway (a.k.a. dioxin-like activity) for embryos exposed to both rural and urban extracts, correlating with the concentrations of PAHs. Urban extracts, with strong contribution of traffic emissions, specifically de-regulated oxidative stress-related genes, as well as pancreatic and eye-lens specific genes, two organs known to be affected by air pollution in humans. Exposure to rural extracts, with high contribution of wood burning emissions, affected genes implicated in basic cellular functions, in agreement with their strong embryotoxicity. Extracts from rural and urban samples elicited both common and specific transcriptome responses, suggesting different potentially adverse outcomes depending on PM source and composition. The authors thank the financial support of the Spanish Ministry (project TEA-PARTICLE, grant number CGL2011-29621) and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology for the doctoral grant of Sofia R. Mesquita (SFRH/BD/80710/2011) funded by the Program POPH-QREN through the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science and the European Social Fund, and support through project PEst-C/MAR/LA0015/2013.

Dataset Information

Rural/urban and socioeconomic differentials in quality of antenatal care in Ghana.

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Rural/urban and socioeconomic differentials in quality of antenatal care in Ghana.

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