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Contribution of women's development army to maternal and child health in Ethiopia: a systematic review of evidence.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:The aim of this review was to identify, appraise and synthesise studies that reported on the contribution of women's development army (WDA) to maternal and child health development. SETTING:Studies conducted in Ethiopia 2010 onwards and published in English were considered. DATA SOURCES:Evidence were searched in MEDLINE, CINAHL and EBSCOhost from 25 March to 10 April 2018. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:Both quantitative and qualitative studies assessing the contribution of WDA to maternal and child health were considered. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS:Two independent reviewers have extracted data using pre-planned data extraction tool separately for each study design. Findings were synthesised using tables and narrative summary. OUTCOME:Maternal and child health services; maternal and child mortality. RESULTS:Nine studies met the inclusion criteria and were used for synthesis. The results revealed that participation and membership in women's development teams (WDTs) have a positive effect on minimising maternal death and improving child immunisation service use. Skilled delivery and antenatal care service use were higher in WDTs located within a radius of 2 km from health facilities. Women's development teams were also the main sources of information for mothers to prepare themselves for birth and related complications. Moreover, well-established groups have strengthened the linkage of the health facility to the community so that delays in maternal health service use were minimised; health extension workers could effectively refer women to a health facility for birth and utilisation of skilled birth service was improved. CONCLUSION:Voluntary health service intervention in Ethiopia has improved maternal and child health services' outcome. A decrease in maternal deaths, increase in antenatal and delivery service use and improved child immunisation service uptake are attributable to this intervention. The linkage between community members and the primary healthcare system served as an effective and efficient mechanism to share information.

SUBMITTER: Yitbarek K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6538000 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Contribution of women's development army to maternal and child health in Ethiopia: a systematic review of evidence.

Yitbarek Kiddus K Yitbarek Kiddus K Abraham Gelila G Morankar Sudhakar S

BMJ open 20190522 5

<h4>Objective</h4>The aim of this review was to identify, appraise and synthesise studies that reported on the contribution of women's development army (WDA) to maternal and child health development.<h4>Setting</h4>Studies conducted in Ethiopia 2010 onwards and published in English were considered.<h4>Data sources</h4>Evidence were searched in MEDLINE, CINAHL and EBSCOhost from 25 March to 10 April 2018.<h4>Eligibility criteria</h4>Both quantitative and qualitative studies assessing the contribu ...[more]

PMID: 31122974

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Project description:BackgroundTo address the shortfall in human resources for health, Ethiopia launched the Health Extension Program (HEP) in 2004, establishing a health post with two female health extension workers (HEWs) in every kebele (community). In 2011, the Women's Development Army (WDA) strategy was added, using networks of neighboring women to increase the efficiency of HEWs in reaching every household, with one WDA team leader for every 30 households. Through the strategy, women in the community, in partnership with HEWs, share and learn about health practices and empower one another. This study assessed the association between the WDA strategy implementation strength and household reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health care behaviors and practices.MethodsUsing cross-sectional household surveys and community-level contextual data from 423 kebeles representing 145 rural districts, an internal comparison group design was applied to assess whether HEP outreach activity and household-level care practices were better in kebeles with a higher WDA density. The density of active WDA leaders was considered as WDA strategy implementation strength; higher WDA density in a kebele indicating relatively high implementation strength. Based on this, kebeles were classified as higher, moderate, or lower. Multilevel logit models, adjusted for respondents' individual, household and contextual characteristics, were used to assess the associations of WDA strategy implementation strength with outcome indicators of interest.ResultsAverage numbers of households per active WDA team leader in the 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles of the kebeles studied were respectively 41, 50 and 73. WDA density was associated with better service for six of 13 indicators considered (p <?0.05). For example, kebeles with one active WDA team leader for up to 40 households (higher category) had respectively 7 (95% CI, 2, 13), 11 (5, 17) and 9 (1, 17) percentage-points higher contraceptive prevalence rate, coverage of four or more antenatal care visits, and coverage of institutional deliveries respectively, compared with kebeles with one active WDA team leader for 60 or more households (lower category).ConclusionHigher WDA strategy implementation strength was associated with better health care behaviors and practices, suggesting that the WDA strategy supported HEWs in improving health care services delivery.

Project description:BackgroundDespite numerous national and international efforts to alleviate child growth faltering, it remains a global health challenge. There is a growing body of literature that recognizes the importance of women's empowerment in a wide range of public health topics, such as the utilization of maternal healthcare services, agricultural productivity, and child nutrition. However, in Ethiopia, the relationship between women's empowerment and child nutritional status is not studied at the national level. This study aimed to determine the association between women's empowerment and growth faltering in under-5 children in Ethiopia.MethodsThe data source for this analysis is the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS): a nationally representative household survey on healthcare. The EDHS employed a two-stage stratified cluster sampling technique. We computed standard women's empowerment indices, following the Survey-based Women's emPowERment index approach. A multilevel logistic regression model that accounted for cluster-level random effects was used to estimate the association between women's empowerment and child growth faltering (stunting, wasting and underweight).ResultsAttitude to violence, social independence, and decision-making were the three domains of women's empowerment that were associated with child growth faltering. One standard deviation increase in each domain of empowerment was associated with a reduction in the odds of stunting: attitude towards violence (AOR?=?0.92; 95% CI 0.88-0.96; p?<?0.001), social independence (AOR?=?0.95; 95% CI 0.89-0.99; p?=?0.049), and decision-making (AOR?=?0.93; 95% CI 0.87-0.99; p?=?0.023). Similarly, each standard deviation increase in attitude towards violence (AOR?=?0.93; 95% CI 0.89-0.98; p?=?0.008), social independence (AOR?=?0.91; 95% CI 0.86-0.97; p?=?0.002), and decision-making (AOR?=?0.92; 95% CI 0.86-0.99; p?=?0.020) were associated with a decrease in the odds of having underweight child.ConclusionsEnsuring women's empowerment both in the household and in the community could have the potential to decrease stunting and underweight in a rapidly developing country like Ethiopia. Policymakers and health professionals need to consider women's empowerment in this unique context to improve nutritional outcomes for children and alleviate growth faltering.

Project description:Background: The pursuit of health equity is a priority in Ethiopia, especially with regards to maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH). To date, there has been little characterization of the 'problem' of health inequity, and the normative assumptions implicit in the representation of the problem. Yet, such insights have implications for shaping the framing, incentivization, and implementation of health policies and their wider impact. Objective: In this article, we characterize how health (in)equity is represented as a policy issue, how this representation came about, and the underlying assumptions. Methods: We draw from Bacchi's 'what is the problem represented to be' approach to explore how national-level actors in the health sector constitute the problem. The data for our analysis encompass 23 key informant interviews with national health sector actors working in leadership positions on MNCH in Ethiopia, and six policy documents. Findings were derived from thematic and content analysis. Results: Health inequity is a normalized and inevitable concern that is regarded as actionable (can be altered) but not fully resolvable (can never be fully achieved). Operationally, health equity is viewed as a technocratic matter, reflected in the widespread use of metrics to motivate and measure progress. These representations are shaped by Ethiopia's rapid expansion of health services into rural areas during the 2000s leading to the positive international attention and funding the country received for improved MNCH indicators. Expanding the coverage and efficiency of health service provision, especially in rural areas, is associated with economic productivity. Conclusion: The metrication of health equity may detract from the fairness, justice, and morality underpinnings of the concept. The findings of this study point to the implications of global pressures in terms of maximizing health investments, and call into question how social, political, and economic determinants of health are addressed through broader development agendas.

Project description:BackgroundHealth-seeking behaviour lies on the direct pathway between socio-economic position (SEP) and health outcomes. The objective of this systematic review is to identify and synthesise evidence of socio-economic gradients in health-seeking behaviours related to maternal and child health in Egypt.MethodsFour databases (Medline, Embase, Global Health and Web of Science) were searched in September 2013 for material published in English from 1992 to 2013 for a combination of terms describing health-seeking behaviours, indicators of socio-economic position and geographical limitation to Egypt. Findings of studies were described and synthesised in a narrative format as meta-analysis was not possible.FindingsAmong the 786 references identified, 10 articles met the inclusion criteria. Six studies examined maternal and five studies child health-seeking behaviours (one study examined both). For maternal health, three dimensions of health-seeking behaviour (receipt of any care, type of care and intensity of care) were covered by studies of ante-natal and one dimension (type of care) by analyses of delivery care. For child health, two dimensions of preventive care (coverage of and intensity of immunisation) and three dimensions of curative care (receipt of any care, type and cost of care) were analysed.ConclusionsBased on two studies of time trends in nationally-representative surveys, socio-economic inequalities in seeking care for basic preventive and curative interventions in maternal and child health appear to have narrowed. Limited evidence of gradients in intensity of maternal preventive and provider selection in child curative care showed that inequalities may have widened. In studies of more geographically and socially homogeneous samples, fewer gradients were identified. Current body of evidence contains numerous limitations and gaps and is insufficient to draw a conclusive summary of such gradients. Improved understanding of SEP gradients is crucial in designing and prioritising interventions to equitably improve maternal and child health outcomes.

Project description:IntroductionHealth-seeking behaviours are influenced by internal and external contributing factors. Internal factors include attitudes, beliefs and core values, life adaptation skills, psychological disposition whereas external factors include social support, media, socio-cultural, political, economic and biological aspects, health care systems, environmental stressors and societal laws and regulations. This study was meant to explore factors affecting health-seeking behaviors in the Somali regional state of Ethiopia. The study employed a cross-sectional study design using qualitative data collection tools. Data were collected from 50 individual interviews and 17 focused group discussions (FGD) on women of reproductive age and their partners, health extension workers (HEWs), health care providers and health administrators. To ensure representativeness, the region was categorized into three zones based on their settlement characteristics as agrarian, pastoralist and semi-pastoralist. Two districts (one from high and the other from low performance areas) were selected from each category. The data were entered, coded, categorized and analyzed using NVIVO version 11 software. The Socio-ecologic Model (SEM) was used for categorization.ResultsUsing the social ecological model, the following major barriers for health seeking behaviors were identified. Low socio-demographic and economic status, poor exposure to health information or mass media, detrimental preferences of breast feeding methods and short acting family planning (FP) methods were identified barriers at the individual level; male dominance in decision making, the influence of the husband and society and the role of word of mouth were identified barriers at the interpersonal level and lack of acceptance, fear of modern health practices, unclean health facility environment, lack of well-equipped facilities shortage of trained staffs and barriers relating to distance and transportation were barriers identified at organizational and policy level.ConclusionOverall, factors at various level affected health seeking behaviors of the Somali community. Socio-demographic and economic factors, non-responsive bureaucratic system, shortages or absence of medical supplies and human resources, lack of supportive supervision, a shortage of water and electricity at the health facility and an unclean service delivery environment are significant barriers to health-seeking behaviors for the community.

Dataset Information

Contribution of women's development army to maternal and child health in Ethiopia: a systematic review of evidence.

Publications

Contribution of women's development army to maternal and child health in Ethiopia: a systematic review of evidence.

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