Dataset Information

Perspectives of policymakers and health providers on barriers and facilitators to skilled pregnancy care: findings from a qualitative study in rural Nigeria.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The uptake of skilled pregnancy care in rural areas of Nigeria remains a challenge amid the various strategies aimed at improving access to skilled care. The low use of skilled health care during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum indicates that Nigerian women are paying a heavy price as seen in the country's very high maternal mortality rates. The perceptions of key stakeholders on the use of skilled care will provide a broad understanding of factors that need to be addressed to increase women's access to skilled pregnancy care. The objective of this study was therefore, to explore the perspectives of policymakers and health workers, two major stakeholders in the health system, on facilitators and barriers to women's use of skilled pregnancy care in rural Edo State, Nigeria.

Methods

This paper draws on qualitative data collected in Edo State through key informant interviews with 13 key stakeholders (policy makers and healthcare providers) from a range of institutions. Data was analyzed using an iterative process of inductive and deductive approaches.

Results

Stakeholders identified barriers to pregnant women's use of skilled pregnancy care and they include; financial constraints, women's lack of decision-making power, ignorance, poor understanding of health, competitive services offered by traditional birth attendants, previous negative experience with skilled healthcare, shortage of health workforce, and poor financing and governance of the health system. Study participants suggested health insurance schemes, community support for skilled pregnancy care, favourable financial and governance policies, as necessary to facilitate women's use of skilled pregnancy care.

Conclusions

This study adds to the literature, a rich description of views from policymakers and health providers on the deterrents and enablers to skilled pregnancy care. The views and recommendations of policymakers and health workers have highlighted the importance of multi-level factors in initiatives to improve pregnant women's health behaviour. Therefore, initiatives seeking to improve pregnant women's use of skilled pregnancy care should ensure that important factors at each distinct level of the social and physical environment are identified and addressed.

SUBMITTER: Udenigwe O

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7789224 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Perspectives of policymakers and health providers on barriers and facilitators to skilled pregnancy care: findings from a qualitative study in rural Nigeria.

Udenigwe Ogochukwu O Okonofua Friday E FE Ntoimo Lorretta F C LFC Imongan Wilson W Igboin Brian B Yaya Sanni S

BMC pregnancy and childbirth 20210106 1

<h4>Background</h4>The uptake of skilled pregnancy care in rural areas of Nigeria remains a challenge amid the various strategies aimed at improving access to skilled care. The low use of skilled health care during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum indicates that Nigerian women are paying a heavy price as seen in the country's very high maternal mortality rates. The perceptions of key stakeholders on the use of skilled care will provide a broad understanding of factors that need to be address ...[more]

PMID: 33407238

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Project description:BackgroundHypertension and diabetes are chronic noncommunicable diseases ranked among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in resource-limited settings. Interventions based on patient empowerment (PE) have been shown to be effective in the management of these diseases by improving a variety of important health outcomes. This study aims to examine from the healthcare providers' and policymakers' experiences and perspectives, the facilitators and barriers in the management of hypertension and diabetes for patient empowerment to achieve better health outcomes in the context of the healthcare system in Cameroon.MethodsWe carried out a qualitative study involving three levels of embedded analysis in a public primary healthcare delivery system in Cameroon, through 22 semi-structural interviews with healthcare providers and policymakers and 36 observations of physicians' consultations. We combined thematic and lexicometric analyses to identify robust patterns of differences and similarities in the experiences and perspectives of healthcare providers and policymakers about direct and indirect factors associated with patients' self-management of disease.ResultsWe identified 89 barriers and 42 facilitators at the central, organizational, and individual levels; they were preponderant at the organizational level. Factors identified by healthcare providers mainly related to self-management of the disease at the organizational and individual levels, whereas policymakers reported factors chiefly at the central and organizational levels. Healthcare providers involved in the decision-making process for the delivery of healthcare tended to have a sense of ownership and responsibility over what they were doing to help patients develop self-management abilities to control their disease.ConclusionWhile interventions focused on improving patient-level factors are essential to PE, there is a need for interventions paying more attention to organizational and political barriers to PE than so far. Interventions targeting simultaneously these multilevel factors may be more effective than single-level interventions.

Project description:In Nigeria, interest in the evidence-to-policy process is gaining momentum among policymakers involved in maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH). However, numerous gaps exist among policymakers on use of research evidence in policymaking. The objective of this study was to assess the perception of MNCH policymakers regarding their needs and the barriers and facilitators to use of research evidence in policymaking in Nigeria.The study design was a cross-sectional assessment of perceptions undertaken during a national MNCH stakeholders' engagement event convened in Abuja, Nigeria. A questionnaire designed to assess participants' perceptions was administered in person. Group consultations were also held, which centred on policymakers' evidence-to-policy needs to enhance the use of evidence in policymaking.A total of 40 participants completed the questionnaire and participated in the group consultations. According to the respondents, the main barriers to evidence use in MNCH policymaking include inadequate capacity of organisations to conduct policy-relevant research; inadequate budgetary allocation for policy-relevant research; policymakers' indifference to research evidence; poor dissemination of research evidence to policymakers; and lack of interaction fora between researchers and policymakers. The main facilitators of use of research evidence for policymaking in MNCH, as perceived by the respondents, include capacity building for policymakers on use of research evidence in policy formulation; appropriate dissemination of research findings to relevant stakeholders; involving policymakers in research design and execution; and allowing policymakers' needs to drive research. The main ways identified to promote policymakers' use of evidence for policymaking included improving policymakers' skills in information and communication technology, data use, analysis, communication and advocacy.To improve the use of research evidence in policymaking in Nigeria, there is a need to establish mechanisms that will facilitate the movement from evidence to policy and address the needs identified by policymakers. It is also imperative to improve organisational initiatives that facilitate use of research evidence for policymaking.

Project description:In countries, such as Mozambique, where maternal mortality remains high, the greatest contribution of mortality comes from the poor and vulnerable communities, who frequently reside in remote and rural areas with limited access to health care services. This study aimed to understand women's health care seeking practices during pregnancy, taking into account the underlying social, cultural and structural barriers to accessing timely appropriate care in Maputo and Gaza Provinces, southern Mozambique.This ethnographic study collected data through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with women of reproductive age, including pregnant women, as well as household-level decision makers (partners, mothers and mothers-in-law), traditional healers, matrons, and primary health care providers. Data was analysed thematically using NVivo 10.Antenatal care was sought at the heath facility for the purpose of opening the antenatal record. Women without antenatal cards feared mistreatment during labour. Antenatal care was also sought to resolve discomforts, such as headaches, flu-like symptoms, body pain and backache. However, partners and husbands considered lower abdominal pain as the only symptom requiring care and discouraged women from revealing their pregnancy early in gestation. Health care providers for pregnant women often included those at the health facility, matrons, elders, traditional birth attendants, and community health workers. Although seeking care from traditional healers was discouraged during the antenatal period, they did provide services during pregnancy and after delivery. Besides household-level decision-makers, matrons, community health workers, and neighbours were key actors in the referral of pregnant women. The decision-making process may be delayed and particularly complex if an emergency occurs in their absence. Limited access to transport and money makes the decision-making process to seek care at the health facility even more complex.Women do seek antenatal care at health facilities, despite the presence of other health care providers in the community. There are important factors that prevent timely care-seeking for obstetric emergencies and delivery. Unfamiliarity with warning signs, especially among partners, discouragement from revealing pregnancy early in gestation, complex and untimely decision-making processes, fear of mistreatment by health-care providers, lack of transport and financial constraints were the most commonly cited barriers. Women of reproductive age would benefit from community saving schemes for transport and medication, which in turn would improve their birth preparedness and emergency readiness; in addition, pregnancy follow-up should include key family members, and community-based health care providers should encourage prompt referrals to health facilities, when appropriate.NCT01911494.

Project description:BACKGROUND: The gap between research and practice or policy is often described as a problem. To identify new barriers of and facilitators to the use of evidence by policymakers, and assess the state of research in this area, we updated a systematic review. METHODS: Systematic review. We searched online databases including Medline, Embase, SocSci Abstracts, CDS, DARE, Psychlit, Cochrane Library, NHSEED, HTA, PAIS, IBSS (Search dates: July 2000 - September 2012). Studies were included if they were primary research or systematic reviews about factors affecting the use of evidence in policy. Studies were coded to extract data on methods, topic, focus, results and population. RESULTS: 145 new studies were identified, of which over half were published after 2010. Thirteen systematic reviews were included. Compared with the original review, a much wider range of policy topics was found. Although still primarily in the health field, studies were also drawn from criminal justice, traffic policy, drug policy, and partnership working. The most frequently reported barriers to evidence uptake were poor access to good quality relevant research, and lack of timely research output. The most frequently reported facilitators were collaboration between researchers and policymakers, and improved relationships and skills. There is an increasing amount of research into new models of knowledge transfer, and evaluations of interventions such as knowledge brokerage. CONCLUSIONS: Timely access to good quality and relevant research evidence, collaborations with policymakers and relationship- and skills-building with policymakers are reported to be the most important factors in influencing the use of evidence. Although investigations into the use of evidence have spread beyond the health field and into more countries, the main barriers and facilitators remained the same as in the earlier review. Few studies provide clear definitions of policy, evidence or policymaker. Nor are empirical data about policy processes or implementation of policy widely available. It is therefore difficult to describe the role of evidence and other factors influencing policy. Future research and policy priorities should aim to illuminate these concepts and processes, target the factors identified in this review, and consider new methods of overcoming the barriers described.

Project description:BackgroundNigeria presently has the second highest absolute number of maternal deaths and perinatal deaths (stillbirth and neonatal deaths) in the world. The country accounts for up to 14% of global maternal deaths and is second only to India in the number of women who die during childbirth. Although all parts of the country are worsened by these staggering statistics, several lines of evidence show that most maternal, and perinatal deaths occur in the north-east and north-west geo-political zones where women have limited access to evidence-based maternal and neonatal health services. The proposed project intends to identify the demand and supply factors that prevent women from using PHCs for maternal and early new-born care in Nigeria, and to test innovative and community relevant interventions for improving women's access to PHC services, and thus, ultimately, to prevent maternal and perinatal deaths.MethodsAn open-labelled, randomized controlled trial will is carried out in two local government areas selected based on three criteria (i) maternal mortality rates (ii) PHC utilization rates and (iii) and geographic localization. The study will be conducted over 54-months in six communities, with PHCs in six communities of similar status serving as control sites. Surveys about quality of care and maternal health services utilization will be carried out at baseline, at midterm and at end of the project to test the effectiveness of the intervention, alongside conventional epidemiological measures of maternal and perinatal mortality. Ethical approval for the study has been granted (reference no. NHREC/01/01/2007). The findings will be published in compliance with reporting guidelines for randomized controlled trials.DiscussionThe current Federal Government in Nigeria has identified PHC as its main strategy for increasing access to health in Nigeria. However, despite numerous efforts, there are persisting concerns that there is currently no scientific evidence on which to base the improvement of PHCs. The results of this study will identify barriers in the use of PHCs and will provide scientific evidence for effective and innovative interventions for improving PHCs that can be rolled out throughout the country.Trial registrationClinical Trials.gov NCT02643953.

Dataset Information

Perspectives of policymakers and health providers on barriers and facilitators to skilled pregnancy care: findings from a qualitative study in rural Nigeria.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Perspectives of policymakers and health providers on barriers and facilitators to skilled pregnancy care: findings from a qualitative study in rural Nigeria.

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