Evaluation of healthcare services for pregnant women and access to health information among rural women in northern, Tanzania

Abstract

This study focused on the evaluation of Healthcare Services for Pregnant Women and Access to Health Information among Rural and semi-urban Women. This study was a household Survey conducted with a stratified and random sample of 140 Tanzanian women aged 45 or below who had previously given birth and/or who were pregnant during the data collection. The sample stratification involved four rural villages in the Same District of the Kilimanjaro Region (105 total respondents), and one peri‐urban village in Arumeru District of Arusha Region (35 total respondents). Survey responses were recorded on paper forms and entered into an electronic system for analysis. Findings revealed that there were challenges facing the provision of maternal healthcare services in both rural and peri-urban villages. Furthermore, the study revealed that information about maternal healthcare in rural and peri-urban areas is limited and mainly received from health facility and healthcare workers as the main trusted health information source. The study concludes that even if a pregnant woman manages to reach a health facility, may only be provided with the most basic of services and often have to be referred to a hospital even farther away in the case of complications. Furthermore, the study concludes that women surveyed suffer from the shortage of information sources regarding maternal and child health. The study recommends that the government should observe healthcare services for pregnant women with an Eagle eye as they need serious attention by addressing all the identified challenges in order to rescue the current situation.