Quality of antenatal care in Zambia, and influence of quality of care and distance on antenatal care use

Project team: Nicholas Kyei, Sabine Gabrysch

Funding: Rahel Goitein-Straus fellowship for Sabine Gabrysch from the Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University

The care that a woman receives during pregnancy is crucial not only for her own health but also for the unborn child. Antenatal care (ANC) attendance (for at least one visit) generally tends to be high even in low-income countries, however, the quality of antenatal service provided by health facilities has been poorly studied.

This project, which is Nicholas Kyei's MSc International Health Masters thesis, draws upon two existing datasets in Zambia which were linked by their geographic coordinates: the national Health Facility Census from 2005 and the 2007 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey.

Quality of care at ANC facilities in Zambia is assessed using various quality dimensions and facilities are classified in good/recommended, moderate/fair and poor/inadequate ANC quality. We then study how distance to ANC and quality of care at the closest ANC facility influence number and timing of women's ANC visits, and whether women receive at least four visits with a skilled health worker and the recommended ANC interventions.

Publications:

Kyei NNA, Chansa C, Gabrysch S. (2012): Quality of antenatal care in Zambia: A national assessment. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 12:151: doi:10.1186/1471-2393-12-151.

Kyei NNA, Campbell OMR, Gabrysch S. (2012): The influence of distance and level of service provision on antenatal care use in rural Zambia. PLoS One, 7(10): e46475. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0046475.