A study on extent of utilization of maternal health care services through community health workers among rural women in Ruhango district at Rwanda

Abstract

The use of community health workers has been identified as one strategy to address the growing shortage of health workers, particularly in low-income countries. Community health workers (CHWs) are widely used to provide care for a broad range of health issues. The study is aimed to assess the extent of utilization of maternal health care services among rural women by CHWs. A sample of 120 respondents was randomly selected from 30 villages. Questionnaire method was used for data collection and analysis was done through frequency and percentage. All the respondents (100 %) were educated about maternal health by CHWs. Majority of respondents (85%) was visited for 3 times by CHWs before delivery. Furthermore, 53 per cent of the respondents undergone check up for 4 times. Majority of respondents (98%) were accompanied by CHWs to the health centre or hospital during delivery period. All those who had experienced complication (68%) during delivery had taken treatment with the help of CHWs. All the respondents (100%) were visited immediately at their homes after delivery by CHWs. In this paper, an attempt has been made to show how CHWs played a vital role in increasing the access to health care services among women and working within a community-based team to educate them on the importance of antenatal care and postnatal care with a skilled professional.