Abstract
Background: The access to quality maternal health information amongst pregnant women plays an important role in determining woman’s health behaviour during pregnancy. Yet, access to maternal health information remains a major challenge in Tanzanian rural communities especially for pregnant women leading to low utilisation of skilled maternal health services.Objectives: The study aimed at examining the accessibility of maternal health information amongst pregnant women in rural Tanzania.Methods: A qualitative phenomenological study involving 25 pregnant women, 5 skilled healthcare providers (SHPs) and 5 traditional birth attendants (TBAs) was carried out in Chamwino District, Dodoma Region, Tanzania for a period of 6 months. Data were analysed thematically using the six-stage guide to thematic data analysis with NVivo Software.Results: The acute shortage of healthcare personnel and traditional beliefs influenced pregnant women’s access to quality maternal health information. The majority of women used mothers-in-law and TBAs as their primary source of maternal health information rather than skilled healthcare providers.Conclusion: Despite the acute shortage, healthcare providers need to play a leading role in providing maternal health information amongst the rural populations. Furthermore, skilled health providers need to work in collaboration with the TBAs to increase access to maternal health information and build a well-informed healthy society.
Highlights
The access to quality maternal health information amongst pregnant women plays an important role in determining woman’s health behaviour during pregnancy
Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were used to explore the accessibility of maternal health information and how pregnant women learnt about maternal health
This study focused on understanding the accessibility of maternal health information amongst pregnant women in rural areas
Summary
The access to quality maternal health information amongst pregnant women plays an important role in determining woman’s health behaviour during pregnancy. Despite health information from healthcare professionals, studies show that generally, people tend to seek additional information from other sources such as relatives and friends for more detailed explanations on their health problems and are dependent on them for emotional support (Lin & Chang 2018; Kreps 2005; Wathen & Harris 2006). This highlights the existing gap between the offered health information and the actual needs of the community (Chang et al 2004; Kreps 2005; Sokey & Adisah-Atta 2017).
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