Assessing the impact of geographical access to health facilities on maternal healthcare utilization: evidence from the Burkina Faso demographic and health survey 2010

Yusuke Kamiya,Mariam Tanou

doi:10.1186/s12889-019-7150-1

Abstract

BackgroundImproving maternal and child health (MCH) remains a serious challenge for many developing countries. Geographical accessibility from a residence to the nearest health facility is suspected to be an important obstacle hampering the use of appropriate services for MCH especially in Sub-Sharan African countries. In Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in the Sahel region of West Africa, women’s use of proper healthcare services during pregnancy and childbirth is still low. This study therefore assessed the impact of geographical access to health facilities on maternal healthcare utilization in Burkina Faso.MethodsWe used the Burkina Faso demographic and health survey (DHS) 2010 dataset, with its sample of 10,364 mothers aged 15–49 years. Distance from residential areas to the closest health facility was measured by merging the DHS dataset with Geographic Information System data on the location of health centers in Burkina Faso. Multivariate logistic regressions were conducted to estimate the effects of distance on maternal healthcare utilization.ResultsRegression results revealed that the longer the distance to the closest health center, the less likely it is that a woman will receive appropriate maternal healthcare services. The estimates show that one kilometer increase in distance to the closest health center reduces the odds that a woman will receive four or more antenatal care by 0.05 and reduces by 0.267 the odds that she will deliver her baby with the assistance of a skilled birth attendant.ConclusionsImproving geographical access to health facilities increases the use of appropriate healthcare services during pregnancy and childbirth. Investment in transport infrastructure should be a prioritized target for further improvement in MCH in Burkina Faso.

Highlights

Improving maternal and child health (MCH) remains a serious challenge for many developing countries
The data was corrected for a cluster survey design by calculating sampling weights which were available in the demographic and health survey (DHS) dataset
94.8% of the women received antenatal care (ANC) at least once, whereas only 33.6% received ANC four or more times; 66.7% delivered their babies at a health facility; and 67.4% were assisted by an Skilled birth attendant (SBA) during childbirth

Summary

Introduction

Improving maternal and child health (MCH) remains a serious challenge for many developing countries. In Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in the Sahel region of West Africa, women’s use of proper healthcare services during pregnancy and childbirth is still low. It seems clear that improving maternal and child health (MCH) is vital to any country’s long-term development [4] and that more efforts should be made to promote the use of essential healthcare during pregnancy and childbirth. In Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, the maternal mortality ratio declined from 727 to 371 per 100,000 livebirths between 1990 and 2015, a decrease of 49% over this period [1]. Despite this downward trend in maternal mortality, MCH remains a major challenge. The percentage of women who visited a healthcare facility for at least one antenatal care (ANC) was 95% in 2010, only 34% received the recommended number of at least four ANC [5]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion