MIDWIVES POPULATION AND ANTENATAL CARE (ANC) SERVICE PROVISION IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA: A QUANTITATIVE-QUALITATIVE APPROACH

Abstract

The main thrust of this study was to assess midwives’ population and service provision at Primary Health Care level in Cross River State, Nigeria. To achieve this objective, two research questions and one hypothesis was postulated to guide the study. The adopted design for this study is a concurrent triangulation mixed method design, which utilizes both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The sample comprised of 70 mid-wives for the quantitative approach and 8 mid-wives for the qualitative approach through the use of census and purposive sampling techniques respectively. A questionnaire developed by the researcher on the type of services provided by mid-wives was used to collect data for the qualitative approach, while a focused group discussion was used to collect data for the qualitative approach. The data gathered were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics as well as qualitatively. Results indicated that only forty-four (44) PHCs have midwives while one hundred and fifty-eight PHCs have no midwife at all. The result also indicated that the one PHC that has above 3 midwives render high quality care services to client than the 43 PHC that have below 3 midwives population has the calculated t-value of 17.225 is greater than the critical t-value of 1.980 at 0.05 level of significance and 68 degrees of freedom. This implies that there is a significant relationship between midwives’ population and ANCs service provision in PHCs in Cross River /State, Nigeria. Based on this finding, it was recommended that the presence of midwives in State Primary Health Care Development Agency should be strengthened. Nursing and midwifery council should review the policy to establish community midwifery in Cross River State were more midwives will be trained and automatically employed to PHC level in the State.