The effect of text-messaging on the utilisation of health facilities among pregnant women during delivery in Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: Uptake of skilled care during delivery is associated with positive maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Studies reveal Nigeria accounts for a significant percentage of global maternal deaths, which have been associated with poor skilled attendants at delivery. Text messaging has proven to be effective in promoting health facilities’ utilisation in Nigeria. Therefore, this research assessed the influence of text messaging intervention on the utilisation of health facilities during delivery in Cross River State Methods: Quasi-experimental research design was employed. A sample size of thirty per LGA in two LGAs was used. Participants were purposively selected and grouped into text messaging and Control Groups ). The experimental group received text briefs three times per week for four weeks, while the control group received regular ANC sessions. A structured and validated questionnaire with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.76 to 0.81 was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics at a 5% level of significance. Results: At baseline, the proportion of women who utilised HFs during delivery was 13.3% (experimental group) and 33.3% (control group). Furthermore, at the 8th-week follow-up, there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in T-M (76.7%), compared with CG (33.3%) with an increase of 63.4% for the T-M compared to CG (3.3%, p > 0.05). Conclusion: T-M intervention improved the utilisation of HFs during delivery among PW. The study recommends that health workers should incorporate mobile T-M intervention strategy which has proven to be a useful tool during ANC.