OBJECTIVES: to identify midwives' perceptions about adolescents' failure to utilise prenatal services or to initiate such utilisation late during their pregnancies. DESIGN: a quantitative descriptive and exploratory design, using questionnaires to collect data, to describe midwives' perceptions about factors influencing pregnant adolescents' non-utilisation or late utilisation of prenatal services. SETTING: 20 public health centres (comprising two hospitals and 18 primary health-care clinics) rendering prenatal services, distributed throughout the city of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. PARTICIPANTS: 52 midwives, rendering prenatal services in Bulawayo, completed questionnaires. MEASUREMENTS AND FINDINGS: demographic, socio-economic, knowledge-related and service-related factors (unfriendly midwives and substandard prenatal services) influenced pregnant adolescents' late or non-utilisation of prenatal services. KEY CONCLUSIONS: transport costs and charges for prenatal services were major factors influencing adolescents' late or non-utilisation of prenatal services. Adolescents needed more knowledge about the advantages of prenatal services. Effective prenatal services should be provided by friendly and welcoming midwives. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: pregnant adolescents need more knowledge about the advantages of prenatal services, and these should be more accessible. Charges for public prenatal services must be reduced or abandoned; subsidised or free public transport for pregnant adolescents could enhance their utilisation of prenatal services.
OBJECTIVES: to identify midwives' perceptions about adolescents' failure to utilise prenatal services or to initiate such utilisation late during their pregnancies. DESIGN: a quantitative descriptive and exploratory design, using questionnaires to collect data, to describe midwives' perceptions about factors influencing pregnant adolescents' non-utilisation or late utilisation of prenatal services. SETTING: 20 public health centres (comprising two hospitals and 18 primary health-care clinics) rendering prenatal services, distributed throughout the city of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. PARTICIPANTS: 52 midwives, rendering prenatal services in Bulawayo, completed questionnaires. MEASUREMENTS AND FINDINGS: demographic, socio-economic, knowledge-related and service-related factors (unfriendly midwives and substandard prenatal services) influenced pregnant adolescents' late or non-utilisation of prenatal services. KEY CONCLUSIONS: transport costs and charges for prenatal services were major factors influencing adolescents' late or non-utilisation of prenatal services. Adolescents needed more knowledge about the advantages of prenatal services. Effective prenatal services should be provided by friendly and welcoming midwives. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: pregnant adolescents need more knowledge about the advantages of prenatal services, and these should be more accessible. Charges for public prenatal services must be reduced or abandoned; subsidised or free public transport for pregnant adolescents could enhance their utilisation of prenatal services.
Authors: Adolfine Hokororo; Albert F Kihunrwa; Samuel Kalluvya; John Changalucha; Daniel W Fitzgerald; Jennifer A Downs Journal: Acta Paediatr Date: 2015-02-07 Impact factor: 2.299
Authors: Florian Kurth; Sabine Bélard; Ghyslain Mombo-Ngoma; Katharina Schuster; Ayola A Adegnika; Marielle K Bouyou-Akotet; Peter G Kremsner; Michael Ramharter Journal: PLoS One Date: 2010-12-20 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Kim Jonas; Priscilla Reddy; Bart van den Borne; Ronel Sewpaul; Anam Nyembezi; Pamela Naidoo; Rik Crutzen Journal: BMC Health Serv Res Date: 2016-11-15 Impact factor: 2.655