| dc.description.abstract | This study sought to determine the effect of socio-demographic and economic factors on utilization of antenatal care services among women in the eastern region of Uganda.
A descriptive cross-sectional study design was adopted for this study using a quantitative approach. Secondary data extracted from the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS), 2016 was used, analyzed using STATA v15.0 in 3 stages; univariate, bivariate and regression analysis at 5% level of significance.
Findings indicated 26.0% of the respondents were aged 15-19 years, 74.3% were aged 15-19 years at their first birth, 48.4% of the respondents had 1-5 children ever born, 33.9% were married and 30.4% from Busoga region. 83.3% of the respondents resided in rural areas, and 36% were Anglicans, 52% of the respondents had not completed primary seven, and only 4.9% had done tertiary studies. Forty-seven (47.6 %) were poor and 52.8% utilized ANC services whereas 47.2% had not utilized any ANC services.
From the bi-variate analysis, age group of the respondent (X2= 1238.88, P=0.000), Number of children ever born (X2= 2041.26, p=0.000), Current Marital status of the respondent (X2= 1353.18 ,P=0.000), Place of residence of the respondent (X2=31.14 ,P=0.000), Education level attained by the respondent(X2=55.75,P=0.000), Wealth Index (X2= 102.97 , P=0.000), and Occupation of the respondent (X2=152.86 ,P=0.000) had a significant relationship with utilization of ANC.
From the regression analysis, respondents aged 25-29 years were 2.429 times more likely to utilize ANC services compared to their counterparts aged 15-19 years (OR=2.429, P=0.007), the middle-income respondents were 1.717 times more likely to use ANC services compared to the poor (OR=1.717, P=0.010), the rich were 2.625 times more likely to utilize ANC services compared to the poor (OR=2.625, P=0.001). Respondents who had completed primary education were 2.072 times more likely to utilize ANC services compared to those with no education (OR=2.072, P=0.001).
Findings indicated a need to educate and sensitize women on the essence and importance of seeking antenatal care services as recommended by health personnel as it would increase the utilization and hence a reduction in maternal deaths. Finally, Further research can be undertaken on KAP of women towards utilization of ANC services to better understand their perception towards the technology and possible challenges or fears associated. | en_US |
