Analysis of the determinants of maternal mortality in Uganda

Abstract

The study analyzed the determinants of maternal mortality in Uganda using Uganda Demographic and Health Surveys reports and other sources. It was guided by the following objectives; (1) To examine the effects of maternal education on maternal mortality in Uganda. (2) To examine whether mother’s age influences maternal mortality in Uganda. (3) To assess the effects of socio economic status of mother’s on maternal mortality in Uganda. The study was mainly carried out using secondary data from the Uganda Demography Health Survey reports of 2016. Data Analysis was done using stata; univariate frequency tables and graphs were used, and cross tabulation and chi-square to test the hypotheses. In the research findings it was found out that maternal mortality is high in mothers who produce at a tender age. Consequently, mothers with a low level of education are highly subjected to high rates of maternal deaths as compared to mothers with high education levels. Maternal mortality is high in rural areas as compared to urban areas due to differences in the access of socio amenities and health services. The major recommendations of the study were; improving the quality of antenatal and post-natal care services in different parts of Uganda, improvement on the availability of medical works in Uganda so as to reduce on the inefficiency of qualified medical workers, improving girl child education at all levels so as to reduce on early school drop outs and hence reducing on the chances of girls being pregnant at a tender age