The study investigated the beliefs and practices of Sotho antenatal women. The aim was to describe the beliefs and practices of Sotho antenatal women in order to contribute to the identification of guidelines for a teaching programme for both midwives and traditional birth attendants. A non-experimental, qualitative research approach, which was exploratory-descriptive and contextual in nature, guided the researcher to explore and describe the beliefs and practices of Sotho antenatal women. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the Sotho antenatal women as well as traditional birth attendants. Six themes emerged from the study through the interviews:  the nature of pregnancy  prescriptive practices  restrictive practices  sexual activity  the practice of clinic attendants  the practice of attending traditional birth attendants / Health Studies / M.A (Department of Health Studies)

PURPOSE: The main aim of this study was to systematically assess women’s maternal health care seeking behaviour and its determinants in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. DESIGN: A quantitative and cross-sectional community based study was the selected methodology for this study. METHOD: Data was collected using structured questionnaire administered to 903 women aged 15-49 years through a stratified two-stage cluster sampling technique. Binary and multinomial logistic regression models were employed to identify predictors of adequacy of antenatal care and delivery care. RESULTS: Most of the women (97.9%) visited health care facilities at least once for antenatal care follow up. About 86.5% of them had at least four visits during their last pregnancy; and only 51.1% started their first antenatal visit early. Further, only about one out of five of the antenatal care attendees received sufficient content of antenatal care services. Consequently, only about one out of ten women received overall adequate antenatal care mainly due to inadequate use of the basic components of antenatal services. Most of the women delivered in public health care institutions (76.3%) despite the general doubts about the quality of services in these facilities. Women of better socioeconomic status preferred to give birth at private health care facilities. Caesarean section delivery rate in Addis Ababa (19.1%) is higher than the maximum WHO recommended rate (15.0%); particularly among the non-slum residents (27.2%); clients of private health care facilities (41.1%); currently married women (20.6%); women with secondary (22.2%) and tertiary (33.6%) level of education; and women who belong to the highest wealth quintile (28.2%). The majority (65.8%) of the caesarean section clients were not informed about the consequences of caesarean section delivery and about 9.0% of the caesarean section births had no medical indication. CONCLUSION: Disparities in maternal health care utilisation between the socio-economic groups was evident, requiring urgent attention from policy makers and other stakeholders to enable Ethiopia to meet its millennium development goal 5. Improving the quality of antenatal care in public health facilities which are the main provider of health care services to the majority of the Ethiopian population is urgent. The increase in the rate of caesarean section beyond the World Health Organization recommended upper limit has to be taken seriously. / Health Studies / D. Litt.. et Phil. (Health Studies)

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Skilled birth attendance at childbirth is vital for decreasing maternal and child mortality in Zimbabwe. Infant mortality and maternal mortality in Zimbabwe are quite high due to low- use of skilled birth attendance. Based on different study sources, home delivery with complications are high, with many socio-economic and demographic associated factors including lack or no use of skilled birth attendance at childbirth in Zimbabwe. Therefore, the study looked at "preventive" which refers to an action taken to reduce or eliminate the probability of specific undesirable events or dangers from happening in the future and the present time in Zimbabwe. The objective of the study was to highlight the significance of the crucial function within the health systems of saving both the lives of a mother and the child. Furthermore to determine the frequent use of maternal health care services (skilled birth attendant) and identify factors affecting them. The data that was used was nationally represented large scale secondary data ZDHS of Zimbabwe with sample population n = 9,171. It was a secondary data that included all the provinces of Zimbabwe, simple random sampling was used that had questionnaires of both man, women and household questionnaires, these questionnaires helped in examining the socio-economic factors and determinants that leads to low-use of skilled birth attendants at childbirth. The prosed statistics analysis that were used were univariate, bivariate and multivariate techniques. The statistical analysis showed that demographic variables such age, place of delivery and socio-economic factors such as level of education of a mother and wealth index (occupation of a parent) and region has a significant effect on the use of skilled birth attendant during birth. Women with higher level of education were found to have high use rate of maternal health care services (Skilled birth attendants), while women with primary and secondary education were found to have high use rate of less ( traditional birth attendant) or no use of skilled birth attendant. Therefore, the female age at birth, place of delivery, level of education and wealth index played a major role in decision making about the importance of having a skilled birth attendant when giving birth. The access to skilled birth attendance was found to be a significant factor in reducing maternal and child mortality in Zimbabwe. Furthermore women need to be educated about the importance of maternal health care services use and postnatal care and the department of health in Zimbabwe can implement mobile clinics for those who are residing far from health facilities.

PURPOSE: The main aim of this study was to systematically assess women’s maternal health care seeking behaviour and its determinants in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. DESIGN: A quantitative and cross-sectional community based study was the selected methodology for this study. METHOD: Data was collected using structured questionnaire administered to 903 women aged 15-49 years through a stratified two-stage cluster sampling technique. Binary and multinomial logistic regression models were employed to identify predictors of adequacy of antenatal care and delivery care. RESULTS: Most of the women (97.9%) visited health care facilities at least once for antenatal care follow up. About 86.5% of them had at least four visits during their last pregnancy; and only 51.1% started their first antenatal visit early. Further, only about one out of five of the antenatal care attendees received sufficient content of antenatal care services. Consequently, only about one out of ten women received overall adequate antenatal care mainly due to inadequate use of the basic components of antenatal services. Most of the women delivered in public health care institutions (76.3%) despite the general doubts about the quality of services in these facilities. Women of better socioeconomic status preferred to give birth at private health care facilities. Caesarean section delivery rate in Addis Ababa (19.1%) is higher than the maximum WHO recommended rate (15.0%); particularly among the non-slum residents (27.2%); clients of private health care facilities (41.1%); currently married women (20.6%); women with secondary (22.2%) and tertiary (33.6%) level of education; and women who belong to the highest wealth quintile (28.2%). The majority (65.8%) of the caesarean section clients were not informed about the consequences of caesarean section delivery and about 9.0% of the caesarean section births had no medical indication. CONCLUSION: Disparities in maternal health care utilisation between the socio-economic groups was evident, requiring urgent attention from policy makers and other stakeholders to enable Ethiopia to meet its millennium development goal 5. Improving the quality of antenatal care in public health facilities which are the main provider of health care services to the majority of the Ethiopian population is urgent. The increase in the rate of caesarean section beyond the World Health Organization recommended upper limit has to be taken seriously. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

The republic of South Africa has a “health for all” policy, regardless of nationality and residence status. However, challenges still exist for non-nationals and little is known regarding migrants’ maternal healthcare experiences. This study explores the maternal healthcare experiences of migrant Zimbabwean women living in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on the lived experiences of women aged 18years and above, who engaged with the public healthcare system in Johannesburg during pregnancy and childbirth. A desk review of the literature was undertaken. The theoretical framework in this study draws from three concepts (1) the Social determinants of health framework (WHO 2010), (2) the Access to healthcare framework (McIntyre, Thiede and Brich 2009) and (3) the “three-delays (Nour 2008). Primary data was collected through the use of open-ended semi-structured interviews with a sample of 15 migrant Zimbabwean women who have been in Johannesburg for a minimum of 2 years, and have attended and given birth or are currently attending antenatal care in inner city Johannesburg. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse data since it helps to extract descriptive information concerning the experiences of Zimbabwean women in Johannesburg and to construct meaning in order to understand their perceptions and opinions about the healthcare system in the city. Although the findings indicate that documentation status is not a key issue affecting access to healthcare during pregnancy and delivery, a range of other healthcare barriers were found to dominate, including the nature of their employment, power relations, language, and discrimination(generally) among others. Language was singled out as the major challenge that runs throughout the other barriers. More interestingly the participants raised their desire of returning home or changing facilities within the Public sector or to private institutions in case of any further pregnancy. This study concludes that the bone of contention is on belongingness, deservingness and not being able to speak any local language, that runs through the public health care institutions and this impact on professionalism and discharge of duties.

The rationale of any national screening programme is to recognize the benefits for public health, to test a predominantly healthy population including low risk pregnant women, and to detect risk factors for morbidity in order to provide timely care interventions. The South African health care system faces many challenges that undoubtedly impact on maternal health, resulting in poor quality of care and indirectly causing maternal deaths. The government has embarked on a number of initiatives that address women’s psychosocial wellbeing during pregnancy, for example free maternity care, legalizing abortion, expanding on provider-initiated HIV counseling and testing for antenatal patients. These initiatives imply a re-look at antenatal care screening, in order to identify wider determinants of health that may have an impact on a woman’s psychosocial wellbeing. This includes amongst others, poor socio-economic conditions such as poverty, lack of social support, general health inequalities, domestic violence and a history of either personal or familial mental illness, all of which have the capacity to influence a pregnant woman’s decision to utilize health care services. The intention of this study was therefore to establish the extent of psychosocial risk assessment for pregnant women during antenatal care, with a focus on the psychosocial support.Ethical clearance was obtained from the University of the Witwatersrand Human Research Ethics Committee (Protocol no. M081013). A mixed-method approach was applied through combining quantitative and qualitative research techniques, methods and approaches to address psychosocial risk assessment and psychosocial support by midwives during antenatal care. An explanatory sequential design was used. The methodology was aimed at accommodating the diverse population involved in the study, the nature of data being sought and the number of investigations conducted. A fully mixed research approach was implemented interactively through all the stages of the study. The study took place in six phases to meet the purpose of this research. Phase 1 entailed quantitative data collection and analysis; phase 2 qualitative data collection and analysis; phase 3 report writing; phase 4 formulation of guidelines; phase 5 pilot test; phase 6 integration of results and findings, and writing of final report. The philosophical basis of the study is based on the researcher’s values and belief of holism and comprehensive assessment. Much as values are part of the study, the researcher strove to keep values as separate from the research as possible, to minimise researcher bias. The feminist standpoint theory provided the guiding epistemological framework to address the qualitative research questions for this study as the issues regarding reproduction are of central feminist concern. Pragmatism, which is considered a best philosophical basis for mixed-methods as it values both objective and subjective knowledge, was applied in this study. The methodological goal of the study was guided by two paradigms, “constructivist”, which is the basis of qualitative research and “contemporary empiricist” paradigms, which is the basis of empirical analytic research as the study used a mixed-method approach. Although the empiricist lens is the most appropriate for a sequential explanatory design, both paradigms are acknowledged in this study. A quantitative-qualitative data collection and analysis sequence was followed. The sequential explanatory approach was maintained through, for example, collecting and analyzing quantitative data first, followed by obtaining information from midwives through a questionnaire and focus group discussions, and from pregnant women through a questionnaire and focus group discussions, using the same populations. Non-probability purposive sampling was done for all data sources. All data were collected by the researcher.Qualitative data analysis consisted of the identification of themes and relationships through constant comparison of data, which enabled the researcher to establish group and across-group saturation in focus group discussions. Quantitative data was collected through the review of midwifery education regulations, documents and records. Midwives’ questionnaires with a response rate of 46%, questionnaires administered to pregnant women and the review of antenatal cards with a 94% response rate. The data sets provided multiple data sources, a characteristic of the mixed methods approach. Data were analyzed using the Stata Release 10 statistical software package. Data analysis included summary statistics i.e. mean and standard deviation for continuous variables, frequencies and percentages for discrete variables, and Chronbach’s alpha for internal consistency. Confidence intervals of 95% were used to report on discrete variables. Quantitative and qualitative data were initially analyzed separately to develop an understanding of the two data bases before merging the findings and results. The process provided separate and independent results that could be compared for the purposes of corroboration, complementarity and discussion. The results were compared for specific content areas, for example major themes. A tool for psychosocial risk assessment and care was developed in response to the findings from the midwives’ focus group discussions at the three clinics, the expert interviews findings, the cross-sectional survey results from midwives, the self-administered questionnaires for pregnant women, and review of the antenatal cards carried by women during antenatal care. The tool was piloted in the three clinics where data were initially obtained. The general results of the study suggest that depressive and anxiety disorders are common in pregnancy and may be associated with negative experiences during antenatal care. Adequate screening of women and recognition of emotional responses with appropriate interventions are essential to promote a woman’s healthy adjustment to pregnancy. Attempts to minimise high levels of uncertainty, anxiety and depression should be incorporated within routine antenatal care.Midwives should strive to empower women physically and psychosocially in order for women to be able to overcome any barriers to safe motherhood, with emphasis on providing information, in order for them to make informed choices.The findings from the pilot study confirmed that pregnant women experience psychosocial problems which can be identified by the use of a screening tool, howeverthere remains a need to test the tool on a larger sample which might elicit more factors that could hinder or help its implementation. The implication of the findings appears to be that midwives are willing to incorporate the psychosocial assessment tool into routine antenatal care. The findings might be used to advocate for the incorporation of the tool into routine antenatal care. While the use of this antenatal psychosocial pilot tool may increase the midwives’ awareness of psychosocial risks and form a basis for further studies, a bigger sample size and statistical power are required to provide evidence that routine antenatal psychosocial assessment would also lead to improved outcomes for mother and/or child. The final stage of the study, based on research findings, led to the development of guidelines and recommendations for psychosocial care at the midwifery regulation level, midwifery education, clinical practice level and research. Key concepts: Antenatal care; Midwife; Psychosocial risk assessment; Psychosocial support.

Introdução: a anemia ferropriva na gestação caracteriza-se como um importante problema de Saúde Pública. A partir de junho de 2004, o governo brasileiro tornou obrigatória a fortificação das farinhas com ferro, atendendo às recomendações internacionais e com intuito de minimizar a anemia na população em geral. Objetivo: estudar a prevalência de anemia em gestantes atendidas em um serviço de pré-natal de uma maternidade social da cidade de São Paulo, antes e após a fortificação das farinhas com ferro. Método: estudo transversal retrospectivo com dados coletados de prontuários de atendimento de pré-natal de 2003 (Grupo Não Fortificado) e 2006 (Grupo Fortificado), de janeiro a maio de 2008. Das 931 gestantes selecionadas, 458 eram do Grupo Não Fortificado (Grupo NF) e 473 do Grupo Fortificado (Grupo F). A anemia foi definida pela concentração de hemoglobina (Hb) menor do que 11g/dL, segundo o critério da Organização Mundial da Saúde. Os dados foram armazenados em duas planilhas de Excel Microsoft 2003 e analisados pelos softwares EpiInfo for Windows e Statistical Package for Social Sciences 16.0. Para o tratamento estatístico, foram utilizados o teste do Qui-quadrado para as comparações entre as variáveis dos dois grupos estudados e a associação da anemia e as suas variáveis relacionadas; e a análise de variância, para a comparação entre as médias da concentração de Hb. O nível de significância adotado foi de 5% (p=0,05). Resultados: dentre aquelas variáveis que se apresentaram semelhantes em ambos os grupos, observou-se que a média da idade das gestantes foi 24 anos, um pouco mais de metade delas vivia com companheiro, menos de 40% exerciam ocupação remunerada. Houve diferença estatística significativa no nível de escolaridade (p<0,001) e na inserção precoce no cuidado de pré-natal (p<0,001), em 2006 (Grupo F). A prevalência de anemia no Grupo NF foi de 29,5% e no Grupo F, 20,9%, diferença estatística significativa (p=0,003). Em relação à época da coleta do exame de Hb, os grupos apresentaram diferença estatística significativa (p<0,001), 42,5% das gestantes do Grupo F e somente 15,9% do Grupo NF realizaram a coleta no primeiro trimestre da gestação, o que provavelmente corroborou para a diminuição de prevalência de anemia do Grupo F, além de melhor escolaridade e início precoce da assistência de pré-natal. A análise de variância mostrou que as médias de Hb não apresentaram diferença estatística significativa (p>0,05), constatando que, aparentemente, não houve efeito da fortificação na concentração de Hb entre os grupos estudados. Conclusão: a prevalência de anemia foi menor no grupo fortificado, mas não foi possível comprovar o efeito da fortificação nos níveis da concentração de hemoglobina das gestantes estudadas / Introduction: iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy is characterized as a major public health problem. Since June 2004, the Brazilian government established that flour was fortified with iron following the international recommendations in order to minimize the anemia in the general population. Objective: To study the prevalence of anemia in pregnant women in an antenatal care service in the city of São Paulo, before and after fortification of flour with iron. Method: A cross sectional study with retrospective data collection from medical records of pregnant women attended in an antenatal care service in 2003 (non-fortified group) and 2006 (fortified group). Data were collected from January to May, 2008. The sample was composed by 931 pregnant women, 458 women were from non-fortified group (Group NF) and the other 473 from fortified group (Group F). It was adopted the anemia definition of World Health Organization, hemoglobin concentration (Hb) < 11g/dl. Data were storaged in two Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, 2003 and analysed by Epi Info and Statistical Package for Social Science 16.0. For statistical treatment it was used the Chi-square test for comparisons between variables of two groups and the association of anemia and its related variables, and analysis of variance for comparison between the average concentration of Hb. The significance level was 5% (p = 0.05). Results: Among those variables that showed similar in both groups, it was observed that the average age of women was 24 years, just over half of them lived with a partner, and less than 40% had paid occupation. The difference was statistically significant higher level of education (p <0001) and greater proportion of women with early inclusion in prenatal care (p <0001) in 2006 (Group F). The prevalence of anemia in the Group NF was 29.5% and in Group F was 20.9%, statistically significant difference (p = 0003). Regarding the time of blood collection to verify the Hb, the groups showed statistically significant difference (p <0001), with 42.5% of pregnant women in Group F and only 15.9% of Group NF performed the collection in the first trimester of pregnancy, which probably confirmed for the lower prevalence of anemia in Group F, in addition to better education and early pre-natal. The analysis of variance showed that the mean Hb do not show a statistically significant difference (p> 0.05), noting that, apparently, there was no effect of fortification on the concentration of Hb between the groups. Conclusion: The prevalence of anemia was lower in the fortified group, but was unable to demonstrate the effect of fortification on hemoglobin levels in pregnant women who were recruited in the study

Introdução: Uma das mudanças mais importantes na produção do cuidado à saúde é a reorganização do processo de trabalho para a atuação de equipes multiprofissionais com abordagens interdisciplinares. A colaboração interprofissional tem sido apontada como um recurso que pode ser mobilizado para elevar a efetividade dos sistemas de saúde, e como estratégia inovadora, ela pode desempenhar um importante papel para enfrentar problemas do modelo de atenção e da força de trabalho em saúde. Objetivo: Descrever as percepções e atitudes de profissionais de saúde da Estratégia de Saúde da Família sobre as relações interprofissionais na atenção ao pré-natal, construir coletivamente e testar um protocolo de atenção à gestante para impulsionar as competências no trabalho colaborativo com vistas ao incremento da qualidade do cuidado. Métodos: Para isso, realizou-se previamente um estudo observacional descritivo para seleção de duas unidades de saúde. Na sequência foi realizado um estudo de intervenção do tipo antes e depois, com um grupo de controle pós-teste, incluindo métodos mistos. A população do estudo compreendeu oito profissionais de saúde (médicos, dentistas, enfermeiros e técnicos em saúde bucal) e 60 gestantes cadastradas em duas unidades de saúde da família do município de Uberlândia, sendo 36 incluídas no grupo intervenção e 24 no grupo controle. Dados numéricos, narrativas provenientes de entrevistas e registros de diário de campo foram usados para identificar mudanças na autoavaliação da saúde bucal, na qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde bucal medida pelo OHIP-14, na percepção das gestantes sobre o trabalho em equipe e nas práticas profissionais. Testes estatísticos para detectar diferenças de significância e análise temática de conteúdo foram empregados para interpretar os desfechos. Resultados: Em geral, observou-se percepção/atitude favorável dos profissionais em relação à colaboração interprofissional. Diferenças entre as categorias profissionais podem representar uma barreira subjetiva à implementação de protocolos que demandariam maior grau de trabalho colaborativo. Diferenças entre as unidades de atenção primária mostraram que a interação entre membros das equipes multiprofissionais pode sobrepujar dificuldades decorrentes do modo isolado e distinto no qual cada categoria profissional é formada. Foi produzido um Protocolo de Atenção à Gestante abrangendo o fluxo e a dinâmica dos processos de trabalho dentro de uma perspectiva de colaboração interprofissional. Segundo os profissionais, a intervenção apesar do seu caráter desafiador, estimulou o comprometimento da equipe para reorientar o processo de trabalho resultando em maior interação profissional colaborativa. Em relação às gestantes, a maioria era jovem (menos de 26 anos de idade) e tinha ensino médio incompleto ou completo sem diferenças significativas entre os grupos teste e controle. Gestantes do grupo intervenção perceberam que os profissionais trabalhavam mais em equipe do que as gestantes do grupo controle. De modo geral, as gestantes avaliaram que a saúde bucal e a qualidade de vida decorrente da saúde bucal melhoraram após a intervenção. Conclusões: Concluiu-se que apesar da percepção geral dos profissionais favorável à colaboração interprofissional, recursos formais e organizacionais não estavam sendo empregados. O método ZOPP se mostrou flexível e adequado para o desenvolvimento de competências para o trabalho colaborativo e para a construção de um protocolo de organização de serviços na atenção primária à saúde. O Protocolo de Atenção à Gestante testado provocou tensões e produziu efeitos positivos na colaboração interprofissional e na qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde bucal contribuindo para qualificar a atenção ao pré-natal oferecido. / Introduction: One of the most important changes in health care production is the reorganization of the work process including multi-professional teams and interdisciplinary approaches. The interprofessional collaboration has been identified as a resource that can be mobilized to increase the effectiveness of health systems, and as an innovative strategy, it can play an important role in facing problems of the health care model and health workforce. Objectives: To describe the perceptions and attitudes on interprofessional relations in dental care within antenatal care, to build collectively and test a pregnant care protocol to boost skills in collaborative work for improving the quality of care. Methods: For this, an observational study for selection of two health units was carried out. After that, a before-after study, with a post-test control group, including mixed methods was undertaken. The study population comprised eight health professionals (doctors, dentists, nurses and technicians in oral health) and 60 pregnant women enrolled in two health units of the family of Uberlândia city, 36 categorized in the intervention group and 24 in the control group. Numerical data, narratives from interviews and field diary records were used to identify changes in self-rated oral health, quality of life related to oral health measured by OHIP-14, in the perception of pregnant women about the teamwork and the professional practices. Statistical tests to detect differences of significance and thematic content analysis were used to interpret the outcomes. Results: In general, the perception/attitude of health professionals was favorable on interprofessional collaboration. Differences among the determined professions can represent a subjective barrier before implementation of collaborating protocols. Differences among primary healthcare showed that interaction among workers of multi-professional team can surpass difficulties derived of isolated and distinct way in which every worker is graduated. A Pregnant Care Protocol was produced and tested covering the flow and dynamics of work processes within an interprofessional collaborative perspective. According to the professionals, the intervention despite its challenging character, encouraged the teams commitment to refocus the work process resulting in more collaborative professional interaction. Most of pregnant women were young (under 26 years old) and had incomplete or complete high school with no significant differences between the test and control groups. Pregnant women realized that professionals worked more as a team in the intervention group than in the control group. Self-rated oral health and oral health-related quality of life in pregnant women improved after intervention. Conclusions: In conclusion, despite the general perception in favor of, formal and organizational resources associated with interprofessional collaboration are not being employed. The ZOPP method proved flexible and suitable for the development of skills for collaborative work and the construction of a protocol services organization in primary health care. It was concluded that the Pregnant Care Protocol tested caused tensions and produced positive effects on interprofessional collaboration and on oral health-related quality of life contributing to improve antenatal care offered.

Objetivo: Desenvolver um sistema de distribuição de conteúdo por meio de mensagens curtas de texto por celular (SMS - short message service) e avaliar se a utilização deste tipo de serviço direcionado a gestantes aumenta a adesão às práticas recomendadas de cuidado pré-natal. Desenho: Ensaio clínico controlado aleatorizado por conglomerados. Local do estudo: 20 unidades básicas de saúde (UBSs) de Ribeirão Preto, Brasil. População: Mulheres com mais de 18 anos, em seguimento de pré-natal nas UBSs selecionadas, com até 20 semanas de gestação no período de recrutamento. Métodos: Foi desenvolvido e implantado um sistema de informação e comunicação em saúde capaz de distribuir automaticamente conteúdo relevante para gestantes no período de pré-natal e pós-parto, o SISPRENACEL. Apesar de construído utilizando as boas práticas em engenharia de software e seu uso ter sido monitorado de perto, o sistema em si não foi avaliado neste trabalho. Para avaliar o impacto da intervenção, foram selecionadas as 20 UBSs que apresentaram os maiores números de gestantes nos anos anteriores. As UBS foram aleatorizadas em 2 grupos de 10 unidades para receber a intervenção e servir como controle. Em cada UBS alocada para receber a intervenção foram afixados cartazes convidando as gestantes a receber um pacote de SMS com conteúdo relacionada a gestação e ao parto (PRENACEL). Também nestas unidades, cada gestante recebeu uma filipeta reiterando o convite e com informações sobre o PRENACEL. As mulheres que se interessaram pelo projeto foram avaliadas quanto sua elegibilidade, forneceram consentimento e então passaram a receber as SMS, enviadas automaticamente pelo SISPRENACEL, durante a gestação em adição ao cuidado pré-natal de rotina. Nenhuma intervenção foi realizada nas UBS do grupo controle e as gestantes daquele grupo receberam apenas o cuidado pré-natal de rotina. As gestantes advindas dos dois grupos foram entrevistadas nas maternidades participantes após o parto. Principal medida de desfecho: A proporção de mulheres que apresentaram uma alta cobertura de práticas recomendadas durante o cuidado pré-natal, avaliada por um escore de cuidados (EC). Resultados: 350 mensagens demonstrando interesse em participar do PRENACEL foram recebidas e 157 mulheres elegíveis foram cadastradas pelo sistema. Durante o pré-natal foram enviadas 21.703 mensagens IX programadas, 1087 mensagens foram recebidas contendo dúvidas, sugestões ou comentários do serviço e 1230 mensagens foram enviadas em resposta as gestantes. Um total de 1210 mulheres elegíveis para participar do estudo recebeu cuidado pré- natal nas UBS participantes do projeto e tiveram seus desfechos avaliados nas maternidades participantes, sendo 770 oriundas das unidades intervenção e 440 das unidades controle. 157 mulheres elegíveis para receber a intervenção se interessaram pelo PRENACEL (20.4%, 157/770) e 73.9% delas (116/157) receberam e acessaram o pacote de mensagens. Houve desbalanço entre algumas características de base entre os grupos estudados e, em que pese o escore médio de cuidados pré-natais do grupo Intervenção ter sido maior que a do grupo Controle [46,6 (±8,0) vs 45,2 (±8,7), p=0,0002], a análise ajustada de intenção de tratamento não demonstrou diferença nos resultados entre os grupos intervenção e controle para a ocorrência de um alto escore de cuidados pré-natais. A análise por protocolo (bruta e ajustada para características sociodemográficas) sugere benefício da intervenção (RR ajustado para um alto escore de cuidados pré-natais: 1,12 (IC95%1,05-1,21)). Houve maior frequência de realização de 6 ou mais consultas (96,9% vs. 84,8%, p=0,01) e de exames para Sífilis (40,5% vs. 24,8%, p=0,03) e HIV (46,6% vs. 25,7%, p=0,0006) no grupo PRENACEL que no controle. A proporção de gestantes com alto EC foi maior no PRENACEL que no Controle (94% vs. 80%, p<0,0001). O NNT foi de sete mulheres recebendo a intervenção para uma mulher adicional com um alto escore de cuidados pré-natais. Conclusões: A utilização de um sistema de distribuição de conteúdo relevante foi essencial para o gerenciamento do volume e controle das mensagens distribuídas. Houve aumento de adesão aos cuidados recomendados durante este período, particularmente às consultas pré-natais e a triagem sorológica para sífilis e HIV entre as mulheres que receberam e acessaram o conteúdo enviado por SMS. É necessário desenvolver uma estratégia de implementação capaz de maximizar o interesse das mulheres em receber um pacote de SMS com conteúdo relacionada a gestação e parto. / Objective: Increase adherence to recommended practices of prenatal care through the development and use of a system that distributes content to pregnant woman through short message service (SMS). Design: Cluster randomized controlled trial. Setting: 20 primary health care facilities (PHCF) in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. Subject: Women older than 18 years, attending to prenatal care on selected facilities, and that had 20 weeks of gestational age or less during recruitment time. Methods: We developed and deployed an information system to automatically distribute relevant content to pregnant women during prenatal and postnatal care, called SISPRENACEL. The system itself was not evaluated, although we built it using the best practices of software engineering and it was closely monitored. To evaluate the intervention\'s impact, we selected 20 PHCF that presented the highest number of pregnant women in previous years. We randomized the PHCF in 2 groups with 10 facilities to receive the intervention and 10 to be in the control group. We pinned posters in each one of the PHCF allocated to receive the intervention, inviting the women to subscribe to our service (PRENACEL), which would send them a SMS package with pregnancy and delivery related content. The women attending to an intervention facility received also a flyer that reinforced the invitation and that showed more information about PRENACEL. We evaluated the interested women to verify their eligibility and to get their consent. From this moment onwards, they started to receive SMS automatically sent by SISPRENACEL in addition to standard prenatal care. We did not do any intervention on PHCF allocated in the control group and the pregnant women in this group received standard prenatal care. We interviewed pregnant women coming from both groups in the selected maternities after delivery. Main outcome: Proportion of high level of coverage in recommend practices during prenatal care, evaluated by a score of care (SC). Results: SISPRENACEL received 350 messages of pregnant women interested in enrolling into PRENACEL and 157 eligible women were registered in the system. During prenatal period, SISPRENACEL sent 21.703 scheduled SMS, received 1087 with questions, suggestions or comments about the service and sent 1230 answers. We screened 1210 eligible women coming from the selected facilities and evaluated the outcome in the maternities, 770 women were from intervention facilities and 440 from control facilities. In the intervention group, 157 XI eligible women had shown interest in enrolling into PRENACEL (20.4%, 157/770) and 73.9% (116/157) received and accessed the package content. The basal characteristics between the groups were unbalanced and also the average score of prenatal care practices was higher in the Intervention group compared to the control group [46,6 (±8,0) vs 45,2 (±8,7), p=0,0002], the intention to treat adjusted analyses did not show difference between the intervention and control group to the high level of care. The protocol analyses (brute and adjusted for socialdemographics characteristics) suggested a vantage of the intervention (adjusted RR to a high score of prenatal care: 1,12 (IC95%1,05-1,21)). There was a higher frequency of attendance in 6 or more appointments (96,9% vs. 84,8%, p=0,01) and exams for syphilis (40,5% vs. 24,8%, p=0,03) and HIV (46,6% vs. 25,7%, p=0,0006) in PRENACEL group compared to control group. The proportion of pregnant women with high SC was higher in PRENACEL group than in the control group. The NNT was 7 women receiving the intervention to an additional woman with high level of prenatal care practices. Conclusions: The use of a system to distribute relevant content was essential to manage the volume and control of the SMS. There was an increase of adherence to recommended prenatal practices during this time, especially related to prenatal appointments, screening of syphilis and HIV between women that received and accessed the content sent through SMS. Discussion: It is necessary to develop a strategy for an implementation capable of maximize the women interest in receiving the SMS package with the pregnancy and delivery content.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This thesis extends the literature on the trends and magnitude of health inequalities in the area of maternal and reproductive health services in Sierra Leone, and particular across sub-Saharan Africa. It attempted to provide a good understanding of, not only the determinants of maternal and reproductive healthcare use, but also factors that enable health inequalities to exist in Sierra Leone. This is an appropriate topic in population health studies as it aims to address important questions on the research agenda in the context of sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in a country with poor health outcomes such as Sierra Leone. A proper understanding of not only the coverage rates of population health outcomes but also the extent of health inequalities as well as the factors that contribute to these inequalities is crucial for any government. The thesis applied various techniques in the analysis of DHS data (from 2008 and 2013 rounds) in an attempt to answer the research questions.