Immunization has been recognized globally as a cost-effective public health intervention. However, despite its benefits, children in northern Nigeria are still adversely affected by the negative consequences of inadequate uptake of immunization. The purpose of this study was to assess antenatal care and maternal sociocultural determinants that influence childhood immunization within 2 months of birth in northern Nigeria. Constructs of social cognitive theory were applied to this retrospective correlational cross-sectional inquiry involving women 15-49 years old in northern Nigeria. Secondary data (the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey) were analyzed using univariate, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) predictors of uptake of childhood immunization within 2 months of birth were the person who delivered antenatal care, the number of antenatal care visits, the number of tetanus injections, maternal educational level, religion, wealth index, husband/partner educational level, and the person who decides on health care. Educated Christian women from middle-class or rich homes, whose husbands/partners were also educated and who jointly decided on health care, made numerous contacts with health care professionals, and received at least one tetanus injection during antenatal care, had a higher likelihood of immunizing their children within 2 months of birth. The positive social change implications for this study include providing evidence of deterrents to childhood immunization that could lead to relevant policies and interventions leading to healthier children, communities, and society.

<p>This thesis assesses some indicators of quality for maternity care in Tanzania, using antenatal management of anaemia and hypertension and emergency obstetric care as focal points. The care of pregnant women consecutively enrolled in antenatal care (n=379) was observed and compared with quality standard criteria. From a tertiary level labour ward 741 cases of eclampsia were identified and their antenatal care analyzed. A health systems analysis was performed for 205 cases of pregnancy complications at district level.</p><p>There was inadequate equipment and drugs, inadequate staff knowledge and motivation, and incorrect measurements for investigating anaemia and hypertension in pregnancy. Hospital incidence of eclampsia at tertiary level was 200/10,000 live births, and was not modified by antenatal care. The quality observed in the antenatal programme indicated little impact on either anaemia or hypertensive complications. Compliance with obstetric referral was only 46% and all four observed maternal deaths occurred due to transport problems. The proposed process indicators for essential obstetric care were inadequate to assess the quality of care on a district level. </p><p>There is a need to address structural weaknesses, to motivate health workers and to improve training on quality improvement. More research is warranted on indicators for obstetric needs, accessibility and referral system.</p>

This thesis assesses some indicators of quality for maternity care in Tanzania, using antenatal management of anaemia and hypertension and emergency obstetric care as focal points. The care of pregnant women consecutively enrolled in antenatal care (n=379) was observed and compared with quality standard criteria. From a tertiary level labour ward 741 cases of eclampsia were identified and their antenatal care analyzed. A health systems analysis was performed for 205 cases of pregnancy complications at district level. There was inadequate equipment and drugs, inadequate staff knowledge and motivation, and incorrect measurements for investigating anaemia and hypertension in pregnancy. Hospital incidence of eclampsia at tertiary level was 200/10,000 live births, and was not modified by antenatal care. The quality observed in the antenatal programme indicated little impact on either anaemia or hypertensive complications. Compliance with obstetric referral was only 46% and all four observed maternal deaths occurred due to transport problems. The proposed process indicators for essential obstetric care were inadequate to assess the quality of care on a district level. There is a need to address structural weaknesses, to motivate health workers and to improve training on quality improvement. More research is warranted on indicators for obstetric needs, accessibility and referral system.

Approximately 29.1% of South African women of childbearing age tested HIV positive during their first antenatal visit in 2006 (DoH, 2007). This rate of HIV amongst the women of childbearing age reinforces the importance of understanding the management of HIV during pregnancy. During antenatal visits the general health of the woman and her unborn baby is assessed and managed. Management includes antiretroviral therapy to the HIV infected women with a CD4 count below 200 cells/mm3, while women with a CD4 count above 200 cells/mm3 receive a single dose of nevirapine with the onset of labour provided to them by their local clinics. Currently, in Potchefstroom, women receive antenatal care at local primary health-care clinics and antiretroviral drugs at the antiretroviral clinic. There is little or no collaboration between the various clinics and the question arises if the needs of the women are being met. The aim of the research was to promote the health of HIV positive pregnant women by providing insight into the needs of these women and to formulate recommendations for antenatal care. The specific objective is to explore and describe the needs of HIV positive pregnant women regarding antenatal care. An explorative, descriptive, contextual design, following a qualitative approach was used during the research. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Interview questions were compiled from the research problems. Before the commencement of data collection, permission was obtained from the district health manager and Potchefstroom Hospital. A total of sixteen (16) HIV positive women were interviewed after informed consent had been obtained. Data analysis was done after each session and themes were categorised according to the women's needs. From the interviews it was found that each woman has her own specific needs regarding antenatal care. The needs of the participants followed a similar pattern and for this reason it could be divided into various categories. These categories include a need for support, a need for education, a need for improved services and a need for a non-judgemental environment. Conclusions were drawn and recommendations were made for nursing practice, nursing education and nursing research. / Thesis (M.Cur.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

This study assessed how early motherhood influences maternal behavior and infant healthin Ethiopia. Data from the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey 2011 were used.Descriptive and Multinomial analysis were performed to observe the determinants of antenatalcare visits and birth weight. Cox regression model was employed for analyzing the risk of infantmortality. Findings clearly show that young maternal age at birth was associated with asignificantly lower number of ANC visits and increased the risk of infant mortality. However,there was no significant difference in the incidence of having babies with a low birth weight byage. Apart from maternal age at birth, education, wealth status, place of residence and ethnicityhad a stronger significant effect on outcome variables.In conclusion, this study demonstrated that young age at birth has an effect on utilizationof ANC service and infant health. For a favorable maternal behavior and infant health outcomewe strongly suggest that the following should be considered-: strong enforcement of minimumage at marriage abided by law, promoting young women’s education, and adequate andaffordable health care services in remote rural areas where health clinics are inaccessible.

Approximately 29.1% of South African women of childbearing age tested HIV positive during their first antenatal visit in 2006 (DoH, 2007). This rate of HIV amongst the women of childbearing age reinforces the importance of understanding the management of HIV during pregnancy. During antenatal visits the general health of the woman and her unborn baby is assessed and managed. Management includes antiretroviral therapy to the HIV infected women with a CD4 count below 200 cells/mm3, while women with a CD4 count above 200 cells/mm3 receive a single dose of nevirapine with the onset of labour provided to them by their local clinics. Currently, in Potchefstroom, women receive antenatal care at local primary health-care clinics and antiretroviral drugs at the antiretroviral clinic. There is little or no collaboration between the various clinics and the question arises if the needs of the women are being met. The aim of the research was to promote the health of HIV positive pregnant women by providing insight into the needs of these women and to formulate recommendations for antenatal care. The specific objective is to explore and describe the needs of HIV positive pregnant women regarding antenatal care. An explorative, descriptive, contextual design, following a qualitative approach was used during the research. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Interview questions were compiled from the research problems. Before the commencement of data collection, permission was obtained from the district health manager and Potchefstroom Hospital. A total of sixteen (16) HIV positive women were interviewed after informed consent had been obtained. Data analysis was done after each session and themes were categorised according to the women's needs. From the interviews it was found that each woman has her own specific needs regarding antenatal care. The needs of the participants followed a similar pattern and for this reason it could be divided into various categories. These categories include a need for support, a need for education, a need for improved services and a need for a non-judgemental environment. Conclusions were drawn and recommendations were made for nursing practice, nursing education and nursing research. / Thesis (M.Cur.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M.A.(Population and Reproductive Health Research))--Mahidol University, 2005. / LICL has E-Thesis 0005 ; please contact computer services.

Thesis (M.P.H.M. (Primary Health Care Management))--Mahidol University, 2007.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine rural women s access to maternal health information and its impact on levels of skilled healthcare utilization. Method: A qualitative study involving twenty five (25) pregnant women,five (5) Skilled healthcare providers and five (5) Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) was conducted in Chamwino District in Dodoma Region, Tanzania for a period of six months. Due to time and resource limitation the researcher selected two (2) of the 32 wards in the district where the problem of maternal mortality and non-utilization of skilled healthcare was most prominent. The two selected wards were Msanga and Buigiri wards. The researcher used The Health Belief Model and Theory of Planned Behaviour to develop interview questions and focus group guides as well as the interpretation of the findings. The researcher examined how variable factors e.g. maternal health literacy, individual perceptions, local knowledge and care provider-related factors affect pregnant women s health behaviours and utilization of skilled maternal services. The Data was analysed thematically using the 6-stage guide to thematic data analysis with the help of NVIvo Software. Results: The inadequate conditions of the health facilities and the poor working conditions of the care providers affected the provision of quality of maternal services and health information to pregnant women in the study area. The limited access to skilled maternal health information from skilled healthcare providers and lack of alternative sources of reliable health information led pregnant women to seek health information from their Mothers-in-laws, TBAs and other women in the society. However, there was a shortcoming of information inaccuracy as their health advice was not based on previous expert advice but rather on the personal opinion and attitude towards skilled maternal services. The limited access to maternal health information caused majority of pregnant women to underestimate the risks of pregnancy related complications and how they responded to pregnancy danger signs and other ill-health conditions that raised during pregnancy. The majority of pregnant women reported not to seek and kind of care when experienced a health problem. It was also found that during labour some would go to the TBA for childbirth and later go to the dispensary when the TBA failed while others would just go for TBAs opinion and confirmation that it was real labour then go to the health facility. This delayed women s timely access to obstetric care which is essential for positive outcome when a pregnant woman experiences a pregnancy or childbirth complications. Conclusion: The improvement of the quality of skilled healthcare services in rural areas is a prerequisite for achieving desired outcomes in maternal mortality reduction efforts in Tanzania. However, improvement of quality itself is not a panacea if pregnant women are not aware of the services, hence the healthcare providers should also focus in increasing provision of maternal health information to pregnant women. The findings show that the limited access to skilled maternal health information from healthcare providers and lack of alternative sources for reliable health information has constrained majority of these women from becoming maternal health literate hence affecting their levels of utilization of skilled maternal services. The healthcare providers and policy makers should focus on meeting the health information needs of general rural populations and enable them to become well-informed and knowledgeable to make better and well-informed maternal health decisions.

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: &#61623; the nature of pregnancy &#61623; prescriptive practices &#61623; restrictive practices &#61623; sexual activity &#61623; the practice of clinic attendants &#61623; the practice of attending traditional birth attendants / Health Studies / M.A (Department of Health Studies)