The Impact of COVID-19 on Antenatal Care Service Utilization in Hospitals in South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria

Registration ID: IJNRD_203986

Published ID: IJNRD2308423

DOI: Click Here to Get

Atata C.T. , Oguzor, U.C. , Henshaw I.

Antenatal Care, COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT Introduction: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic had a debilitating effect on the healthcare system. The pandemic put an additional strain on healthcare systems that are overburdened and under-resourced even in normal times and exposed the vulnerabilities of high-risk population groups including pregnant women, addressing critical healthcare concerns. This study aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on antenatal care (ANC) utilization in Rivers State, pre and post-COVID-19. Method: The study is a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted on secondary data collected from the District Health Information System 2 (DHIS) platform of the Health Management Information System from 2018 to 2022. The data from 347 health facilities (which comprises public and private health facilities) that offer antenatal and postnatal care services to pregnant women in the State, were keyed into the DHIS 2 platform in Rivers State and Nigeria as a whole. Data was analysed using SPSS version 21 and represented as frequencies, percentages and charts. Results: There was a relatively large increase in ANC attendance from 2018 to 2019, with the percentage of the population accessing ANC services increasing from 44.4% to 52.4%. However, the percentage of the population accessing ANC services declined in the following years, dropping to 40.7% in 2020 and 38.9% in 2021 before increasing again to 44.4% in 2022. The ANC attendance during the 1st and 4th visits were relatively low in 2020 (21.9%, 22.1%), and 2021 (23%, 16%) but improved in 2022 to 24.6%, and 17.7% respectively compared to previous years of 2018 (30.7%, 23.3%) and 2019 (29.4%, 23.7%) respectively which had been higher. Conclusion: Despite the necessity of antenatal care, utilization during the COVID -19 era. Various individual, facility, and policy-level factors affected the utilization of services during the pandemic. There is a need to augment antenatal care services in the country by mitigating barriers to access. The public health response should strengthen collaborative efforts with primary-level healthcare to increase service provision, especially to the more vulnerable population.

Published Paper   E-Certificate

Atata C.T., Oguzor, U.C., & Henshaw I. (August-2023). The Impact of COVID-19 on Antenatal Care Service Utilization in Hospitals in South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NOVEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, 8(8), e231-e234. https://ijnrd.org/papers/IJNRD2308423.pdf

Volume 8 Issue 8, August-2023

Pages : e231-e234

Paper Reg. ID: IJNRD_203986

Published Paper Id: IJNRD2308423

Downloads: 000121984

Research Area: Medical Science

Country: Port Harcourt, Rivers, Nigeria

Published Paper PDF: https://ijnrd.org/papers/IJNRD2308423.pdf

Published Paper URL: https://ijnrd.org/viewpaperforall?paper=IJNRD2308423

Journal Name: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NOVEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT(IJNRD)

ISSN: 2456-4184 | IMPACT FACTOR: 8.76 Calculated By Google Scholar | ESTD YEAR: 2016

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