Improving postnatal checkups for mothers in West Africa: A multilevel analysis
No Thumbnail Available
Date
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Description
This study examined multilevel factors related to postnatal
checkups for mothers in selected West African countries. The
study analyzed data from Demographic and Health Surveys
(DHS) for five West African countries: Sierra Leone (2013), Cote
d’Ivoire (2012), Guinea (2012), Niger (2012), and Liberia (2013).
The weighted sample sizes were 2125 (Cote d’Ivoire), 2908
(Guinea), 1905 (Liberia), 5660 (Niger), and 3754 (Sierra Leone).
The outcome variable was maternal postnatal checkups. The
explanatory variables were community and individual/household
characteristics. With the use of Stata 12, the chi-square
statistic and multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression were
applied. More than two-thirds of respondents in Guinea and
Niger did not receive a postnatal checkup after their last birth,
while in Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, more than half
of respondents received a postnatal checkup after their last
childbirth. Community characteristics accounted for the following
variations in postnatal checkups: 33.9% (Cote d’Ivoire),
37.2% (Guinea), 27.0% (Liberia), 33.5% (Niger), and 37.2%
(Sierra Leone). Community factors thus had important relations
to use of postnatal care in West Africa. Interventions targeting
more community variables, particularly community education
and poverty, may further improve postnatal care in West Africa.
Keywords
H Social Sciences (General), HA Statistics