Abstract
A household health interview survey on MCH services utilization was carried out in 22 villages of a rural district of Arsi region, Ethiopia, before the launching of an integrated MCH programme. Coverage of antenatal services was 26%, and 61% of the women who received antenatal care reported having had 3 or more visits.
Antenatal care was positively associated with living within 10 km of the Health Centre. Twenty-eight percent of the mothers attended the under-5 clinic and most returned for 3 or more visits. In addition, 99% reported having breast-fed their last child but more than 25% started weaning only after the seventh month of age. Differences in practice of treating diarrhoea according to knowledge of ORS were found. Of the 33% of those with knowledge of ORS, almost 90% reported use of ORS for treating child's dirrhoea, showing a positive attitude towards modern health care. The proportion of women using family planning was 5%, with no difference found between Christians and Muslims. Results on EPI coverage validated data from routine reporting. Integration of MCH services including out-reach activities may increase access and coverage of MCH services.
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Materia, E., Mehari, W., Mele, A. et al. A community survey on maternal and child health services utilization in rural Ethiopia. Eur J Epidemiol 9, 511–516 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00209529
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00209529