Effects of a Community Outreach Program for Maternal Health and Family Planning in Tigray, Ethiopia

PurposeWe examined the effects of a community outreach program for maternal health in Tigray, Ethiopia, on women’s knowledge about pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum care, and family planning, and assessed their participation in antenatal care, postpartum checkups, institutional childbirth, and contr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Asian nursing research 2018, 12(3), , pp.223-230
Main Authors: Bang, Kyung-Sook, Chae, Sun-Mi, Lee, Insook, Yu, Juyoun, Kim, Jandi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Childbirth & labor
Childrens health
Family planning
Health behavior
Knowledge
Maternal & child health
Maternal mortality
Midwifery
Outreach services
Patient education
Postpartum period
Pregnancy
Prenatal care
Womens health
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Summary:PurposeWe examined the effects of a community outreach program for maternal health in Tigray, Ethiopia, on women’s knowledge about pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum care, and family planning, and assessed their participation in antenatal care, postpartum checkups, institutional childbirth, and contraceptive use.MethodsWe recruited Ethiopian women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years) in Tigray, Ethiopia. Two villages in Tigray, Kihen and Mesanu, which have similar population sizes and living environments, were chosen as the intervention and comparison groups, respectively. A two-group pretest-posttest design with cluster sampling was employed. We conducted self-report questionnaire surveys using face-to-face interviews. The 2.5-year community outreach program was developed based on Rogers’ diffusion of innovation theory. It consisted of mass media use and health education for lay women in the community, along with training of health care providers, including nurses, midwives, and health extension workers, in maternal health care.ResultsThe intervention group showed significant increases in knowledge and behaviors regarding maternal health and family planning compared to the comparison group (p < .001). In particular, there was a dramatic increase from 10.8% to 93.5% in the institutional birth rate in the intervention group.ConclusionThe community outreach program and health care professional training effectively improved knowledge and behaviors regarding maternal health in Ethiopian women. Mass media and interpersonal communication channels for health education may be useful health interventions in developing countries.
ISSN:1976-1317
2093-7482
DOI:10.1016/j.anr.2018.08.007