An Assessment of Abortion Services in Public Health Facilities in Mozambique: Women's and Providers' Perspectives

Complications of unsafe abortion contribute to high maternal mortality & morbidity in Mozambique. In 2002, the Ministry of Health conducted an assessment of abortion services in the public health sector to inform efforts to make abortion safer. This paper reports on interviews with 461 women rec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Reproductive health matters 2004-11, Vol.12 (supplement), p.218-226
Main Authors: Gallo, Maria F, Gebreselassie, Hailemichael, Victorino, Maria Teresa A, Dgedge, Martinho, Jamisse, Lilia, Bique, Cassimo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abortion
Health Professions
Mozambique
Professional Training
Quality of Health Care
Womens Health Care
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Summary:Complications of unsafe abortion contribute to high maternal mortality & morbidity in Mozambique. In 2002, the Ministry of Health conducted an assessment of abortion services in the public health sector to inform efforts to make abortion safer. This paper reports on interviews with 461 women receiving treatment for abortion-related complications in 37 public hospitals & four health centres in the ten provinces of Mozambique. One head of both uterine evacuation & contraceptive services at each facility was also interviewed, & 128 providers were interviewed on abortion training & attitudes. Women reported lengthy waiting times from arrival to treatment, far longer than heads of uterine evacuation services reported. Similarly, fewer women reported being offered pain medication than head staff members thought was usual. Less than half the women said they received follow-up care information, & only 27% of women wanting to avoid pregnancy said they had received a contraceptive method. Clinical procedures such as universal precautions to prevent infection were less than adequate, in-service training was less than comprehensive in most cases, & few facilities reviewed major complications or deaths. Use of dilatation & curettage was far more common than medical or aspiration abortion methods. Current efforts by the Ministry to improve abortion care services have focused on training of providers in all these matters & integration of contraceptive provision into post-abortion care. 3 Tables, 21 References. [Copyright 2004 Reproductive Health Matters; published by Elsevier B.V.]
ISSN:0968-8080