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Maternal health-seeking behaviour of peri-urban women living with disability in Busiro South Health sub District, Wakiso district, Uganda: a community-based study


Bonny Natukunda
David Musoke
Arthur Kiconco
Samuel Mugambe
Christine Atuhairwe

Abstract

Aim: We examined the maternal healthcare-seeking behaviour of peri-urban women with disabilities in Busiro South Health Sub District, Wakiso district, Uganda.


Methods: This community-based cross-sectional study. Data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires and focus group discussions. Chi-square was used to test for differences, and logistic regression to determine factors associated with maternal health-seeking behaviour at a 5% level of significance. Content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data.


Results: A total of 182 women with disabilities were enrolled. Overall, 150 (82.3%) of the disabled women had attended ANC and 147 (80.8%) had delivered their babies at a health facility. The participants' mean age was 31.9±7.8years (range: 17-49 years). ANC attendance among disabled women was influenced by maternal age 18-30 years (p = 0.010), number of times a disabled woman was pregnant (p = 0.003), parity (p = 0.018), a normal delivery (p = 0.048), receiving financial support from friends of partners (p < 0.001), distance of less than 5KM to the health facility (p = 0.024), friendliness of the health care providers (p=0.030) and availability of health providers (p < 0.001).


Conclusion: There is an urgent need for a multi-sectoral approach to better healthcare-seeking behaviour.


Keywords: Peri-urban; maternal health-seeking behaviour; disabled women; Uganda.


Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 1729-0503
print ISSN: 1680-6905