Demographic characteristics and healthcare utilization among mothers with under-5 children in Rivers State Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Nearly half of the children under five years of age globally die annually mostly from preventable and treatable causes. Adequate healthcare utilization has been identified as a means of child survival which is dependent on women's activities and empowerment.
Objectives: This study was designed to investigate the influence of demographic characteristics on Healthcare Utilization (HCU) of mothers with under-5 children in Rivers state.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was adopted to select data on 330 mother/child pairs in six Local Government Areas in Rivers state using a four-stage stratified random sampling method. An interview-administered structured questionnaire was used. HCU was scored. Descriptive statistics, the Chi-Square test and the general linear modelling were used to analyse the data.
Results: Mothers' age was 29.03±5.66, about 52% had fair HCU and 48.4% had good utilization in the state. More mothers in the Riverine area (62.3%) had good healthcare utilization than mothers in the upland area (42.1%). Single mothers had lower healthcare utilization (p = 0.018) than married mothers. Maternal demographic characteristics generally accounted for about 14% variation in HCU among mothers with under-5 children in Rivers state.
Conclusion: Maternal healthcare utilization was fair. Maternal demographic characteristics are important factors that can influence healthcare utilization among mothers in Rivers state. This study, therefore recommends a sensitization program to improve healthcare utilization among mothers in Rivers state.