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Improving Antenatal Care Services Utilization in Ethiopia: An Evidence–Based Policy Brief

Received: 25 January 2017     Accepted: 18 February 2017     Published: 9 March 2017
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Abstract

The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of four antenatal care visits. However, global estimates indicate that only about half of all pregnant women receive this recommended amount of care. The objective of this evidence brief is to summarize the best available evidence describing the low levels of antenatal care service utilization in Ethiopia and to outline potential solutions to address the problem. The policy brief brings together global research evidence from systematic reviews and local evidence to inform deliberations about improving antenatal care service utilization in Ethiopia. Only 32% of Ethiopian women with live birth received at least four visits during the length of their pregnancy, which is below the global average (54%). The predominant underlying factors for the low coverage of antenatal care services include: socio-cultural and economic barriers, poor access to health services, and poor quality of antenatal care services. Potential policy options to address the need for improving antenatal care coverage and service utilization in Ethiopia include the following: (i) Behavioral Change Communication (BCC) might increase utilization of health services by pregnant mothers (ii) mobile health (mHealth) interventions probably increases the attendance of health care appointments (iii) Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes may increase antenatal care attendance since it increases health care seeking behavior.

Published in International Journal of Health Economics and Policy (Volume 2, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.hep.20170203.14
Page(s) 111-117
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Antenatal Care, mHealth, Behavioral Change Communication, Conditional Cash Transfer, Ethiopia

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Yosef Gebreyohannes, Desalegn Ararso, Fasil Mengistu, Serebe Abay, Mamuye Hadis. (2017). Improving Antenatal Care Services Utilization in Ethiopia: An Evidence–Based Policy Brief. International Journal of Health Economics and Policy, 2(3), 111-117. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20170203.14

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    ACS Style

    Yosef Gebreyohannes; Desalegn Ararso; Fasil Mengistu; Serebe Abay; Mamuye Hadis. Improving Antenatal Care Services Utilization in Ethiopia: An Evidence–Based Policy Brief. Int. J. Health Econ. Policy 2017, 2(3), 111-117. doi: 10.11648/j.hep.20170203.14

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    AMA Style

    Yosef Gebreyohannes, Desalegn Ararso, Fasil Mengistu, Serebe Abay, Mamuye Hadis. Improving Antenatal Care Services Utilization in Ethiopia: An Evidence–Based Policy Brief. Int J Health Econ Policy. 2017;2(3):111-117. doi: 10.11648/j.hep.20170203.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.hep.20170203.14,
      author = {Yosef Gebreyohannes and Desalegn Ararso and Fasil Mengistu and Serebe Abay and Mamuye Hadis},
      title = {Improving Antenatal Care Services Utilization in Ethiopia: An Evidence–Based Policy Brief},
      journal = {International Journal of Health Economics and Policy},
      volume = {2},
      number = {3},
      pages = {111-117},
      doi = {10.11648/j.hep.20170203.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20170203.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hep.20170203.14},
      abstract = {The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of four antenatal care visits. However, global estimates indicate that only about half of all pregnant women receive this recommended amount of care. The objective of this evidence brief is to summarize the best available evidence describing the low levels of antenatal care service utilization in Ethiopia and to outline potential solutions to address the problem. The policy brief brings together global research evidence from systematic reviews and local evidence to inform deliberations about improving antenatal care service utilization in Ethiopia. Only 32% of Ethiopian women with live birth received at least four visits during the length of their pregnancy, which is below the global average (54%). The predominant underlying factors for the low coverage of antenatal care services include: socio-cultural and economic barriers, poor access to health services, and poor quality of antenatal care services. Potential policy options to address the need for improving antenatal care coverage and service utilization in Ethiopia include the following: (i) Behavioral Change Communication (BCC) might increase utilization of health services by pregnant mothers (ii) mobile health (mHealth) interventions probably increases the attendance of health care appointments (iii) Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes may increase antenatal care attendance since it increases health care seeking behavior.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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    AU  - Yosef Gebreyohannes
    AU  - Desalegn Ararso
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    AB  - The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of four antenatal care visits. However, global estimates indicate that only about half of all pregnant women receive this recommended amount of care. The objective of this evidence brief is to summarize the best available evidence describing the low levels of antenatal care service utilization in Ethiopia and to outline potential solutions to address the problem. The policy brief brings together global research evidence from systematic reviews and local evidence to inform deliberations about improving antenatal care service utilization in Ethiopia. Only 32% of Ethiopian women with live birth received at least four visits during the length of their pregnancy, which is below the global average (54%). The predominant underlying factors for the low coverage of antenatal care services include: socio-cultural and economic barriers, poor access to health services, and poor quality of antenatal care services. Potential policy options to address the need for improving antenatal care coverage and service utilization in Ethiopia include the following: (i) Behavioral Change Communication (BCC) might increase utilization of health services by pregnant mothers (ii) mobile health (mHealth) interventions probably increases the attendance of health care appointments (iii) Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes may increase antenatal care attendance since it increases health care seeking behavior.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 3
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Author Information
  • Technology Transfer and Research Translation Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Technology Transfer and Research Translation Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Technology Transfer and Research Translation Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Technology Transfer and Research Translation Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Technology Transfer and Research Translation Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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