Access to maternal healthcare services among Indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study

Objectives This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of, and factors associated with, accessing maternal healthcare services (MHC) by Indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh.Design This was a cross-sectional survey among Indigenous women of reproductive age.Setting Two upa...

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Main Authors: Shahinoor Akter, Jane Louise Rich, Kate Davies, Kerry Jill Inder
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2019-10-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/10/e033224.full
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author Shahinoor Akter
Jane Louise Rich
Kate Davies
Kerry Jill Inder
author_facet Shahinoor Akter
Jane Louise Rich
Kate Davies
Kerry Jill Inder
author_sort Shahinoor Akter
collection DOAJ
description Objectives This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of, and factors associated with, accessing maternal healthcare services (MHC) by Indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh.Design This was a cross-sectional survey among Indigenous women of reproductive age.Setting Two upazillas (subdistricts) of Khagrachhari hill district of the CHT.Participants Indigenous women (15–49 years) within 36 months of delivery were surveyed about accessing MHC services (antenatal care, delivery and postnatal care) for their last pregnancy and delivery.Primary outcome measures The primary outcome for this analysis is the prevalence of accessing any MHC service and secondary outcome is factors associated with access to MHC services for Indigenous women during their last pregnancy and childbirth.Results Of 438 Indigenous women (220 Chakma, 100 Marma, 118 Tripura) who participated, 75% were aged 16–30 years. With an 89% response rate, a total of 258 (59%) women reported accessing at least one MHC service (Chakma 51.6%, Marma 28%, Tripura 20.5%; p=<0.001). Independent factors associated with accessing MHC after adjusting for clustering were attending secondary school and above (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.2 to 4.9); knowledge about nearest health facilities (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.8 to 7.8) and knowledge of pregnancy-related complications (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.5 to 5.8).Conclusion Findings suggest that the prevalence of accessing MHC services is lower among Indigenous women in the CHT compared with national average. MHC access may be improved through better education and awareness raising of local services.
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spelling doaj-art-b50b2df3fb1b446bb20b862f1fff1d922024-12-13T18:30:13ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552019-10-0191010.1136/bmjopen-2019-033224Access to maternal healthcare services among Indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: A cross-sectional studyShahinoor Akter0Jane Louise Rich1Kate Davies2Kerry Jill Inder31 School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia1 School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia1UCL Cancer Institute, Pre-Cancer Immunology Laboratory, London, UK2 Priority Research Centre for Generational Health and Ageing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, AustraliaObjectives This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of, and factors associated with, accessing maternal healthcare services (MHC) by Indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh.Design This was a cross-sectional survey among Indigenous women of reproductive age.Setting Two upazillas (subdistricts) of Khagrachhari hill district of the CHT.Participants Indigenous women (15–49 years) within 36 months of delivery were surveyed about accessing MHC services (antenatal care, delivery and postnatal care) for their last pregnancy and delivery.Primary outcome measures The primary outcome for this analysis is the prevalence of accessing any MHC service and secondary outcome is factors associated with access to MHC services for Indigenous women during their last pregnancy and childbirth.Results Of 438 Indigenous women (220 Chakma, 100 Marma, 118 Tripura) who participated, 75% were aged 16–30 years. With an 89% response rate, a total of 258 (59%) women reported accessing at least one MHC service (Chakma 51.6%, Marma 28%, Tripura 20.5%; p=<0.001). Independent factors associated with accessing MHC after adjusting for clustering were attending secondary school and above (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.2 to 4.9); knowledge about nearest health facilities (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.8 to 7.8) and knowledge of pregnancy-related complications (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.5 to 5.8).Conclusion Findings suggest that the prevalence of accessing MHC services is lower among Indigenous women in the CHT compared with national average. MHC access may be improved through better education and awareness raising of local services.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/10/e033224.full
spellingShingle Shahinoor Akter
Jane Louise Rich
Kate Davies
Kerry Jill Inder
Access to maternal healthcare services among Indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study
BMJ Open
title Access to maternal healthcare services among Indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study
title_full Access to maternal healthcare services among Indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Access to maternal healthcare services among Indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Access to maternal healthcare services among Indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study
title_short Access to maternal healthcare services among Indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study
title_sort access to maternal healthcare services among indigenous women in the chittagong hill tracts bangladesh a cross sectional study
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/10/e033224.full
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