A study of the factors affecting prenatal consultation of women living in a rural region of Morocco / 国際保健医療

ABSTRACT

<B>Introduction</B><br>Attempts have been made to spread awareness of prenatal consultation in Morocco. However, the rates of consultation in rural regions have failed to increase. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that affect prenatal consultation of women who live in a rural region in this country.<br><B>Methods</B><br>In this study, data were collected by interviewing a focus group that comprised three groups of 19 women (6-7 women per group) who lived in a rural region in Morocco. Moreover, data were collected by individual interviews, and data on health statistics were collected to complement the data obtained via the group interviews. These data were analyzed for quality by Grounded Theory.<br><B>Results</B><br>Six components were identified as factors that affect prenatal consultation in this region. Women had “traditional thinking about pregnancy”. They believed that pregnancy was a natural phenomenon, and that the beginning of fetal movements was important. Modern health care was introduced in this region in 2002. This health care instilled a “positive feeling about consultation” in women and improved their “trust towards modern medical workers”. However, this health care was discontinued in 2008. This discontinuation brought “economic problems” and “attendant necessities” for women. Moreover, the consultation was controlled by “thinking about consultation of hasband”, because in this region, men had power for decision-marking.<br><B>Conclusions</B><br>It is indispensable to improve health care system for spreading the use of prenatal consultation in this region. But, temporary introduction of modern health care instilled a positive feeling about consultation in women.I think that this positive feeling persists in the future.