Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on antenatal care utilisation in Kenya: a cross-sectional study.
BMJ Open
; 12(4): e060185, 2022 04 13.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1788969
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this study was to assess the effects of COVID-19 on antenatal care (ANC) utilisation in Kenya, including women's reports of COVID-related barriers to ANC and correlates at the individual and household levels.DESIGN:
Cross-sectional study.SETTING:
Six public and private health facilities and associated catchment areas in Nairobi and Kiambu Counties in Kenya.PARTICIPANTS:
Data were collected from 1729 women, including 1189 women who delivered in healthcare facilities before the COVID-19 pandemic (from September 2019-January 2020) and 540 women who delivered during the pandemic (from July through November 2020). Women who delivered during COVID-19 were sampled from the same catchment areas as the original sample of women who delivered before to compare ANC utilisation. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMEMEASURES:
Timing of ANC initiation, number of ANC visits and adequate ANC utilisation were primary outcome measures. Among only women who delivered during COVID-19 only, we explored women's reports of the pandemic having affected their ability to access or attend ANC as a secondary outcome of interest.RESULTS:
Women who delivered during COVID-19 had significantly higher odds of delayed ANC initiation (ie, beginning ANC during the second vs first trimester) than women who delivered before (aOR 1.72, 95% CI 1.24 to 2.37), although no significant differences were detected in the odds of attending 4-7 or ≥8 ANC visits versus <4 ANC visits, respectively (aOR 1.12, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.44 and aOR 1.46, 95% CI 0.74 to 2.86). Nearly half (n=255/540; 47%) of women who delivered during COVID-19 reported that the pandemic affected their ability to access ANC.CONCLUSIONS:
Strategies are needed to mitigate disruptions to ANC among pregnant women during pandemics and other public health, environmental, or political emergencies.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Prenatal Care
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Pregnancy
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
English
Journal:
BMJ Open
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Bmjopen-2021-060185
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