Determinants Of Uptake Of Free Maternal Health Care Services In Kenya: The Case Of Garissa Level Five Hospital

Although maternal deaths have declined significantly worldwide, women are still dying from pregnancy or childbirth related complications. A total of about 32,021 women of reproductive age in Kenya died in 2013, 6,632 of whom died of pregnancy associated complications. Garissa County was rated at position 14 out of 47 counties in Kenya with high burden of maternal deaths in 2014. Against this backdrop, the present study sought to assess the uptake of maternal health care services as envisioned in free maternal health care policy in Kenya, with reference to Garissa Level Five Hospital. The study seeks to establish how  the social status of women influence the uptake of free maternal health care services in Garissa Level-Five Hospital; determine how the hospital infrastructure which includes the physical structures , the equipment and accessibility influences the uptake of free maternal health care services in Garissa LevelFive Hospital; determine how awareness amongst women influences the uptake of free maternal health care services in Garissa Level-Five Hospital; examine how the quality of services provided by the medical officers influences the uptake of free maternal health care services in Garissa Level-Five Hospital; and to establish the influence of  the local cultural practices  on the uptake of free maternal health care services in Garissa Level-Five Hospital. This study will take the descriptive research design and will be located in Garissa Level 5 hospital, in Garissa County, in the North Eastern region of Kenya. The target population for the study is the expectant women attending the Garissa Level 5 hospital’s antenatal clinics and those seeking post-natal care. A sample size of 274 pregnant women and those seeking post-natal care will be targeted. This sample size will be achieved by getting the average of the number of women who delivered and those seeking post-natal care in Garissa level five Hospital for the last three months from the hospital’s records. A structured questionnaire which will be both open and close ended will be administered to the study participants who will fulfill the eligibility criteria. The choice of questionnaire as a tool of collecting data is preferred because it has the potential of collecting a wide range of data. In the present study, descriptive, inferential statistics and thematic analysis will be conducted in data analysis. Descriptive statistics will involve computation of frequencies, percentages, and standard deviation and cross tabulations. Thematic analysis will entail the creation of themes related to the study variables. This will be performed on the qualitative data provided by the open ended parts in the questionnaire. Inferential statistics will then involve both correlation and linear multiple regression analyses.