Evaluation of differences in maternal and newborn health coverage across urban and rural areas: A pooled analysis of 88 countries
Abstract
Objective: This study aims to determine whether the variables that reveal countries’ maternal and newborn health coverage differ between rural and urban areas.
Methods: The sample of the study consists of 88 countries. The data were obtained from the “Maternal and Newborn Health Coverage Database 2022” published by UNICEF and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics. The T-test, Mann–Whitney U test and factorial ANOVA were used to analyze the data.
Results: The percentage of women who attended at least four prenatal appointments was found to be higher among women living in urban areas (81.1%) than among women living in rural areas (72.3%) (p=0.008). More cesarean sections are performed in urban (14.6%) than in rural areas (7.6%) (p=0.001). Women living in urban areas (94.3%) give birth in a health institution more frequently than women living in rural areas (81.3%) (p=0.001). The percentage of births attended by skilled health personnel was found to be higher for women living in urban areas (81.1%) than for women living in rural areas (72.3%) (p=0.001). The percentage of mothers (80.6%) who received postnatal care within 2 days of giving birth was also higher in urban areas than in rural areas (70.2%) (p=0.001). There is an interaction effect of urban-rural area and income group on the antenatal care 1+visit variable (p=0.001), institutional deliveries variable (p=0.023), and skilled birth attendant variable (p=0.002).
Conclusion: This research reveals that women and newborns living in rural areas are disadvantaged compared with those in urban areas with regard to antenatal, delivery, and postnatal care. It is recommended that steps are taken to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in rural areas, subsidize maternity services in hospitals, and develop a referral system among health institutions in rural areas.
Keywords
Access to Health Care, Delivery, Disparities, Antenatal Care, Postnatal Care
References
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