Publication: Guinea Bissau: Qualitative Assessment of Demand Side Constraints to Access Maternal and Child Health Services
Date
2019-06-01
ISSN
Published
2019-06-01
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
The objective of this research is to
identify the main social and cultural constraints in
accessing reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health
Services (RMNCHS) in Guinea-Bissau, to effectively improve
their access and use by women and children. Additionally,
the research also explores aspects related to female genital
cutting (FGC or FGM) and girls’ access to information on
reproductive health. The demand barriers to improve access
and coverage of quality of MCH services were previously
listed as: (i) poor technical quality, (ii) poor
responsiveness; (iii) high controversial costs; (iv)
access/distance to health facilities; (v) use of traditional
practices. These intertwine with supply side barriers such
as: (i) weakness of training capacity; (ii) shortage of
health professionals; (iii) inadequate referral system; and
(iv) weak supply chain. Six major themes were researched and
outlined in this paper: (i) use of health facilities
(ante-natal care and delivery at home/health center (HC),
women´s secrets and men’s, elderly women and the kingdom of
the health center); (ii) access to health facilities
(distance, transportation); (iii) the health center (staff
competence, payments/gratuities, possible improvements);
(iv) socio-cultural issues (gender, religious); (v)
reproductive health and FGM (family planning); (vi) health
staff: community health agent (CHA) (being a CHA, access to
the health center, relationship with the HC and with the
community, socio-cultural issues, reproductive health and
FGM); and (vii) health staff: nurses (being a nurse, access
to the health center, relationship with the community,
socio-cultural issues, reproductive health and FGM).
Citation
“World Bank. 2019. Guinea Bissau; Guinea Bissau : Qualitative Assessment of Demand Side Constraints to Access Maternal and Child Health Services. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/32028 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”