INFLUENCE OF BACKGROUND FACTORS ON HEALTH OUTCOME AND MAIN SOURCES OF MATERNAL HEALTH INFORMATION AMONG RURAL WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE: A CASE OF BAR B SUB-LOCATION IN KENYA

Denis Ochieng Owino

Lecturer, Great Lakes University of Kisumu, Kenya

Prof. Richard Otieno Muga

Senior Lecturer, Great Lakes University of Kisumu, Kenya

Nzanzu Jeremie

Lecturer, Great Lakes University of Kisumu, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Maternal Health information is fundamental to reduce maternal mortality of a given community. Accessing maternal health information by the women can easily make community members make their own informed decisions that can lead to improving their health. Women are usually disadvantaged as far as accessing health information is concerned. It is against this background that this study is therefore concerned with studying the sources of maternal health information amongst the rural women of reproductive age in. Descriptive study design using both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection was used. Structured interview method was used to obtain quantitative data while unstructured interview method was used in the qualitative study through focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Cluster sampling method was used to identify study participants who were women with children under one year. A sample size of 210 women of reproductive age 15-49 years were taken. Simple random sampling was used to ensure that the sample taken was representative of the whole population. Analysis was done according to the study objectives and the defined variables. Cross tabulation and Chi-square tests were used to determine association between variables. The study found out that health professionals 46.2% and CHW 32.9% were the main sources of maternal health information among women reproductive age. In conclusion health professionals are the most used source of maternal health information but they are said to be not easily accessible compared to other sources. The researcher recommended the need to promote CHW through capacity building as one of the most used source of maternal health information locally available. The study has therefore provided useful information that will guide the efforts of policy makers and other stakeholders who provide maternal health services to women of reproductive age.

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