Completion of Four or More ANC Visits Among Women of Reproductive Age in a Rural District in Uganda: A Quantitative Study on the Role of Service-Level Factors

Completion of Four or More ANC Visits Among Women of Reproductive Age in a Rural District in Uganda: A Quantitative Study on the Role of Service-Level Factors | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Completion of Four or More ANC Visits Among Women of Reproductive Age in a Rural District in Uganda: A Quantitative Study on the Role of Service-Level Factors Lorna Barungi Muhirwe, Magdeline Aagard This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2169055/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Aug, 2023 Read the published version in BMC Health Services Research → Version 2 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Uganda is one of 24 countries in the world where 70% of global maternal deaths occur. Evidence indicates that antenatal care (ANC) has both indirect and direct effects on maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality reduction. In Uganda, the ANC attendance rate stands at 97.3% for one visit, but 59.9% for four or more visits. The aim of this quantitative study was to assess service- level factors affecting completion of ANC attendance defined by completion of four or more visits among women of reproductive age in a rural district in Uganda to contribute to design of patient-centered ANC services. Facility assessment scores on the service-level factors of interest for health facilities were obtained using a service level index tool. The relationship between the ANC completion rates of clients sampled from records at the health facilities and facility scores on service-level factors of interest were analyzed. Regression was conducted to determine the predictive relationship between ANC service availability, ANC service content, and ANC service organization, and completion of ANC attendance. The model was statistically significant, χ2 (6) = 26.118, p ˂ 0.05, and accounted for approximately 17.3% of the variance of ANC attendance completion (R2 = .173). Completion of ANC attendance was primarily predicted by better timing of provision of ANC services, and to a lesser extent by higher levels of availability of medicines and medical supplies. This study demonstrated that service-level factors have a predictive value for completion of ANC attendance. The findings can be used to improve availability, content, and organization of ANC services with the aim of enhancing positive experiences for clients and motivating them to complete the recommended number of ANC visits. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Aug, 2023 Read the published version in BMC Health Services Research → Version 2 posted Editorial decision: Major revision 13 Mar, 2023 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Mar, 2023 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Mar, 2023 Reviews received at journal 02 Mar, 2023 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Feb, 2023 Reviewers invited by journal 27 Feb, 2023 Editor assigned by journal 27 Feb, 2023 Editor invited by journal 22 Nov, 2022 Submission checks completed at journal 22 Nov, 2022 First submitted to journal 06 Nov, 2022 You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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