A Community-Based Study of Factors Contributing To the Delayed Arrival of Women with Pregnancy-Related Complications to Health Care Facilities in the Assin District of Ghana

Abstract

The study is a community-based study to determine the factors contributing to the delayed arrival of women with pregnancy-related complication to the health facilities in the Assin District of Ghana. The women with pregnancy-related complications in the district often arrive at the health facilities in the district so late, that this makes the outcome of the management poor with resultant high maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The study aimed at finding the factors which significantly contribute to the delayed arrival and to make recommendation on how to improve the situation. The study is descriptive which used both structured questionnaire and focus group discussion to collect relevant data from five communities. The data were analysed using a computer software. The major findings of the study were: (i) The community and individuals had good knowledge on pregnancy and pregnancy-related complication. (ii) Most individuals and families prefer to visit hospital in event of a pregnancy complications. (iii) The majority of the women in the community lack access to funds in event of pregnancy and pregnancy-related complication and this contributes significantly to the delayed arrival. (iv) Problem of long distance between health facilities and the women's place of residence, long travel time due to poor roads, lack of transport and high cost of transport also contributes to the delayed arrival. Based on the findings of the study recommendation has been made to improve the situation.