Women's educational level and quality of antenatal care utilization

Abstract

Provision and access to quality antenatal care for women have been a problem in Sub-Saharan Africa and developing countries. Quality antenatal care is critical in enabling women and health workers identify risks and danger signs during pregnancy. The extent to which women's educational level affects their uptake and quality of antenatal care is uncertain. The study seeks to measure the influence of women's educational attainment on quality of antenatal care using the clinical component proposed by Donabedian. Data used in the study were from the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. Factor analysis was used to compute a variable for quality of antenatal care. The main independent variable was women's educational level. Multiple linear regression was used to examine the effect of women's education on quality of antenatal care. The results of the study showed that education had no influence on quality of antenatal care utilization. However, other utilization and demographic factors such as age and ethnicity were found to be significant predictors of quality of antenatal care. Therefore, all women irrespective of their level of education should be encouraged not just to attend antenatal care clinics but utilize the required services provided. Attention should focus on health providers to increase supply-side factors in improving levels of utilization and service quality. Emphasis on policy should also be on ethnicity as there are cultural dimensions that affect quality of antenatal care utilization.