SATISFACTION OF NURSING MOTHERS WITH ANTENATAL CARE SERVICES RECEIVED IN SELECTED SECONDARY HEALTH CARE FACILITIES IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Antenatal care is an important determinant of child and maternal health. However, Antenatal Care (ANC) services in Nigerian health care facilities are underutilized as a result of several factors related to client' satisfaction, which are not yet fully identified. This study therefore assessed the satisfaction of nursing mothers with ANC received in selected secondary health care facilities in Oyo State, Nigeria. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. A total of 410 three-month post-delivery nursing mothers, were randomly selected from six out of 34 secondary health care facilities in the State. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information on ANC services and nursing mothers' level of satisfaction. Level of satisfaction was measured on a 32-point scale. A score of 0-9 was regarded as low satisfaction, 10-19 as moderate satisfaction, and 20 and above as high satisfaction. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. Mean age of respondents was 28.3 ± 3.4 years and 75.9% were married. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents registered for ANC in the first trimester, 43.6% in the second trimester and 18.4% in the third trimester. Mean attendance of ANC (5.3 ± 1.5 times) was higher than the expected minimum of 5 visits. The services received included weight (99.5%) and blood pressure measurements (99.5%), urine (99.5%) and blood (99.5%) tests, iron supplementation (90.9%) tetanus injection (89.5%), prophylactic malaria therapy (80.8%), instructions on the use of insecticide-treated net (71.3%) and deworming (30.1%). Mean level of satisfaction was 16.1 ± 5.0. Overall, 54.7% of respondents were moderately satisfied, while 37.3% were highly satisfied. The majority (60.0%) of the respondents were highly satisfied with general cleanliness of the health facilities and 58.8% were very satisfied with location of the health facility. Many respondents were also satisfied with care providers' show of empathy (55.6%), prompt response to clients' needs (53.4%), respect for clients (53.2%), effective listening (52.0%) and involvement in decision-making process (52.0%). More respondents (34.8%) aged 26-30 years were highly satisfied with the care received, compared with those aged 31 years and above (p<0.05). However, among the respondents who were not satisfied, 57.7% expressed dissatisfaction with caregivers' negative attitude and 23.1% wilt unnecessary demand of delivery items. Married respondents were significantly more satisfied than the unmarried were (p<0.05). The respondents were averagely satisfied with services received at the health facilities. However, most of the failed to register at first trimester. Government should improve health services to encourage client satisfaction.