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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Glob. Womens Health
Sec. Contraception and Family Planning
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2024.1444611

Community voices from Modern Maternal Waiting Home users in Zambia

Provisionally accepted
Melvin K. Mwansa Melvin K. Mwansa 1*Mergan Naidoo Mergan Naidoo 1Kafiswe Chimpinde Kafiswe Chimpinde 2
  • 1 Discipline of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa, Durban, South Africa
  • 2 Department of Demography, Population Sciences, Monitoring and Evaluation, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Abstract: Objective This study aimed to understand community voices on factors influencing utilisation of MMWHs in Zambia. Methods The study employed a mixed method study designqualitative case studies in four selected health facilities across Zambia districts between January 2021 and December 2022. Purposeful sampling was used to select study participants using MMWH registers as the sampling frame for mothers who had utilised MMWHs and their spouses. Sampling of participants through face-to-face, in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) was conducted to saturation in all targeted health facilities Interviews were conducted using face-to-face, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Data was transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Results Results found that the comfortable state of the MMWHs, long distances to health facilities, fear of maternal complications, availability and positive attitudes of specialized health personnel, and the information on childcare provided were major factors. Spouses supported their partners using MMWHs due to the quality of care and the availability of modern equipment and furniture. However, some spouses indicated that utilisation of MMWHs has a bearing on a household's financial resources. Conclusion MMWHs are a pivotal intervention in improving maternal outcomes. All health facilities had no maternal and newborn complications or deaths over the study period.

    Keywords: Modern Maternal Waiting Homes, Health Facilities, Users, Non-users, utilisation

    Received: 05 Jun 2024; Accepted: 30 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Mwansa, Naidoo and Chimpinde. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Melvin K. Mwansa, Discipline of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa, Durban, South Africa

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.