Socio-Demographic Determinants of Place of Delivery among Women of Reproductive Age (15- 49 Years) Seeking Child Welfare Services in Kandara Subcounty, Murang’a

Abstract

Maternal and child mortalities are among major health problems facing developing countriesincluding Kenya. Most of these deaths can be avoided by utilization of maternity healthcare services by women seeking delivery care services from health professionals. The main objective of the study was to assess the socio-demographic determinants that influence the place of delivery among mothers seeking Child Welfare services in sampled health facilities in Kandara Sub County. The study adopted a facility-based cross-sectional survey design using an interview schedule and Key Informant Interview (KII) to collect quantitative and qualitative data respectively. The researcher pretested data tools in three health facilities that did not participate in the final study. On ethical issues, the researcher was cleared by the University Ethics Committee and by the administration of Murang’a County and of Kandara Sub County. The researcher ensured respondents privacy, confidentiality and anonymity throughout the entire research process. The study population comprised of mothers recently delivered within a 12 month prior to the study and seeking Child Welfare services at the selected health facilities in the Sub County. Simple random and purposeful sampling methods were used to identify the facilities which participated in the study. The desired sample size was 352 respondents which wascalculated using Fishers et al 1998 formula. Respondents were identified using systematic random sampling method. Descriptive statistic was used to represent analyzed data. A Computer software, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version20.0was used to analyze the quantitative data. Content analysis Qualitative data done and results triangulated with the quantitative data as per the study variables. The study found that social demographic determinants(p value of 0.034) had a significant positive influence on the choice of place of delivery.