Evaluation of the quality of maternal health services in primary health‑care centers by using service provision assessment

Abstract EN

Background : The Service Provision Assessment (SPA) survey is a nationwide facility‑based survey that measures the ability of health facilities to provide quality preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services for key maternal and child health and HIV/AIDS programs.

Objective : The study was designed to assess some aspects of expressed maternal health services provided at ten primary health‑care (PHC) centers in Babylon province, Iraq, using interviews with health service providers and clients and observations of provider–client consultations to obtain information on the capacity of facilities to provide quality services, and the existence of functioning systems to support quality services.

Materials and Methods : A cross‑sectional study was done in ten Babylon PHC centers from March to August 2018.

The study included 165 pregnant women.

The questionnaire included sociodemographic factors (age, residence, employment, parity, and education) and data related to Service Provision Assessment questionnaire which include a facility inventory, client exit interviews, and antenatal care (ANC) observation and consultation.

Results : The mean age of pregnant women attending ANC was 25.29 ± 5.48, 66.1% came from urban areas, the majority were not employed (83 %), their educational level was secondary (38.8 %), and 57% were multipara.

The findings showed that the majority (89.1 %) of patients think that health facility services were good.

A sizeable majority (83.0 %) of women were satisfied regarding health services including availability of medicines at the facility (91.5 %), cleanliness of the facility (100 %), privacy (93.9 %), charging or payment of fees for services received (0.6 %), and discussion of problems related to the pregnancy (93.3 %).

Conclusion: This study showed a high level of satisfaction with the quality of maternal health services among antenatal attendees and highlighted the need to support interventions that increase the uptake of formal maternal health‑care services.