Socio-demographic Correlates of Maternal Health Services’ Utilization among Childbearing Mothers in Enugu State Rural Communities

Abstract

The study investigated the correlates of maternal health (MH) services utilization among childbearing mothers (CBMs) in selected rural communities in Enugu State. Correlational survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised of all the CBMs in selected rural communities in Enugu State estimated at about 650,000. A sample size of 2000 CBMs was drawn using multistage sampling procedure. Maternal Health Services Utilization Questionnaire (MHSUQ) was used for data collection. Face validity of the instrument was established by five experts. The internal consistency of the instrument was established using Cronbach’s alpha (.83). Mean, standard deviation, and Pearson product moment correlation were used to answer the research questions. Pearson product moment correlation was used to test the null hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. Results showed low utilization of MH services. Furthermore, there was a weak positive relationship between maternal age (r = .119) and a weak negative relationship between parity (r = -.021) and utilization of MH services. There was a significant relationship between maternal age (r = .119, p = .048 < .050) and utilization of MH services. Also, there was no significant relationship between parity (r = -.021, p = .726 > .05) and utilization of MH services. The study recommended that awareness programme should be mounted to enlighten CBMs on the dangers of not utilizing MH services required of them, and noting that having more than three living children does not make them experts in handling their maternal and reproductive health issues.