Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Jan 20;11(1):8.
doi: 10.1186/1742-4755-11-8.

Giving cell phones to pregnant women and improving services may increase primary health facility utilization: a case-control study of a Nigerian project

Sunday Oluwafemi Oyeyemi, Rolf Wynn  1
Affiliations

Giving cell phones to pregnant women and improving services may increase primary health facility utilization: a case-control study of a Nigerian project

Sunday Oluwafemi Oyeyemi et al. Reprod Health. .

Abstract

Background: Worldwide, about 287 000 women die each year from mostly preventable complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. A disproportionately high number of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. The Abiye ('Safe Motherhood') project in the Ifedore Local Government Area (LGA) of Ondo-State of Nigeria aimed at improving facility utilization and maternal health through the use of cell phones and generally improved health care services for pregnant women, including Health Rangers, renovated Health Centres, and improved means of transportation.

Methods: A one-year sample of retrospective data was collected from hospital records and patients' case files from Ifedore (the project area) and Idanre (control area) and was analyzed to determine healthcare facility utilization rates in each location. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to generate supplemental data.

Results: The total facility utilization rate of pregnant women was significantly higher in Ifedore than in Idanre. The facility utilization rate of the primary health care centres was significantly higher in Ifedore than in Idanre. The number of recorded cases of the five major causes of maternal death in the two LGAs was not significantly different, possibly because the project was new.

Conclusions: Giving cell phones to pregnant women and generally improving services could increase their utilization of the primary healthcare system.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. World Health Organisation. Maternal mortality Fact sheet N°348, May 2012. Accessed on May 3, 2012 at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs348/en/index.html.
    1. World Health Organization and UNICEF. Countdown to 2015: Maternal, newborn and child survival. Geneva & New York: Coordination Committee; 2012. Accessed on 19 March, 2013 at http://www.countdown2015mnch.org/documents/2012Report/2012-complete-no-p....
    1. World Health Organization and UNICEF. Countdown to 2015 decade report (2000–2010): Taking stock of maternal, newborn and child survival. Geneva & New York: Countdown to 2015 Coordination Committee; 2010. Accessed on December 5, 2012 at: http://www.countdown2015mnch.org/documents/2010report/2010_Report_noprof....
    1. World Health Organisation. Maternal mortality in 2005: estimates developed by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, and the World Bank. Geneva: WHO; 2007.
    1. World Health Organization. Prevention of maternal mortality: Report of a World Health Organization Interregional Meeting, 11–15 November, 1985. Geneva: WHO; 1986.