Factors affecting accessibility of antenatal care services among pregnant teenagers:Evidence from three centres in Lusaka.

Abstract

Despite antenatal care services being provided free and available every working day, pregnant teenagers rarely access the services which may be attributed to lack of recognition of signs of pregnancy and midwives attitude among others. Late accessibility of antenatal care compromises the quality of care the pregnant teenagers receives as it creates missed opportunities for interventions such as early identification of obstetric complications. It is for this reason that the study embarked on exploring factors affecting accessibility of antenatal care services among pregnant teenagers.A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on factors affecting accessibility of antenatal care services among pregnant teenagers in Lusaka. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 participants. Participants were selected using purposive sampling method. Quantitative data were assigned numerals which were entered manually on the data master sheet. Both quantitative and qualitative data were categorised and coded, then analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0. The study was guided by the Health Belief Model.The results showed that factors that influenced accessibility of ANC services in a positive way were economic status, level of knowledge on ANC services and the perception of midwives attitude towards pregnant teenagers, while social support influenced accessibility in a negative way. Majority of respondents who lacked social support had more accessibility of ANC services. Increased accessibility of ANC services could be attributed to the fact that pregnant teenagers who lacked social support from their homes opted to obtain the support from health practitioners through early access to ANC services while those who had social support may have developed a passive attitude towards accessing ANC services.