ArticleBMJ open2018
Perceived barriers to maternal and newborn health services delivery: a qualitative study of health workers and community members in low and middle-income settings.
Article in BMJ open, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 101 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sociocultural and health system determinants of maternal mortality in Ghana: findings from a systematic review.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- The development of proxy indicators to measure workforce well-being in emergency obstetric and neonatal care settings.Journal of global health · 2025Pooled it
- Socioeconomic inequalities in access to maternal healthcare in South-Asian countries: A systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Stock-outs of essential medicines among community health workers (CHWs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): a systematic literature review of the extent, reasons, and consequences.Human resources for health · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Determinants of Maternal Near Miss: A Facility-Based Case-Control Study in Luanda, Angola.Portuguese journal of public health · 2026Article
- Exploring the Motivations of Midwives Working in Rural and Remote Areas of Aurora Province: A Descriptive Qualitative Study.Acta medica Philippina · 2026Article
- The influence of the IMPACT approach and healthcare workers' knowledge on antenatal care commodities availability in North Western Tanzania.Journal of public health research · 2026Article
- Navigating the Complex Landscape of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Challenges and Opportunities in Diagnosis, Treatment, and Supports.Current pharmaceutical design · 2026Review
- Association between self-reported gender-based discrimination and maternal mortality rates: results of an ecological multi-level analysis across nine countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Global, regional, and national burden of congenital musculoskeletal and limb anomalies, 1990-2021: a systematic analysis of the global burden of disease in 2021.Tropical medicine and health · 2025Article
- Article
- Perceptions and experiences of the prevention, testing, and treatment of anaemia in pregnant women: A qualitative evidence synthesis.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Key barriers to the provision and utilization of maternal health services in low-and lower-middle-income countries; a scoping review.BMC women's health · 2024Article
- Enhancing Health and Empowerment: Assessing the Satisfaction of Underprivileged Rural Women Participating in a Functional Literacy Education Program in Kailali District, Nepal.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Effective coverage of antenatal care services in Ethiopia: a population-based cross-sectional study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Article
- Pregnant women's satisfaction with the quality of antenatal care and the continued willingness to use health facility care in Lusaka district, Zambia.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Perceived quality of maternal care and its barriers based on women's perspective in hospitals of Northwest Ethiopia: a qualitative study.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesIn considering explanations for poor maternal and newborn health outcomes, many investigations have focused on the decision-making patterns and actions of expectant mothers and families, as opposed to exploring the 'supply side' (health service provider) barriers. Thus, we examined the health system factors impacting on access to and delivery of quality maternal and newborn healthcare in rural settings.
designA semistructured qualitative study using face-to-face in-depth interviews with health professionals, and focus group sessions with community members, in eight project sites in two districts of Upper West Region, Ghana, was employed. Participants were purposively selected to generate relevant data to help address the study objective. The survey was guided by WHO standard procedures and Ghana Health Ministry's operational work plan for maternal and newborn care.
settingNadowli-Kaleo and Daffiama-Bussie-Issa districts in Upper West Region, Ghana.
participantsTwo hundred and fifty-three participants were engaged in the study through convenient and purposive sampling: healthcare professionals (pharmacist, medical doctor, two district directors of health services, midwives, community health and enrolled nurses) (n=13) and community members comprising opinion leaders, youth leaders and adult non-pregnant women (n=240 in 24 units of focus groups).
resultsResults show significant barriers affecting the quality and appropriateness of maternal and neonatal health services in the rural communities and the Nadowli District Hospital. The obstacles were inadequate medical equipment and essential medicines, infrastructural challenges, shortage of skilled staff, high informal costs of essential medicines and general limited capacities to provide care.
conclusionImplementation of the birth preparedness and complication readiness strategy is in its infancy at the health facility level in the study areas. Increasing the resources at the health provider level is essential to achieving international targets for maternal and neonatal health outcomes and for bridging inequities in access to essential maternal and newborn healthcare.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.