ArticleBMJ open2023
Effect of women's literacy status on maternal healthcare services utilisation in Ethiopia: a stratified analysis of the 2019 mini Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey.
Article in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Maternal mortality in Ethiopia (2015-2025): a systematic review of recent evidence and determinants.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Maternal health literacy among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Ghana: a cross-sectional study.Global epidemiology · 2026Article
- Postnatal care services utilisation in sub-Saharan Africa countries: a scoping review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Article
- Factors influencing women's literacy status in rural Ethiopia using 2019 mini EDHS data.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Assessing the joint effects of education, economic status, empowerment, and employment (4Es) disparities on the co-coverage of maternal, newborn and child health care services in sub-Saharan Africa: an application of the intersectionality approach.Journal of global health · 2025Article
- Mapping traditional birth attendance in sub-Saharan Africa between 2012 and 2023: analysis of data from demographic and health surveys.AJOG global reports · 2025Article
- Factors Influencing Maternal Health Literacy in Postpartum Women.International journal of women's health · 2025Article
- Health Service Utilization by Women Members and Non-Members of Community-Based Health Insurance Schemes in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia, 2024: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study.Health services insights · 2025Article
- Decomposing socioeconomic inequality in skilled birth attendant utilization in Ethiopia: A secondary data analysis.PloS one · 2025Article
- Inequalities in utilization of maternal health services in Ethiopia: evidence from the PMA Ethiopia longitudinal survey.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Article
- Assessment of Prenatal Care Quality and Related Factors after the Implementation of the Family Physician Program in Northwest Iran.Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery researchArticle
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesMaternal mortality remains unacceptably high in sub-Saharan Africa with 533 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births, accounting for 68% of all maternal deaths worldwide. Most maternal deaths could be prevented by adequate maternal health service use. The study examined the effect of literacy status on maternal health services utilisation among reproductive-age women in Ethiopia.
designA cross-sectional study. SETTINGS: Ethiopia.
participantsA weighted sample of 3839 reproductive-age women who gave birth in the last 5 years preceding the survey and whose literacy status was measured were included in this study. The survey used a two-stage stratified cluster sampling technique. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: This study used a dataset from the recent Ethiopia Mini Demographic and Health Surveys. We assessed the maternal health service utilisation among reproductive-age women. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed to assess the association between literacy status and maternal healthcare utilisation while controlling for other factors. Adjusted OR with a 95% CI was reported.
resultsAbout 63.8% of reproductive-age women were illiterate. The prevalence of antenatal care (ANC) 1, ANC 4, skilled birth attendance and postnatal care (PNC) services utilisation was 74.9%, 43.5%, 51.9% and 32.0%, respectively. Literate women had significantly higher ANC 1, ANC 4, skilled birth attendance, and PNC services utilisation than illiterate women (p<0.001). Regional variation, wealth status, age at first birth, birth order and birth intervals were significantly associated with maternal healthcare utilisation among both literate and illiterate women. Similarly, ANC booking timing and utilisation, age of household head and religious affiliation were associated with institutional delivery and PNC utilisation.
conclusionLiterate women had a significantly higher maternal healthcare services utilisation than illiterate, modified by sociodemographic and obstetric-related factors. Hence, wholehearted efforts should be directed towards educating and empowering women.
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