Factors Influencing Community Participation in Maternal Health Care Project in Kitui County Kenya

Abstract

Community participation is a very important aspect on any project focused on a given community. Maternal health care is one of the basic health projects provisions of health sector in the country. Despite the government providing free maternal health, child mortality and related death have been prevalent in many counties especially in Kitui County. Various reasons have been pointed out as the main factors leading to this phenomenon. The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors influencing community participation on maternal health. This study was guided by four objectives; to establish how level of awareness influence community participation on maternal health, to assess how cultural factors influence community participation on maternal health, to examine how referral mechanism influence community participation on maternal health, and to determine how cost of health influence community participation on maternal health. The study was undertaken in Kitui County. A total of 300 respondents with 50 community units, 91 Maternal Health workers, and 91 community health extension workers with 68 Opinion Leaders were used in the study. The study design included developing a questionnaire that was administered after a population frame had been determined through cluster sampling method to get required sample size. The study used descriptive cross sectional. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and was analyzed using computer data base Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SPSS and presented using tables. The results helped to find out the roles played by Maternal Health Workers, Community Health Volunteers, and opinion leaders in implementation of community based maternal health care indicating areas of success, failures, and challenges encountered. The study analyzed data, presented and interpreted the findings based on the respondents and this helped in the conclusions and recommendation and suggestion for further studies on community participation on maternity health care projects in Kitui County.