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A geographical perspective on access to sexual and reproductive health care for women in rural Africa

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  • Yao, Jing
  • Murray, Alan T.
  • Agadjanian, Victor

Abstract

Utilization of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services can significantly impact health outcomes, such as pregnancy and birth, prenatal and neonatal mortality, maternal morbidity and mortality, and vertical transmission of infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS. It has long been recognized that access to SRH services is essential to positive health outcomes, especially in rural areas of developing countries, where long distances as well as poor transportation conditions, can be potential barriers to health care acquisition. Improving accessibility of health services for target populations is therefore critical for specialized healthcare programs. Thus, understanding and evaluation of current access to health care is crucial. Combining spatial information using geographical information system (GIS) with population survey data, this study details a gravity model-based method to measure and evaluate access to SRH services in rural Mozambique, and analyzes potential geographic access to such services, using family planning as an example. Access is found to be a significant factor in reported behavior, superior to traditional distance-based indicators. Spatial disparities in geographic access among different population groups also appear to exist, likely affecting overall program success.

Suggested Citation

  • Yao, Jing & Murray, Alan T. & Agadjanian, Victor, 2013. "A geographical perspective on access to sexual and reproductive health care for women in rural Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 60-68.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:96:y:2013:i:c:p:60-68
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.07.025
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    Cited by:

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    2. Neely, Abigail H. & Ponshunmugam, Arunsrinivasan, 2019. "A qualitative approach to examining health care access in rural South Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 214-221.
    3. Anooj Pattnaik & Diwakar Mohan & Amy Tsui & Sam Chipokosa & Hans Katengeza & Jameson Ndawala & Melissa A Marx, 2021. "The aggregate effect of implementation strength of family planning programs on modern contraceptive use at the health systems level in rural Malawi," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(11), pages 1-16, November.
    4. Saleh Babazadeh & Philip Anglewicz & Janna M Wisniewski & Patrick K Kayembe & Julie Hernandez & Jane T Bertrand, 2020. "The influence of health facility-level access measures on modern contraceptive use in Kinshasa, DRC," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-20, July.
    5. Jean Digitale & Stephanie Psaki & Erica Soler-Hampejsek & Barbara S. Mensch, 2017. "Correlates of Contraceptive Use and Health Facility Choice among Young Women in Malawi," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 669(1), pages 93-124, January.
    6. Zafer Çalışkan & Dilek Kılıç & Selcen Öztürk & Emre Atılgan, 2015. "Equity in maternal health care service utilization: a systematic review for developing countries," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 60(7), pages 815-825, November.
    7. Kathryn Grace & Nicholas N. Nagle & Clara R. Burgert‐Brucker & Shelby Rutzick & David C. Van Riper & Trinadh Dontamsetti & Trevor Croft, 2019. "Integrating Environmental Context into DHS Analysis While Protecting Participant Confidentiality: A New Remote Sensing Method," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 45(1), pages 197-218, March.

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