title: A community survey on maternal and child health services utilization in rural Ethiopia.
abstract: A household health interview survey on MCH services utilization was carried out in 22 villages of a rural district of Arsi region, Ethiopia, before the launching of an integrated MCH programme. Coverage of antenatal services was 26%, and 61% of the women who received antenatal care reported having had 3 or more visits. Antenatal care was positively associated with living within 10 km of the Health Centre. Twenty-eight percent of the mothers attended the under-5 clinic and most returned for 3 or more visits. In addition, 99% reported having breast-fed their last child but more than 25% started weaning only after the seventh month of age. Differences in practice of treating diarrhoea according to knowledge of ORS were found. Of the 33% of those with knowledge of ORS, almost 90% reported use of ORS for treating child's diarrhoea, showing a positive attitude towards modern health care. The proportion of women using family planning was 5%, with no difference found between Christians and Muslims. Results on EPI coverage validated data from routine reporting. Integration of MCH services including out-reach activities may increase access and coverage of MCH services.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Epidemiologia e Biostatistica, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Materia
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mehari
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mele
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rosmini
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Stazi
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Damen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Basile
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Miuccio
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferrigno
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miozzo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005002:Ethiopia; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008430:Maternal-Child Health Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011897:Random Allocation; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires