title: A study of maternal and child health care services and private sector in urban Asir Region.
abstract: The differences in the maternal and child health care services offered by government and private sector in Abha and Khamis Mushayt cities in Asir Region of Saudi Arabia were compared. Self administered questionnaires and observation sheet were used for the study. It was found that the government clinics were more involved in the running of under 5 clinics and giving health education to patients. The private clinics took more care of women general health care but lacked the continuous domiciliary visit to pregnant women. The catchment area which served the government PHCCs made accessibility to service easier to government patients and this was thought to be the reason why government patients kept regular appointments. On the other hand, private patients who have the freedom to choose where they get service have been found to be irregular in keeping clinic appointment. It was suggested that there should be geographical spread in the location of private clinics to facilitate accessibility and that the health education and under 5 clinics should be well incorporated into the services offered by private clinics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Abha Branch, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Alakija
mesh_terms: D002662:Child Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D017149:Private Sector / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D019037:Urban Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*