title: Equity in maternal health care service utilization: a systematic review for developing countries.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective was to explore progress of equity in the utilization of maternal health care services in developing countries since maternal care is a crucial factor in reducing maternal mortality, which is targeted by the Millennium Development Goal 5.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic review of quantitative studies was done. PubMed Central, Web of Science, and Science Direct databases were searched for peer-reviewed and English-language articles published between 2005 and 2015.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-six articles were included in the review. The results reveal the lack of equity in the utilization of maternal health care in developing countries. Thirty-three out of 36 studies found evidence supporting severe inequities while three studies found evidence of equity or at least improvement in terms of equity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most of the literature devoted to utilization of maternal health care generally provides information on the level of maternal care used and ignore the equity problem. Research in this area should focus not only on the level of maternal care used but also on the most disadvantaged segments of the population in terms of utilization of maternal care in order to reach the set targets.
authors: Department of Economics, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. caliskan@hacettepe.edu.tr.
authors: Zafer
authors: Z
authors: Çalışkan
authors: Department of Economics, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. dbasar@hacettepe.edu.tr.
authors: Dilek
authors: D
authors: Kılıç
authors: Department of Economics, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. selcen@hacettepe.edu.tr.
authors: Selcen
authors: S
authors: Öztürk
authors: Department of Health Management, Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey. emreatilgan@trakya.edu.tr.
authors: Emre
authors: E
authors: Atılgan
mesh_terms: D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011203:Poverty; D011247:Pregnancy; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Developing countries; Equity; Health care utilization; Maternal care; Systematic review