title: Social Capital as a Determinant of Pregnant Mother's Place of Delivery: Experience from Kongwa District in Central Tanzania.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Maternal ill health contributes highly to the global burden of diseases in countries South of Sahara including Tanzania. Ensuring that all deliveries take place in health facilities and hence attended by skilled health personnel is one of the strategies advocated by global and national policies, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However, the number of women delivered by skilled health personnel has remained low in sub Saharan Africa despite of a number of interventions. We sought to determine the role of social capital in facilitating health facility delivery.
  
  
  METHODS
  We randomly selected 744 households with children aged less than five years from two randomly selected wards in a rural area in Tanzania. Mothers were enquired about place of delivery of the last child. Social capital was assessed using a modified questionnaire with both structural and cognitive aspects of social capital, administered in face-to-face interviews. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to develop asocial capital index measure. Uni-variate and multivariable regression models were run using STATA 12.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Majority (85.9%) of the mothers reported to have delivered in a health facility during their last birth. Compared to the lowest social capital quintile, delivering in a health facility increased significantly with increase in social capital level: low (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 2.9; Confidence Interval (CI): 1.4-6.1, p = 0.004); moderate (AOR = 5.5, CI: 2.3-13.3, p-value<0.001); high (AOR = 4.7; CI: 1.9-11.6, p-value<0.001) and highest (AOR = 5.6, CI: 2.4-13.4, p-value<0.001) and χ2-test for the trend was significant (χ2 = 17.21, p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, social capital seems to play an important role in enhancing health facility delivery that may lead to improved maternal and child health. Concerted efforts should focus on promoting and supporting effective social capital and in particular cognitive social capital.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of public Health and Social sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Innocent Antony
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Semali
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of public Health and Social sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Germana Henry
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Leyna
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of public Health and Social sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Elia John
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Mmbaga
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health, School of public Health and Social sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tengia-Kessy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006268:Health Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006798:Housing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D066270:Social Capital; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013636:Tanzania