Person-centered antenatal care and associated factors in Rwanda: a secondary analysis of program data

Joint Event on 51^st World Congress on Advanced Nursing Research & 17^th World Congress on Healthcare & Technologies

April 26-27, 2021 WEBINAR

Phoebe Miller MS

University of California Berkeley and University of California San Francisco

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

Statement of the Problem: Research suggests that women’s experience of antenatal care is an important component of high-quality antenatal care. Person centered antenatal care (PCANC) reflects care that is both respectful of, and responsive to, the preferences, needs, and values of pregnant women. Little is known in Rwanda about either the extent to which PCANC is practiced or the factors that might determine its use. This is the first study to quantitatively examine the extent of and the factors associated with PCANC in Rwanda. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: We used quantitative data from a randomized control trial in Rwanda. A total of 2,150 surveys were collected and analyzed from 36 health centers across five districts. We excluded women who were less than 16 years old, were referred to higher levels of antenatal care or had incomplete survey responses. Both bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to test the hypothesis that certain participant characteristics would predict high PCANC. Findings: PCANC level was found to be sub-optimal with one third of women leaving antenatal care (ANC) with questions or confused and one fourth feeling disrespected. In bivariate analysis, social support, greater parity, being in the traditional care (control group), and being from Burera district significantly predict high PCANC. Additionally, in the multivariate analysis, being in the traditional care group and the district in which women received care were significantly associated with PCANC. Conclusion & Significance: This quantitative analysis indicates sub-optimal levels of PCANC amongst our study population in Rwanda. We find lower levels of PCANC to be regional and defined by the patient characteristics parity and social support. Given the benefits of PCANC, improvements in PCANC through provider training in Rwanda might promote an institutional culture shift towards a more person-centered model of care.

Biography :

Phoebe Miller is a global health researcher who has focused her work on global women’s health and health disparities. Her experience working in trauma care and with community health workers in Johannesburg, South Africa informs her passion for addressing global disparities in access to safe and necessary health care. She is currently completing her medical degree at University of California San Francisco after which she plans to begin her General Surgery training in residency. Her research work spans multiple disciplines but has involved collaboration with UCSF Preterm Birth Initiative as well as University of Rwanda and Rwanda Biomedical Center.