Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/2440/138330
Citations | ||
Scopus | Web of Science® | Altmetric |
---|---|---|
?
|
?
|
Type: | Journal article |
Title: | Social capital and its role to improve maternal and child health services in Northwest Ethiopia: A qualitative study |
Author: | Mengesha, E.W. Tessema, G.A. Assefa, Y. Alene, G.D. |
Citation: | PLoS One, 2023; 18(4):e0284592-1-e0284592-121 |
Publisher: | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
Issue Date: | 2023 |
ISSN: | 1932-6203 1932-6203 |
Editor: | Naanyu, V. |
Statement of Responsibility: | Endalkachew Worku Mengesha, Gizachew A. Tessema, Yibeltal Assefa, Getu Degu Alene |
Abstract: | BACKGROUND: Social capital is a set of shared values that allows individuals or groups receive emotional, instrumental or financial resources flow. In Ethiopia, despite people commonly involved in social networks, there is a dearth of evidence exploring whether membership in these networks enhances uptake of maternal and child health (MCH) services. This study aimed to explore perspectives of women, religious leaders and community health workers (CHWs) on social capital to improve uptake of MCH services in Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: We employed a qualitative study through in-depth interviews with key informants, and focus group discussions. A maximum variation purposive sampling technique was used to select 41 study participants (11 in-depth interviews and 4 FGDs comprising 7-8 participants). Data were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis was employed using ATLAS.ti software. RESULTS: Four overarching themes and 13 sub-themes of social capital were identified as factors that improve uptake of MCH services. The identified themes were social networking, social norms, community support, and community cohesion. Most women, CHWs and religious leaders participated in social networks. These social networks enabled CHWs to create awareness on MCH services. Women, religious leaders and CHWs perceived that existing social capital improves the uptake of MCH services. CONCLUSION: The community has an indigenous culture of providing emotional, instrumental and social support to women through social networks. So, it would be useful to consider the social capital of family, neighborhood and community as a tool to improve utilization of MCH services. Therefore, policymakers should design people-centered health programs to engage existing social networks, and religious leaders for improving MCH services. |
Keywords: | Maternal Health Services |
Description: | Published: April 21, 2023 |
Rights: | © 2023 Mengesha et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0284592 |
Grant ID: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1195716 |
Published version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284592 |
Appears in Collections: | Public Health publications |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
---|---|---|---|---|
hdl_138330.pdf | Published version | 370.32 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.