Barriers to access maternal health services among urban poor women in Bangladesh: A Case of Rajshahi City

Authors

  • Bijoy Krishna Banik Professor of Sociology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
  • Md Saidur Rashid Sumon Assistant Professor of Sociology, Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3329/seajph.v8i1.42269

Keywords:

Barriers, Maternal healthcare services, Urban poor women, Rajshahi City Corporation, Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh has made tremendous achievements in the health sector over the last few decades, albeit worse in maternal health (MH) compared to other South Asian countries. The fact that women, particularly poor, have less access to maternal health care (MHC) services is one of the prime reasons. The main objective of this study was to explore what types of barriers poor mothers faced during the service use. A triangulation of method (interviews of service recipients through interview schedule and service providers through checklist, focus group discussion and observation) was used for the collection of primary data (sample 200) from two slum areas in Rajshahi City between March and April, 2013. The study found socio-cultural and organizational barriers to access to MHC services more acute than physical and financial barriers. As suggested, building awareness of bad consequences of early marriage on MH, ensuring a strong coordination among service providing organizations in dispensing free drugs and posting female doctors in study areas are urgently needed for further improvement of MH.

South East Asia Journal of Public Health Vol.8(1) 2018: 22-31

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Abstract
803
PDF
1397

Downloads

Published

2019-07-17

How to Cite

Banik, B. K., & Sumon, M. S. R. (2019). Barriers to access maternal health services among urban poor women in Bangladesh: A Case of Rajshahi City. South East Asia Journal of Public Health, 8(1), 22–31. https://doi.org/10.3329/seajph.v8i1.42269

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2018)

Section

Original Research

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).