Utilisation of Maternal and Child Health Services in Primary and Secondary Health Facilities, Bauchi Lga, Bauchi State

Abstract

primary and secondary health facilities in Bauchi LGA, the design adopted for this study was a Sequential explanatory mixed method design. The study population is made up of all the MCH users from 2018 to 2021 and the current patients receiving the same services across the selected primary and secondary health facilities. The total enumerative sampling technique was used for the retrospective component of the study and stratified sampling was used to select the current service users who participated while the sequential sampling technique was used for the focus group discussions. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20 was used to process and generate results of the quantitative data while Nvivo was used for the qualitative data. The findings indicated that the majority of the respondents were between the age of 26 –35years, 50.1% utilized the MCH services at the secondary while 49.9% at PHC facilities. Parents-in-law/cultural restrictions and lack of insurance coverage were among the barriers while cheaper services and positive results are among the drivers of utilization. There is a need to address factors that militate against the utilization of MCH.