KUMJ | VOL. 21 | NO. 4 | ISSUE 84 | OCTOBER - DECEMBER, 2023

Factors Affecting the Utilization of Delivery Care Services in Eastern Nepal
Khanal MN, KC VK

Abstract:
Background Maternal health has been the utmost priority program implemented by the Government of Nepal, popularly known as the Aama program. The achievement of sustainable development goals in 2030 underlay the utilization of maternal and health care services. Institutional delivery is one of the key focused indicators to measure the country’s efficacy in delivering maternal and health care service utilization. The study was conducted in eastern Nepal focusing on the factors affecting institutional delivery. Objective To assess the relationship of demographic, socio-cultural, and socio-behavioral factors with the utilization of delivery care services and to assess factors other than demographic, socio-cultural and socio-behavioral affecting the perception towards health services, accessibility to health services, and utilization of delivery care services. Method This study was cross-sectional and descriptive. A total of 401 recently delivered women were taken for the face-to-face interview. A multistage sampling technique has been taken to select the sample household as a primary sampling unit. Ethical approval has been obtained from Nepal Health Research Council. Result In the multivariate model, education level, family type of women, perceptions and awareness about the health facilities (should a pregnant woman go for a medical check-up, and quality of service of private health institutions is better than public health institutions were found to have a significant influence on the behaviors related to institutional delivery. Conclusion Our study stated that perception of quality of care, regular access to health services, receiving a higher level of education, and living in the joint family are very important which tend to improve the other determining factors for utilization of delivery care service in eastern Nepal.
Keyword : Institutional delivery, Maternal health, Utilization