Women’s perspectives on quality of maternal health care services in Malawi

Abstract

Kennedy Machira,1,2 Martin Palamuleni2 1Department of Agriculture Economics, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lilongwe, Malawi; 2Population and Research Unit, North West University, Mmabatho, Republic of South Africa Abstract: Despite promotion by many stakeholders to improve maternal health outcome in many developing countries including Malawi, many analysts agree that the utmost success in maternal health will arise if maternal health care services are an unparallel led source for women’s health care solutions for any problem related to childbirth. Health advocates worldwide claim that even though maternal services are provided, women’s utilization of such services has not been ascertained. The objective of this study was to explore women’s perspectives on the quality of health care service delivery in Malawi. This article therefore investigates women’s perspectives on the quality of maternal health care services in Malawi. We used six focus group discussions in six health facilities that were selected across Malawi. We found that erratic availability of medical resources and unethical practices among health workers adversely affected quality of maternal health care service delivery. We concluded that the expensive routine operational audits of medical resources and service delivery across health facilities are imperative if women’s health outcomes are to be enhanced in Malawi. Keywords: public health, health care, quality of care, access, Malawi, women’s health

Keywords

• public health
• health care
• quality of care
• access
• Malawi