Socioeconomic Inequality in Maternal Healthcare Services: The Case of Tanzania

Low utilisation of maternal healthcare among women in developing countries increases the health risk of the child and mother during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period. It is in this context that this study intends to assess socioeconomic inequalities in maternal healthcare utilisation in Tanzania using the 2004/05, 2010, and 2015/16 Demographic and Health Survey. We first use the Concentration index to measure the presence of inequalities. Thereafter, we execute decomposition analysis to examine contributing factors of inequality in maternal healthcare utilization. Results from the Concentration index indicate that there is pro-rich inequality in maternal health utilisation and has increased over time. Meanwhile, the decomposition analysis reveals that household wealth status and women's education level contribute to the observed inequality. This could be due to the long distance to the health facilities, inadequate capacity of health facilities, and sociocultural barriers. We thus recommend that maternal healthcare in Tanzania should target the less privileged pregnant women to redress the inequality problem and ultimately alleviate maternal and child death rates in Tanzania

Socioeconomic Inequality in Maternal Healthcare Services: The Case of Tanzania

Low utilisation of maternal healthcare among women in developing countries increases the health risk of the child and mother during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period. It is in this context that this study intends to assess socioeconomic inequalities in maternal healthcare utilisation in Tanzania using the 2004/05, 2010, and 2015/16 Demographic and Health Survey. We first use the Concentration index to measure the presence of inequalities. Thereafter, we execute decomposition analysis to examine contributing factors of inequality in maternal healthcare utilization. Results from the Concentration index indicate that there is pro-rich inequality in maternal health utilisation and has increased over time. Meanwhile, the decomposition analysis reveals that household wealth status and women's education level contribute to the observed inequality. This could be due to the long distance to the health facilities, inadequate capacity of health facilities, and sociocultural barriers. We thus recommend that maternal healthcare in Tanzania should target the less privileged pregnant women to redress the inequality problem and ultimately alleviate maternal and child death rates in Tanzania

Role of health facility governing committees in strengthening social accountability to improve the health system in Tanzania : protocol for a participatory action research study

INTRODUCTION: Social accountability is important for improving the delivery of health services and empowering citizens. The government of Tanzania has transferred authority to plan, budget and manage financial resources to the lower health facilities since 2017. Health facility governing committees (HFGCs) therefore play a pivotal role in ensuring social accountability. While HFGCs serve as bridges between health facilities and their communities, efforts need to be made to reinforce their capacity. This project therefore aims to understand whether, how and under what conditions informed and competent HFGCs improve social accountability. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study adopts a participatory approach to realist evaluation, engaging members of the HFGCs, health managers and providers and community leaders to: (1) map the challenges and opportunities of the current reform, (2) develop an initial programme theory that proposes a plan to strengthen the role of the HFGCs, (3) test the programme theory by developing a plan of action, (4) refine the programme theory through multiple cycles of participatory learning and (5) propose a set of recommendations to guide processes to strengthen social accountability in the Tanzanian health system. This project is part of an ongoing strong collaboration between the University of Dar es Saalam (Tanzania), and Umeå University (Sweden), providing opportunities for action learning and close interactions between researchers, decision-makers and practitioners. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval to conduct the study was obtained from the National Ethical Review Committee in Tanzania- National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR/HQ/R.8a/Vol.IX/3928). Permissions to conduct the study in the health facilities were given by the President's Office Regional Administration and Local Government and relevant regional and district authorities. The results will be published in open-access, peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific conferences