CATHARINE OWENS

Use the similar paper as a guide. The similar paper is a paper of one of the student who graduated did. You can use some of the article she used.

For this assignment you are going write chapter 2 which is call literature review and will be about 37 pages and mine I sent you titled “Factors associated with Martanal mortality in Accra Ghana” is the chapter 1. But If you follow the quantitative chicklist you will see that I did not complete all what the checklist wants on chapter 1. So please check on it and ad by writting about 13 pages to it.

Factors

Associated with Maternal Mortality in Greater Accra Ghana 2016;

Case-Control Study

Public Health

Prospectus: Factors associated with Maternal Mortality in greater Accra Ghana 2016;

Case-control study

Problem Statement

Maternal death is defined as “the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes’’ (Menendez, Romagosa et al., 2008 p2). Though the causes and risk factors for maternal death are known and preventable, it is a major health problem concentrated in resource-poor regions of the world (Menendez, Romagosa et al., 2008) including Ghana. The reduction of maternal deaths is a key international development goal, therefore health policy and interventions targeted at significantly reducing it should be evidence-based (Khan, Wojdyla et al., 2006).

Ghana documented Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 350 per 100,000 live births for the year 2012 (Mahama 2013), however some districts for example Osu Klottey sub metro of the Accra Metropolitan area in its report recorded 428 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births at the end of 2012. This is a 39 percent increment on the 309 per 100,000 live births recorded in 2011. According to Addo and Gudu, 2017, the Accra Metropolitan Area, an urban and a commercial metropolis in the Greater Accra region has seen collaborative implementation of health policies and programs geared towards reducing maternal mortality over the past three years. Urban populations are mostly assumed to have access to quality to health care system than their rural counterparts (Addo and Gudu, 2017). However, urban health systems in many low income countries and lower middle income countries (LIC & MIC) have weak to non-existent public health structures (Coast, et al., 2012). They also lack uniform implementation strategies and inadequate infrastructure to improve population health (Coast, et al., 2012). Even though Ghana in collaboration with its development partners has implemented interventions to reduce maternal mortality to achieve the MDG 5 targets, institutional maternal mortality was very high in Osu Klottey Sub Metro for 2016 with majority (80%) of maternal deaths being antenatal clinic attendants (Mahama 2013), Although the causes of Maternal deaths are well established, knowledge on effective management of conditions has not translated into significantly improved outcomes (Coast, et al., 2012) Observations at health institutions in the Accra Metro, show that service delivery factors such as prenatal care coverage and the presence of a skilled attendant at delivery may play significant role in the mortalities and therefore need to be investigated to inform policy decisions if the (Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) goal 5 is to be met.

The causes of maternal deaths in Ghana follow the trends of the developing country with haemorrhage, hypertensive disorders, abortion related complication and septicemia leading the direct in that order (Mensah, Bentil et al., 2011) . This paper will seek to examine whether indeed the socio demographic and service delivery factors that have been associated with maternal mortality are accurate as regards the trends in maternal mortality with various interventions having been put in place.

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to describe and determine the socio-demographic and service delivery factors associated with maternal mortality in the Accra Metropolitan Area. The maternal mortality rates are not the same in every area and therefore the need to investigate whether there are factors that are exclusive to some demography’s.

Significance

Since Ghana missed out on achieving its Millennium Development Goal 5 (MDG 5) target, there has been renewed effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on maternal death reduction, yet very little research has been done on the factors on whose intervention would yield the most impact. As Accra Metro is a high urbanized setting characterized by rural urban migration, with so much pressure on relatively few health facilities (Report 2016), policy makers need more information on the major risk factors in this setting to guide decision making and resource allocation. The information gathered would inform the Metro and Regional Health Directorate on other policy interventions to help reduce maternal death in the Metro. The positive social change implication is to improve the quality of institutional antenatal, intra-partum and post-partum service delivery in the Metropolis and add to the body of knowledge to reduce maternal death.

Background

Selected papers and works relating to factors associated with maternal mortality and how to improve outcomes in West Africa particularly Ghana are described below:

1. Menendez and Romagosa (2008) presented the causes and risk factors of maternal deaths as a major health problem in resource-poor regions of the world.

2. Addo and Gudu (2017) set out the various factors that are associated with the utilization of skilled sevice delivery among women that live in the rural part of northern Ghana.

3. Khan and Wojdyla (2006) demonstrated that reduction of maternal deaths is a key international development goal, therefore health policy and interventions targeted at significantly reducing it should be evidence-based.

4. Mahama (2013) reported that Ghana documented Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 350 per 100,000 live births for the year 2012.

5. Annual report at Accra Metropolitan area, Ghana (2016) documented 428 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. This is a 39 percent increment on the 309 per 100,000 live births recorded in 2015

6. Coast and McDaid (2012) reported that urban populations are mostly assumed to have improved access to health care than their rural counterparts, however, urban health systems in many Low Income Countries and Lower Middle Income Countries have weak to non-existent public health structures and lack uniform implementation of strategies and necessary infrastructure.

7. UNICEF and WHO (2012) cited in Blencowe (2012) indicated that the sub-Saharan African region had Maternal Mortality Ratio of 500 deaths per 100,000 live births as the highest in the world. This has made the region a dangerous place to give birth.

8. Osotimehin (2012) reported maternal death preventable interventions. These include improving access to voluntary family planning, investing in health workers with midwifery skills, and ensuring access to emergency obstetrics care when complications arise.

9. Mensah and Bentil (2011) described the causes of maternal deaths in Ghana. It followed the trends of causes in developing country, with haemorrhage, hypertensive disorders, abortion related complication and septicemia leading the direct in that order.

Conceptual/Theoretical Framework

The conceptual/theoretical framework for this study encompasses the maternal socioeconomic, reproductive/obstetrics factors; disease, infection, social relationships, social inequalities, and social capital which are some of the most important concepts of social epidemiology (Krieger, 2011). Health systems weakness, service delivery factors and cultural factors that are associated with maternal death in this setting. The theory of social capital is very broad and has found a place in public policy, public health and more specifically in epidemiology. This theory is founded on several assertions. Chief among these assertions infers that social relationships are a determinant of health (Begum, Aziz-un-Nisa and Begum, (2003). The external environment and the daily social interactions and support systems play a pivotal role in an individual’s overall health. This theory is also found on the premise that poor social capital is one of the leading causes of physical and mental distress (Krieger, 2011). To elaborate, a strong social connection has been shown to lead to improved all-cause mortality rates. Lack of social connection can have an adverse impact on health outcomes. Moreover, social isolation can lead to the expression of negative social behavior, adverse physical responses, and mental distress.

Social epidemiologists are tasked with identifying the social aspects that affect the pattern of disease distribution and its mechanisms in a populace. Social relationships, social inequalities, and social capital are some of the most important concepts of social epidemiology. Krieger takes the position that social epidemiologists exploit indicators of ‘life chances’ such as occupation, skills and income which inform on social inequality. The underlying factors linked to social equality are the most important determinants of health. The knowledge, skills, and resources possessed by individuals are factors contributing to the social stratification and consequentially the health outcomes of a given population (Krieger, 2011). Research indicates a social gradient of health whereby most of the individuals with a lower socioeconomic position have been shown to have poor health (Krieger, 2011).

Social capital occurs at different levels. These include the macro-level (social, economic and political aspects of society), mesolevel (organizations and the neighborhood) and the individual context through social interactions. Many ecological studies conducted indicate a positive association between social capital and health outcomes (Mensah, Bentil, Adjepong and Dolo, 2011). The concept of social inequality is of fundamental importance to epidemiology and health research since it is evident that social factors such as level of education and income levels impact access to health and the quality of health care services in a particular region. Epidemiologists can capitalize on this premise to establish health patterns in a given population informed by the socio-economic status of the persons residing there. Social support structures influence help-seeking behavior, adherence to medical treatment and use of health care services (Pearce, 1996).

The theoretical aspects of social capital theory and factors behind them such as social inequalities, social capital, social relationships and work stress will form an integral part of my dissertation research. This is because this theory will to define the research question, elaborate the methodological issues, understand how social factors affect health care outcomes and tailor and implement interventions that address these problems. It is imperative to understand the effect of each of these social factors to maternal health and to answer the research questions below in order to meet the research objectives.

Social Cognitive Theory will be used to emphasize on triadic interaction that can be seen when it comes to individual, behavior, and environment. Many various ways can be employed to make changes in a person’s behavior and such expectation outcome are, self-efficacy, collective efficacy, self-regulation, facilitation and behavioral capability, observational learning, incentive motivation and moral disengagement. (Glanz, Rimmer & Viswanath, 2008).

Research Questions

· Is there a significant difference in survival rates between women in Accra who do and do not have health insurance?

· Is there a significant different in survival rates between women in Accra who do and do not have a median income above 30,000?

· Is there a significant difference in survival rates between women in Accra who do and do not have a high school diploma?

· Is there a significant difference in survival rates between women in Accra who are Married and those who are single?

· Is there a significant difference in survival rates between women in Accra who do deliver at the hospital or at home?

Nature of the Study

The nature of this study will be quantitative; an unmatched case control study. This is appropriate in determining the strength and direction of association between risk factors and maternal death. It would determine the odds ratio and adjusted odds ratio. My population will be women of child birth age living in Accra metropolitan area in Ghana. This work would provide further understanding on risk factors which when tackled would yield the greatest impact on reducing maternal deaths in our setting. The studies will analyze and utilize secondary data.

Possible Types and Source of Information or Data

1. Review medical records (folders) of cases and controls for the period of one year in a hospital.

2. Contact the Greater Accra epidemiologist to get the secondary data

3. Interview with the care supporters (or next of kin) of cases.

4. Interview with controls (clients that delivered in same facilities and survived).

5. Interview with health professionals who played significant roles in the management of cases or controls.

6. Interviews would be conducted using pre-tested structured questionnaires.

References

Abe, E., & Omo-Aghoja, L. (2008). Maternal mortality at the Central Hospital, Benin City Nigeria: A ten year review. African Journal of Reproductive Health 12(3), 17-26. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19435010

Addo, B., & Gudu, W. (2017). Factors associated with utilization of skilled service delivery among women in rural Northern Ghana: a cross sectional study. BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 17(1), 159

Accra Metropolitan, District Analytical Report: Population and Housing Census Retrieved from http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/2010_District_Report/Greater%20Accra/AMA

Bates, I., Chapotera, G. K., McKew, S., & van den Broek, N. (2008). Maternal mortality in sub-Sahara Africa: The contribution of ineffective blood transfusion services. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 115(11), 1331-1339. Doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2008.01866.x.

Begum, S., Aziz-un-Nisa, & Begum, I. (2003). Analysis of maternal mortality in a tertiary care hospital to determine causes and preventable factors. Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad, 15(2), 49-52. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14552250

Blencowe, H., Cousens, S., Oestergaard, M. Z., Chou, D., Moller, A. B., Narwal, R… & Lawn, J. E. (2012). National, regional, and worldwide estimates of preterm birth rates in the year 2010 with time trends since 1990 for selected countries: a systematic analysis and implications. The Lancet, 379(9832), 2162-2172

Chukudebelu, W. O. & Ozumba, B. C. (1988). Maternal mortality in Anambra State of Nigeria. International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 27(3): 365-70. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2904899

Coast, E., McDaid, D., Leone, T., Pitchforth, E., Matthews, Z., Iemmi, V., … & Jones, E. (2012). What are the effects of different models of delivery for improving maternal and infant health outcomes for poor people in urban areas in low and lower middle income countries? London, United Kindom: EPPI Center.

Fawcus, S., Mbizvo, M., Lindmark, G., & Nystrom, L. (1996). A community-based investigation of avoidable factors for maternal mortality in Zimbabwe. Studies in Family Planning, 27(6), 319-27. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8986030

Garenne, M., Mbaye, K., Bah, M. D., & Correa, P. (1997). Risk Factors for Maternal Mortality Control Study in Dakar : A Case- Hospitals (Senegal). Afr J Reprod Health 1997;1 (1):14-24, 1(1), 14–24.

Ghebrehiwet, M., & Morrow, R. H. (n.d.). Delay in Seeking and Receiving Emergency Obstetric care in Eritrea. Journal of Eritrean Medical Association JEMA.

Glanz K, Rimer BK, Viswanath K, eds. 2008. Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice (4th ed). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Gohou, V., Ronsmans, C., Kacou, L., Yao, K., Bohoussou, K. M., Houphouet, B., Bosso, P., Diarra-Nama, A. J., Bacci, A. and Filippi, V. (2004), Responsiveness to life-threatening obstetric emergencies in two hospitals in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Tropical Medicine & International Health, 9: 406–415. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3156.2004.01204.x

Kaye, D., Mirembe, F., Aziga, F., & Namulema, B. (2003). Maternal mortality and associated near-misses among emergency intrapartum obstetric referrals in Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda. East African Medical Journal, 80(3), 144–149. https://doi.org/10.4314/eamj.v80i3.8684

Khan, K. S., Wojdyla, D., Say, L., lmezoglu, A. M., & Van Look, P. F. (2006). WHO analysis of causes of maternal death: A systematic review. Lancet, 367(9516), 1066–1074. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68397-9

Kolås, T., Hofoss, D. and Øian, P. (2006), Predictions for the decision-to-delivery interval for emergency cesarean sections in Norway. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 85: 561–566. doi:10.1080/00016340600589487

Krieger, N. (2011). Epidemiology and the people’s health: Theory and context. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

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Maternal

Health

Literacy

, Antenatal

Care

, and

Pregnancy

Outcome

s in L

ago

s, Nigeria

Abstract

Maternal mortality, an example

poor maternal

health

outcomes

, is widely accepted as

an indicator of the o

erall health of a population. One of the Millennium

Develop

ment

Goals was reduction in maternal mortality by

quarters by

. These goals were not

met in Nigeria and it is important to look at some of the reasons why. Education has been

shown to have posit

e impact on

pregnancy

outcomes; however, the characteristics of

pregnant

women, their health literacy level, their usage of

antenatal

care

services and

how these impact pregnancy outcomes are yet to be analyzed in

Lagos,

Nigeria.

Guided

by the social cognitive theory and health belief model, the purpose of this cross-sectional

quantitative study was to determine if there is a relationship between maternal health

literacy, antenatal care

visit

, develop

ment of

medical conditions during pregnancy, and

pregnancy outcomes (measured by healthy or unhealthy

baby) in Lagos, Nigeria.

The

research question for this study tested if

there was a

relationship between these variables.

Lisa Chew’s health literacy assessment tool was used in a sample of

0 women in

Shomolu local government in Nigeria who met the inclusion criteria. Using binary

logistic correlations, only

problem

developed during

pregnancy is statistically significant

with pregnancy outcomes (p < .05). The results suggested an increase in

problems

developed during pregnancy most likely will increase the chance of having negative

pregnancy

outcomes.

Results

from

this study could promote positive social change by

helping health professionals identify the characteristics of at-risk women during antenatal

education

sessions. The results could also help health professionals in the development of

targeted antenatal care interventions.

Maternal Health Literacy, Antenatal Care, and Pregnancy Outcomes in Lagos, Nigeria

Table of Contents

List of Tables

……………………………………………………………………………………………………… iv

List of Figure

s ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….v

Chapter 1: Introduction to the

Study

…………………………………………………………………………1

Background of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………..3

Problem

State

ment ……………………………………………………………………………………………5

Purpose of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………………5

Research Question(s) ………………………………………………………………………………………..

Theoretical Foundation ……………………………………………………………………………………..

Nature of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………………..

Definitions……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Assumptions …………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Scope and Delimitations ………………………………………………………………………………….

Limitations …………………………………………………………………………………………………….13

Significance of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………1

Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Chapter 2: Literature Review

…………………………………………………………………………………1

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Literature Search Strategy………………………………………………………………………………..

Theoretical Foundation ……………………………………………………………………………………

Literature Review……………………………………………………………………………………………

Summary and Conclusions ………………………………………………………………………………

Chapter 3: Research Method

………………………………………………………………………………….

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………50

Research Design and

Ratio

nale ………………………………………………………………………..

Methodology ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Sampling and Sampling Procedures ……………………………………………………………

Sample Size ……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Procedures for Recruitment, Participation, and Data Collection ……………………..

Data Analysis Plan ………………………………………………………………………………………….

Ethical Procedures ………………………………………………………………………………………….

Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Chapter 4: Results

………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………77

Data Collection ………………………………………………………………………………………………

Results ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations

……………………………………

100

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………….100

Limitations of the Study…………………………………………………………………………………

103

Recommendations …………………………………………………………………………………………

105

Implications………………………………………………………………………………………………….

106

Conclusions ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

107

References

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

108

Appendix A:

Survey

Instrument: ………………………………………………………………………….1

iii

Appendix B: Permission to Use Instrument

……………………………………………………………1

Appendix C:

Certificate

of Completion of NIH Training …………………………………………1

Appendix D: Permission Letter from Lagos State Government ……………………………….1

iv
List of Tables

Table 1

. Sample Size Calculation: t tests ……………………………………………………………… 5

Table 2

. Operationalization of Study

Variables

……………………………………………………..

Table 3

Descriptive

Variables ………………………………………………………………………………

Table 4

. Sample Size Calculation: t tests ………………………………………………………………

Table 5

. Survey Participants’

Demographic

s (N =

130

) …………………………………………… 82

Table 6

Marital Status

and Pregnancy Outcomes ……………………………………………………

Table 7

Employment Status

and Pregnancy Outcomes …………………………………………… 85

Table 8

. Level of Education and Pregnancy Outcomes …………………………………………..

Table 9

Household Income

and Pregnancy Outcomes ………………………………………….. 866

Table 10

Religion

and Pregnancy Outcomes ………………………………………………………..

Table 11

Number

of Pregnancy and Pregnancy Outcomes ………………………………….. 8787

Table 12

Number of

Children and Pregnancy Outcomes …………………………………………

Table 13

. Correlation Coefficient for Dependent and

Independent

Variables ……………..

Table

. Models for Binary Regression……………………………………………..…..

Table 15

. Omnibus Test of Model Coefficient…………………………………………….93

Table 16

. Classification Table for Pregnancy Outcome ……………………………………………

Table

. Model Summary ………………………………………………………………………………….. 94

Table 18

. Regression Coefficients for Maternal Health Literacy,

Frequency

of Antenatal

Visit

Number of Antenatal

Visit,

Timing

of the Start of Antenatal Care, and

Problems Developed During Pregnancy………………………………………………

v
List of Figure

Figure 2. Map of Lagos state and research study area ………………………………………………

1
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study

Introduction

The World Health Organization (WHO;

14c) defined maternal mortality as the

ratio of the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Complications from

pregnancy and maternal deaths are common in both developing and developed countries,

and in

90 approximately 5

,000 mothers died of childbirth when compared to

289,000 deaths in 2013 (WHO, 2014b). Although this was a marked decrease in

maternal mortality, this number is still unacceptable. The deaths primarily occurred in

low and middle-income countries and may have been avoidable through the availability

of proper antenatal care (WHO, 2004).

In sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in every

women die as a result of childbirth compared

to 1 in 3,300 deaths in Europe (WHO, 2014a). In Nigeria, 1 in 13 pregnancies results in

the death of the mother (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund

[UNICEF], n.d.). Although medical reasons such as preeclampsia, hemorrhage, and

sepsis have been the cause of these deaths it is important to find ways to reduce avoidable

maternal deaths through education and antenatal communication (Obiechina et al., 2013).

One of the seven Millennium Development Goals (MDG) set by the United Nations (UN)

was to reduce maternal mortality by 75% by the year 2015 (Say et al., 2014), but this goal

was not achieved in Nigeria (Oye-Adeniran et al., 2014). Although there have been

research studies done on maternal mortality in Nigeria (Bukar et al., 2014; Obiechina et

al., 2013), researchers have focused mainly on medical causes of maternal deaths while

few focused on other underlying causes of maternal mortality (Okereke et al., 2013;

Ozumba & Nwogu-Ikojo, 2008).

To successfully reduce maternal mortality there is a need to improve maternal

pregnancy and delivery outcomes by studying education and other socio-determinants of

health necessary for the improvement of the health of these pregnant women (UN,

2011).

In this study, I specifically focused on health literacy level, maternal characteristics, and

antenatal care usage to see how they are associated with maternal pregnancy outcomes in

order to inform healthcare professionals about how to best convey the messages about

antenatal care to mothers so that maternal complications can be avoided. Results from

this study could be used to promote positive social change by helping health

professionals identify the characteristics of at-risk women during antenatal education

sessions. The results from the study could also be used in the development of targeted

antenatal care interventions. This may potentially help to reduce maternal health

complications and improve

pregnancy outcomes.

In this chapter, I will provide a brief overview of the study by explaining the

background of the study, the problem statement focused on the gap that I intended to fill

with this study, and the purpose of the

study.

I will also explain the research question

variables of the study and the theories that were used to guide this study. Different terms

used in the study will be included in this chapter as well as an explanation of the nature of

the study, limitations, and significance.

Background of the Study

Zozulya (2010) indicated that a woman dies every 10 minutes as a result of

childbirth and pregnancy in Nigeria, and the WHO (2014b) found that Nigeria has the

second highest maternal rate in the world with over 40,000 maternal deaths every year.

More than half a million women die every year as a result of complications during

pregnancy and childbirth and it is important to find ways to improve the pregnancy

outcomes of pregnant women and new mothers in order to reduce maternal mortality

(Veneman, 2007). The causes of high maternal mortality and examples of poor pregnancy

outcomes are many and varied. Ujah (2005) attributed a high maternal mortality to lack

of resources or inability to pay for hospital cost, healthcare personnel’s inability to detect

obstetric emergencies early enough, and the inability to perform cesarean sections when

necessary. The National Population Commission (Nigeria) and ICF International (2014)

reported

% of women between the ages of 15 and 24 and

% of women between the

ages of

and 49 years were illiterate which indicates that the education level of the

population needs to be addressed. If women are illiterate, this may result in them not

being able to read or understand written health materials that are given to them by health

providers. This has the potential to negatively impact their ability to make informed

pregnancy health decisions, especially if they need to be made quickly (Zozulya, 201

0).

Lower education levels have been found to be correlated to higher maternal

mortality (Karlsen et al., 2011). Poor literacy is found to be higher in patients with low

educational

attainment and this may lead to communication difficulties that may affect

health outcomes (Adhoc Committee on Health Literacy, 1

9). However, early antenatal

care and skilled attendance during delivery, access to skilled health workers, and

improvement in basic education are some of the ways to improve maternal health and

reduce maternal mortality (Veneman, 2007). According to Veneman (2007), education

helps to build habits and behaviors that could have a positive impact on a woman’s health

because educated women may have more ability to access health

information

, to know

what their options are, and be able to better gauge the quality of the care that they are

receiving.

Antenatal visits have been found to reduce the occurrence of maternal deaths

(Taguchi et al., 2004).

rmally, when women become pregnant, they visit a medical

facility to talk to a health professional about the state of their health and the child they are

carrying. Ali and Adam (2011) noted that inadequate antenatal care and maternal

education were predictors of maternal mortality in the Sudan. There is a need to

investigate the provision and use of antenatal care services, the literacy level of the

women who use these services, and maternal characteristic of the women who use the

services in relation to maternal health outcomes. Antenatal education has been seen as a

positive approach to preparing pregnant women for the experience of childbirth (Anya,

Hydara, & Jaiteh, 2008). However, Anya et al. (2008) did not examine if there is a

relationship among the number or adequacy of

antenatal visit

s, a pregnant woman’s level

of education, the characteristics of these pregnant women, and pregnancy outcomes in

Nigeria. This study was needed to fill a gap in the literature by examining the

relationship between maternal characteristics, particularly health literacy level; antenatal

care service usage; and pregnancy outcomes for women in Lagos, Nigeria.

Problem Statement

Many women do not receive adequate antenatal care due to factors such as

poverty and lack of knowledge about options (Singh, Bloom, Haney, Olorunsaiye, &

Brodish, 2012). Researchers have looked at how education level is related to maternal

mortality in Nigeria (Mojekwu & Ibekwe, 2012) and how early antenatal visits can help

with detection and treatment of adverse pregnancy related outcomes (Adekanle &

Isawumi, 2008), but I found no study where the researchers examined this education gap,

maternal characteristics, or if how the women utilized antenatal care has any potential

impact on maternal pregnancy outcomes. Therefore, the problem that I addressed in this

study was the high rate of maternal mortality and adverse pregnancy related outcomes by

studying the predictive relationship between maternal health literacy level, the number of

antenatal visits, timing of the first antenatal care visit, development of medical conditions

during pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes (which is healthy or unhealthy baby) in

Lagos, Nigeria.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this cross-sectional quantitative study was to examine the high

rate of maternal mortality and adverse pregnancy-related outcomes by studying the

predictive relationship between maternal health literacy level; the number of antenatal

visits; timing of the first antenatal care visit; development of medical conditions during

pregnancy; and pregnancy outcomes (birth status of child, which is either healthy or

unhealthy baby) in Lagos, Nigeria. A better understanding of how maternal education

level and maternal characteristics impact pregnant women’s utilization of antenatal care

will help in framing messages about expectations during pregnancy and give a better

understanding of the needs of women that use antenatal services. This information could

be used by the health system to change the way antenatal messages are delivered to

pregnant women. To improve health literacy, health professionals could use this

information to develop powerful antenatal care interventions for women at any level of

education and ensure adequate and necessary care is received, which, ultimately, may

improve maternal pregnancy and health outcomes (Alexander & Kotelchuck, 2001;

Bhutta, Darmstadt, Hasan, & Haws, 2005; Carroli, Rooney, & Villar, 2001; Ickovics et

al., 2007).

Research Question

The following research question and hypotheses guided this

study:

Research Question: What is the predictive relationship between maternal health

literacy levels; the number of antenatal visits; timing of the first antenatal care

visit; development of medical conditions during pregnancy; and pregnancy

outcomes (birth status of child, which is either healthy or unhealthy baby) in

Lagos,

Nigeria?

H0: There is no statistically significant predictive relationship between maternal

health literacy level; the number of antenatal visits; timing of the first antenatal

care visit; development of medical conditions during pregnancy; and pregnancy

outcomes (birth status of child, which is either healthy or unhealthy baby) in
Lagos, Nigeria.
7

HA: There is a statistically significant predictive relationship between maternal

health literacy level; the number of antenatal visits; timing of the first antenatal
care visit; development of medical conditions during pregnancy; and pregnancy
outcomes (birth status of child, which is either healthy or unhealthy baby) in
Lagos, Nigeria.

The independent variables I examined in this study were maternal health literacy,

frequency of antenatal visits, number of antenatal visit, timing of the start of antenatal

care, and problems developed during pregnancy. The dependent variable was pregnancy

outcomes, measured by birth status of child, whether a

healthy or unhealthy baby.

Theoretical Foundation

In order to integrate this study within a cohesive body of knowledge, I used two

interrelated theories to explain the relationship between the independent variables

(maternal health literacy, frequency of antenatal visits, number of antenatal visit, timing

of the start of antenatal care, and problems developed during pregnancy) and the

dependent variable (pregnancy outcomes). The two theories were social cognitive theory

(SCT) and the health belief model (HBM). I will provide a brief overview of the theories

in the following subsections but will discuss the theories in more detail in Chapter 2.

Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)

SCT explains how people obtain and maintain certain behavioral patterns and

how these behaviors can be modified (Bandura, 19

). The central tenet of the model

that I focused on in this study was self-efficacy in the participants. Self-efficacy is how a

person assesses his or her ability to exercise control over certain events that affect their

lives or their capability to achieve a level of performance (Bandura, 1989). Specifically,

measuring variables that are related to what they know, what they need to know, how

they can go about adding to their current knowledge, and how they apply the knowledge.

The concept of outcome expectations, which is an expectation that adoption of a behavior

would lead to desired outcomes (Bandura, 1998), is one of the concepts from SCT that I

explored in this study. SCT was relevant to the study because of the relationship between

acquisition of learning through skills and self-efficacy and how this impacts human

behavior. I anticipated that the participants in this study would value the outcome of a

healthy pregnancy (healthy baby), so there would be an incentive to want to learn how

that could be achieved

The Health Belief Model (HBM)

The HBM is a cognitively-based model that originated from the psychological

theories of stimulus response theory and cognitive theory (Hochbaum, Rosenstock, &

Kegels, 1

2). The HBM focuses on mental processes as they pertain to why people

accept preventive health services and why people would not adhere to health regimens

(Hochbaum et al., 1952) and the theory has been used to explain many health education

practices and changes in health behaviors (Glanz, 2008). The likelihood of someone

taking preventive action, as proposed by the HBM, depends on the person’s perception of

vulnerability to the condition, the perception that consequences of the condition would be

serious, the perception that taking precautionary behavior would effectively prevent the

condition, and that the benefit of reducing the threat of the condition exceeds the cost of

taking the action (Redding et al., 2003). The constructs of the HBM are perceived

susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action,

and self-efficacy (Hochbaum et al., 1952). The HBM provided insight into factors that

the pregnant women participants perceived as threatening to the outcome of their

pregnancy and helped to explain the characteristics these women possessed that cued

them to taking action.

Nature of the Study

I used a quantitative cross-sectional study design to collect data from woman who

has been pregnant or given birth in the Shomolu local government area, Lagos, Nigeria.

Data were collected through the use of surveys since they can be used to gain reliable and

practical information concerning the wellbeing and functional health of a community or

an individual from a patient or individual point of view (Quality Metric, 2013). I

administered the survey to women over 18 years old who had been pregnant or given

birth in the Shomolu local government area in Lagos, Nigeria. To increase the response

rates, face-to-face administration of the survey was conducted, but only women who

could speak and/or read English were surveyed.

I assessed the health literacy level of participants by asking them the 16 questions

from Dr. Chew’s Literacy Screening Questions (Chew, Bradley, & Boyko, 2004) and

measured antenatal care usage by Kotelchuck’s Adequacy of Prenatal Care Utilization

(APNCU) Index (Koroukian & Rimm, 2002). Antenatal care was measured as adequate

plus, adequate, intermediate, or inadequate maternal care visits based on the

month

antenatal care began and the number of antenatal

visits.

The dependent variable was

pregnancy outcome, measured by birth status of child which included either a healthy (1)

or unhealthy (0) baby. I used logistic regression and multiple linear regression to analyze

data.

Definitions

Antenatal care: Antenatal care is also known as prenatal care, and it is the care

that a pregnant woman receives from organized health care services (Banta, 2003). These

two terms are used interchangeably but antennal care was used in this study.

Frequency of

antenatal

visit: For this study, frequency of visits referred to how

often the women attended antenatal

care.

Health literacy: The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain,

process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make

appropriate health decisions (Ratzan & Parker, 2000).

Maternal characteristics: In this study, maternal characteristics included the

following: education level, age, occupation, income, religion, and cultural beliefs

Maternal health: The overall physical health of the mother during pregnancy and

during the postnatal period (WHO, 2014). This includes the antenatal care a pregnant

woman receives and the postnatal care of the woman.

Maternal health literacy: Maternal health literacy is “the cognitive and social

skills (that) determine the motivation and ability of women to gain access to, understand,

and use information to ensure positive health outcomes for them and their children”

(Renkert & Nutbeam, 2001, p.

1). This term, as used in this study, is comparable with

the term health literacy.

Maternal mortality: The WHO 10th International Statistical Clarification of

Health Disease defines maternal mortality as

The death of a woman from pregnancy-related causes while pregnant or within

days of termination of the pregnancy, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy

and the site of pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the

pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes. (WHO,

2014c, para. 2)

Maternal mortality ratio (MMR): The number of maternal deaths in a given year

per 100,000 live births during the same year (WHO, 2014).

Maternal pregnancy complications: Health problems that occur during pregnancy

that can impact the mother’s health (CDC, 2014). Maternal pregnancy complications

include anemia, urinary tract infection, hypertension, gestational

diabetes

, mental health

issues

(CDC, 2014) and complications from malaria.

Number of antenatal visit

: For this study, number of antenatal visit referred to the

total number of antenatal visits a pregnant made during the participant’s last pregnancy.

Pregnancy outcomes: In this study, the birth status of child, which was either a

healthy or unhealthy baby.

Assumptions

One of my assumptions in this study was that the Shomolu local government area

was representative of Lagos State demographic and socio-economic characteristics due to

its central location and inclusion of upper, middle, and lower class residents (Lagos State

Government, 2011). The assumption that led to this study was that all pregnant women

would want to have positive pregnancy outcomes and would want to protect themselves

and unborn babies from harm (Anya, Hydara, & Jaiteh, 2008). The extent to which

women do this may depend on their education and

characteristics.

The survey

instruments were self-administered and the administration format was face-to-face. It was

also assumed that the responses from the participants were true and accurate and that they

were not coerced to participate in the study. Lastly, it was assumed participants would

include both educated and uneducated women.

Scope and Delimitations

The results of this study were specific to Lagos, Nigeria, which could limit the

generalizability of the results. It may be possible to generalize the interventions

regarding culturally appropriate messages developed using health literacy tools to other

parts of Nigeria and even other parts of Africa with similar socio-economic, ethnic, and

religious distributions. In addition, my analysis for this study was specific to females

who had been pregnant and/or have given birth in the past, who resided in Shomolu,

Lagos, Nigeria. Lagos State is considered one of the most affluent states in the country

(Lagos State Government, 2014) and, although there have been studies conducted in the

northern and eastern parts of Nigeria, the results from these studies cannot be generalized

to an urban population like Lagos. I did not conduct this study in a hospital but focused

on women who had been pregnant to gather information about their antenatal practices. I

was interested in the characteristics pregnant women have in common and the differences

in their antenatal usage and education. In analyzing theories to use for the study, I

considered the theory of planned behavior developed in 1980 by Ajzen and Fishbein

because it explains individuals as rational decision makers who consider options and

implications of a behavior before engaging in it (Glanz, Rimer, & Viswanath, 2008).

However, because there are many motivational factors that may determine whether a

pregnant woman performs a specific behavior (like using antenatal care services) or not

and because attitude, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms were not being

studied, the theory was not used.

Limitations

Potential limitations associated with this study included the use of self-reported

data, which can introduce recall bias (Creswell, 2007). In this study, I used a face-toface,

self-administered survey because of the ability of ensuring feedback and completion

of the questions and assisting participants who may have questions (Creswell, 2007).

Although this method may have reduced nonresponse bias, it did not provide anonymity

and participants might not have truthfully answered sensitive questions (Creswell, 2007).

To guard against this, Pannucci and Wilkins (2010) suggested the use of a validated

scale. The scale I used was already validated and I also dropped off questionnaires for

participants who were busy or did not want to complete the survey form with me

there.

These were picked up in a sealed envelope, and this could have reduced nonresponse

bias. Also, Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias (2008) suggested researchers ensure that

the

questions asked are not threatening by asking participants to rate how uneasy they felt

other people would feel about the questions or rate the degree of difficulty in answering

the questions. Although not all biases in the study could be controlled, the awareness of

the presence of bias allowed thorough scrutiny of the results (Sica, 2006).

Another limitation for this study was the lack of data from women who had died

giving birth. Although this data would have provided rich information about what they

went through, data cannot be collected from a dead person and collecting data from the

family of a dead, pregnant woman may have brought unpleasant memories and the

information provided may have only been hearsay. Furthermore, the study was limited to

women 18 years and over because women under the age of 18 are considered minors and

would have needed adult consent to participate in this type of study.

Significance of the Study

There have been studies conducted in the northern and eastern parts of Nigeria

where researchers looked at the etiology of maternal deaths and the association between

education level and maternal mortality (Idris, Gwarzo, & Shehu, 2007; Ifenne et al.,

; Ikeako, Onah, & Iloabachie 2006). In my review of the literature, I did not find

studies that were focused on the Shomolu local government area of Lagos State, which is

located in the southern part of Nigeria. Also, some studies have been conducted in rural

areas of Nigeria (Gazali et al., 2012; Kabir, Iliyasu, Abubakar, & Sani, 2005; Okereke et

al., 2013), but the results from these studies cannot be generalized to an urban population

like Lagos. None of the existing studies mentioned the characteristics of women and

adequacy of antenatal visits or how these could impact pregnancy outcomes. Therefore,

the findings from this study could bring attention to the importance of maternal literacy

and access to antenatal care as some of the ways to reduce maternal death in the south15

western part of Nigeria. When these variables are studied along with the numbers of

antenatal care visits, it could help to understand how a woman’s education level, health

literacy level, and adequacy of antenatal care, and characteristics could impact pregnancy

outcomes. Furthermore, I did not find a study that had been carried out in Nigeria on

maternal literacy level and pregnancy outcomes using a health literacy instrument. This

study could be a pioneering study using a validated tool for maternal health literacy on

the impact maternal characteristics and maternal literacy have on the way women attend

to antenatal messages and how this could impact pregnancy outcomes.

The study is significant to theory because it builds on the existing theory and

explored potentials for future theory development as it relates to women health care and

pregnancy outcomes in the developing countries. In the study, I explored the reliability

and validity of the instrument used in a different geography and culture.

This study offered a unique opportunity to advance practice and knowledge in

public health education and health delivery services. The results from this study may

help to infer the potential impact of a pregnant woman’s characteristics on birth outcomes

and influence on the MMR in this area; this could lead to suggestions for ways of

reducing maternal mortality. The positive social implications are that the results of this

study could help health practitioners develop culturally appropriate educational messages

during antenatal and postnatal sessions and also find a way to ensure pregnant women

receive adequate

antenatal care services.

Understanding the health literacy level and health care needs of pregnant women

may lead to educational and training opportunities to empower women in the study area

and Nigeria in general.

Results from this study could promote positive social change by helping health

professionals identify the characteristics of at-risk women during antenatal education

sessions and assisting with the development of targeted antenatal care interventions. This

may potentially help to reduce maternal health complications and improve pregnancy

outcomes.

Summary

Maternal mortality remains a great concern around the world despite the fact that

there are preventable measures available. Women, especially in Nigeria and in other

developing countries, are still dying as a result of pregnancy-induced complications. In

this study, I examined the association between maternal characteristics including

education level, adequacy of antenatal visits, the development of medical conditions

during pregnancy, and maternal pregnancy outcomes.

Researchers have shown that there is correlation between women’s education

level and health care decisions ((Babalola & Fatusi, 2009). In this study, I examined the

participants’ education level and how that could impact their health decisions. I also

looked at other maternal characteristics to see how these affect the way a pregnant

woman attends to antenatal care and how this could impact pregnancy outcomes. The

independent variables were maternal health literacy, frequency of antenatal visits, number

antenatal visit, timing of the start of antenatal care, and problems developed during

pregnancy. The dependent variable was pregnancy outcomes, and it was measured by the

birth status of the child, which is either a healthy or unhealthy baby.

In Chapter 1, I provided an overview of the purpose of the study, the research

question and how the question would be answered, outlined the scope and theoretical

framework for the study, the research design, assumptions, limitations, and significance

of the study. In the next chapter, I will provide a literature review, which included the

review and analysis of the existing research to find the gap that I attempted to fill with

this study. Chapter 2 will also include my thought process behind the selection of the

literature I used in the study and the databases used to search for literature relevant to the

study.
18
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Introduction

One of the major concerns of the global community is maternal mortality (Hogan

et al., 2010). Researchers have indicated that maternal age, marital status, education

level, and occupation all play significant roles in identifying women who are at high risks

for pregnancy complications that could lead to maternal deaths (Romero-Gutierrez et al.,

2007). It is unfortunate that in this age of improved technology and medical advances

that some women are still having negative pregnancy outcomes that may result in death

(Oye-Adeniran et al., 2010). Characteristics such as education level, age, occupation,

income, religion, and cultural beliefs could be factors in whether or not a woman uses

antenatal care services during her pregnancy, and it has been reported that having

antenatal care and access to antenatal information throughout pregnancy increases the

chance of having a successful pregnancy and healthy child (Anya et al., 2008). Antenatal

care provides the opportunity for pregnant women to receive information and education

about pregnancy and how to have successful pregnancy

outcome.

Researchers have

shown that educated women when compared to uneducated women have better

pregnancy outcomes (Harrison, 1985).

I conducted this study to examine the association between maternal health

literacy, antenatal care, development of medical conditions during pregnancy, and

pregnancy outcomes in Lagos State, Nigeria. While researchers in the northern and

eastern parts of Nigeria have shown a positive relationship between maternal education

and better pregnancy outcome (Idris et al., 2007; Ifenne et al., 1997; Ikeako et al., 2006),

this relationship remains to be examined in the southwestern part of the country. Also,

health literacy is critical in health communication, and the health literacy level may limit

a patient’s understanding of their medical conditions, thereby creating a barrier in

discussing their health risks and treatment options (Davis et al., 2008).

In 2000, 149 UN members adopted eight MDGs as international agenda for the

21st century to ensure a just, peaceful, prosperous world (UN, 2015)). The leaders

committed to reduce extreme poverty and to strive to achieve these goals by year 2015

(UN, 2015). The MDGs were adopted to:

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education;

promote gender equality and women empowerment; reduce child mortality;

improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensure

environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development.

(UN, 2015, para. 4)

As a result of the importance attached to maternal mortality, the goal of MDG 5 was to

reduce the MMR by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015 (UN, 2015) and

improvements were made worldwide. In 2013, there were 289,000 maternal deaths

globally and this estimate showed a 45% decline from the figures obtained in 1990

(UNICEF, 2013). The WHO indicated that maternal mortality rate globally was 210

maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2013 compared to 380 maternal deaths per

100,000 live births in 1990 (UNICEF, 2013). While this reduction shows progress and a

movement towards the achievement of the MDG 5, these numbers should be concerning

especially since two continents, Africa and Asia, make up 86% of global deaths with

and 24% respectively (UNICEF, 2013).

According to the 10th revision of the International Statistical classification of

Health Diseases, maternal death is defined as:

The death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of

pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause

related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from

accidental or incidental causes (UNICEF, 2013, p. 3).

Causes of maternal deaths have been classified as direct and indirect. The direct

causes of maternal deaths are deaths that occur as a result of complications due to

pregnancy or management of the pregnancy (Hogan et al., 2010). In essence, the death

would not have occurred if the woman had not been pregnant. Indirect causes of

maternal mortality are a result of preexisting conditions aggravated by the pregnancy

state (Hogan et al., 2010). Many reasons have been advanced for maternal deaths, so the

knowledge of the final cause or causes of maternal death is important to study to ensure

provision of resources to help improve the incidence of maternal mortality.

In this study, I explored the influence of maternal characteristics, antenatal care

utilization, and maternal health literacy on pregnancy outcomes in Shomolu local

government area of Lagos state, Nigeria. This topic is important because a woman’s

characteristics and health literacy level may mean the difference between understanding

and attending to antenatal messages that could impact pregnancy outcomes and can also

make a difference in the

reproductive

behavior and health of the woman (Schnell-Anzola,

Rowe, & LeVine, 2005).

The chapter will begin with an overview of the literature search followed by a

discussion of the theoretical constructs for this study, SCT and the HBM. I will also

provide a historical and geographical overview of Nigeria as a nation and the

demography of the people of Lagos state before moving on to discuss maternal mortality

in Africa and in Nigeria. Also, in this chapter I will examine the historic overview of

health services and health provision in Nigeria, the role of women in the society,

women’s education, and antenatal education. In the rest of the chapter, I will focus on the

discussion of the variables addressed.

Literature Search Strategy

Google Scholar, PubMed, ProQuest, Science Direct through Walden University

and Ebscohost were the primary library databases I used to search for materials for this

literature review. Various search terms like maternal health and Africa, maternal

mortality and Africa, antenatal care, pregnancy and disabilities, maternal deaths in

Nigeria, and pregnant women and education level in Nigeria were used, but the ones that

yielded the most results were maternal health combined with Africa and women’s health

combined with maternal mortality and antenatal care. Although my search was limited

to articles published in English, the date of publication was not necessarily limited to the

last 10 years. This was because of the dearth in current literature on the topic and the

need to look at what research was conducted historically on maternal mortality in

Nigeria.

When sorted by topic, I retrieved 2,307 articles, and when filtered to the last 10

years, the search yielded 2,023 articles and sources. Only academic and peer-reviewed

articles were reviewed for this study, and when sorted with those criteria, 574 articles

were retrieved. A search through dissertations and theses was also conducted and three

dissertations were retrieved from the Walden Library database of thesis and dissertations.

A similar search from all dissertation and theses databases produced 78 results. The

search terms I used were maternal health and Africa, maternal mortality and Africa,

antenatal care, and education. Since only 78 dissertations were retrieved with those

terms, the references of the dissertations were searched for additional articles. The final

articles selected for review were included if they addressed maternal mortality; maternal

health; antenatal care; postnatal care; and women’s health in developing countries, in

Africa and especially in Nigeria.

My search on maternal morbidity in Nigeria yielded 3,2

results, but when it

was filtered by journal as the content type

111

articles were found. Also, Medline was

searched for articles published anytime with a combination of the search terms of

maternal health literacy, maternal education level, and maternal mortality level

worldwide. There were

,005 materials retrieved for global maternal mortality. When I

conducted the same search limited to Africa, 1,

1 articles were retrieved. A search for

maternal mortality in Nigeria yielded 6

articles. For maternal health search, only 303

articles were retrieved, most of which were not applicable to the study. A combined

search of maternal mortality and maternal health literacy on Medline produced six

articles for Nigeria with only two articles applicable for the study; a similar search for

Africa produced five results with only one article on literacy. When maternal health

literacy was used as search term for Nigeria only 11 articles were retrieved and only three

articles were applicable for the study.

I needed background information on Nigeria to explain the history, culture,

location, and social economic factors in the country that affect maternal health. In order

to find this background information, I used the specific search terms of Africa, Nigeria,

Lagos, Lagos state, Shomolu, Lagos Island, Ministry of Health in Nigeria, Health system

in Lagos state, the most populous city in Africa and location of Lagos state. The Google

search engine was used for information on Lagos and Nigeria because I found more

information with credible sources this way. However, there was limited information on

the history and demography of the Shomolu local government, so the information I

retrieved from the Lagos State government website was used. Information from the

Lagos State ministry of health was also used. Shomolu local government maintains a

website, but at the time of the study, there was no information relevant to this topic found

there.

To search for a health literacy tool, I reviewed many websites, but the most

productive search was through Health and Psychosocial Instruments database accessed

through the Walden University Library. My search for health literacy assessments

yielded

results of articles where some sorts of health literacy assessment tools were

used. However, when a limiter of adult health literacy was used, only 14 results were

retrieved. There were no results for maternal health literacy. Of the14 results retrieved,

11 were in English and of the 11 results that were in English, five of them used a short or

abbreviated version of the health literacy tool.

Theoretical Foundation

In the development of a research study, theory provides a fundamental ground to

start from and which to determine the methods and direction for the research study

(McEachan, Lawton, Jackson, Conner, and Lunt (2008). According to McEachan,

Lawton, Jackson, Conner, and Lunt (2008), theory can guide how behavior may be

changed and allows a researcher to evaluate the reason(s) for the occurrence of the

change and whether the changes in behavior are due to changes in one theory or another.

The choice of a theory used in public health research shapes the way a study is

constructed. I used SCT and the HBM for the theoretical framework of this study.

Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)

SCT has been used to explain behavior as how interaction between behavior,

interpersonal factors, and a person’s environment all interact and determine each other

(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1989). Determinants of a behavior in

SCT are not only the intrinsic factors, which makes a person a product of the

environment, rather SCT posits humans have influence on what they do, what their

individual characters are, and how they respond to their environment, thereby defining

their environment (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1989). Because

these factors work together, change in one is expected to affect the others. SCT explains

how personal, behavioral, and environmental factors influence each other how these

behaviors can be modified (National Cancer Institute, 2005).

Bandura (1998) posited that self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and goals will

change a health behavior. This is because behavioral change and the maintenance of the

new behavior is as a result of the expectations of the outcome that could result from the

new behavior and the expectations of an individual’s capability to perform the new

behavior (Strecher, DeVellis, Becker, & Rosenstock, 1986). This theory can be used as a

conceptual framework that helps in understanding factors influencing human beings and

how learning occurs (Glanz et al., 2008). Human functioning is a mutual interaction

between environmental factors, behavior, and personal factors like outcome expectancies

and self-efficacy (Ford et al., 2002).

Since the interplay of personal, environmental, and behavioral factors are

explained by SCT in program intervention, I used the theory to analyze how the

environmental factors such as home, work place, and community; behavioral factors such

as following doctors’ instruction, asking for clarification of instruction, and antenatal care

visits; and personal factors such as hygiene, health of the mother, literacy level, and

ability to comprehend written and oral instructions all work to affect a pregnant woman’s

behavior. Availability of health care facilities, access to care, transportation availability,

and education of young girls are environmental factors that I explored using SCT in this

study. When a community places emphasis on the education of their girls and efforts are

made to ensure that pregnant women understand the antenatal messages and early

warnings of pregnancy complications, there is possibility of reduction in maternal deaths

due to awareness and literacy level (Jain & Bisen, 2012). Social support during

pregnancy may reduce anxiety and encourage the use of medical facilities, which could

lead better pregnancy outcomes (Elsenbruch et al., 2007).

Since SCT focuses on acquisition and maintenance of certain behavioral patterns,

I used components of the theory such as self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and enactive

learning, in this study. The focus on acquisition of learning through self-efficacy and

skills was expected to lead to change in pregnant women’s behavior because knowing

that they have the power to protect their pregnancy by following some guidelines would

be empowerment for the pregnant women. Observational learning is one of the concepts

of SCT (Glanz et al., 2008) and by watching the actions and behaviors of other pregnant

women, pregnant women may be more likely to adopt their behavior, which is the

expectation of the intervention. According to Bandura (1998), to change a behavior, a

person will have to believe that such a change will lead to certain outcome.

One of the tenets of the SCT is that human behaviors are determined by incentives

and expectations (Bandura, 1998). These expectancies are self-efficacy expectations.

There are environmental cues and outcome expectancies, which is belief about how an

individual’s behavior will influence outcomes. In order to improve pregnancy outcomes

and support the pregnant women’s own health and well-being antenatal/antenatal care

programs should be available to all pregnant women. Ford et al. (2002) concluded that

women who are unmarried, from a low social economic background, under the age of 20

and who have less than a high

school

education are often at risk for obtaining inadequate

antenatal care. This study looked at the education level and social economic status of the

women attending antenatal care to evaluate the impact of education on the usage of

antenatal care services.

Health Belief Model (HBM)

HBM was used to understand how individuals relate to health-related matters.

The model was originally developed by Rosenstock and Kegels in the 1950s to explain

poor usage of preventive care services (Edberg, 2007). The HBM seeks to explain that

for an individual to take actions that would prevent an adverse health condition, the

individual must perceive they are susceptible and they must perceive the condition as

serious (Edberg, 2007). Thus, for a pregnant woman to utilize the available antenatal

care services, they must perceive their condition, pregnancy, as serious and that they are

susceptible to pregnancy complications.

The HBM theory is based on the assumptions that if a person feels that taking an

action could help to improve a negative health condition, the person would likely take

action; a person has a positive expectation that taking the recommended action would be

effective at preventing negative health conditions and the person believes she can take the

actions (Glanz et al., 2008). There are six constructs in the model: a) self-efficacy–a

person’s confidence in his or her ability to take action in respect to that behavior, b)

perceived barriers to taking the suggested action, c) perceived severity in one’s opinion

about the seriousness of the health matter and what the consequences are, d) perceived

susceptibility is the chances of getting the condition, e) perceived benefits of taking an

action, and f) cues to action and self-efficacy in respect to that action (Glanz et al., 2008).

Austin, Ahmad, McNally, and Stewart (2002) examined factors influencing breast

and cervical cancer screening behavior in Hispanic women in Toronto and found

embarrassment, fear of cancer, cultural beliefs, and limited ability to speak English as

major perceived barriers to cancer screening. Although many women understand the

usefulness of mammography in successfully detecting breast cancer early they do not see

themselves as vulnerable if they have no family history of the disease or do not have the

symptoms, thus they consider screening for breast and cervical cancer as unnecessary

(Austin et al., 2002). This is an important area to focus on because many women may not

go for antenatal care if they are physically healthy or unaware of the importance of

antenatal care (Gazali, 2012). The HBM was used in this study to assess perceived

susceptibility of pregnancy complications by the pregnant women as a result of not

knowing what to look for during pregnancy. Also, perceived severity of the complication

awareness would be measured by asking questions relating to pregnant women’s

knowledge of what could happen during pregnancy and how to find answers. Perceived

barriers to attending antenatal clinics would also be included to gain understanding of

how these beliefs and barriers affect maternal health.

Literature Review

The review of literature gathered information on the maternal health in Africa,

characteristics of Nigerian women, causes of maternal

health problems

in Nigeria, health

literacy, and how early antenatal care can be beneficial to both the mother and the unborn

child.

Maternal Mortality in Africa

One of the MDGs adopted by the international community in 2000 is improving

maternal health (WHO, 2014). Although a number of countries have reduced their

maternal death level since 1990 the decrease is still far from the intended numbers needed

to meet the MDG5 (WHO, 2014). The MDG5 was not met as a result of the high number

of maternal mortality, in developing world as 99% of maternal deaths occur in

developing countries but over half these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa (WHO,

2014). The trend in maternal mortality in Africa is concerning. The lifetime risk of

maternal deaths ranges in 1 in 4,000 in developed countries, but the risk is 1 in 38 women

in sub-Saharan Africa (UNICEF, 2013).

Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounted for 62% of global deaths in 2013. Africa

has a 100% to 200% increase in rates in maternal death with a ratio of 1:15 women dying

from pregnancy (Abdoulaye, 2005; UNICEF, 2013). Some of the reasons that have been

suggested for the high rate in maternal deaths in Africa include hemorrhage (30%), sepsis

(18%), eclampsia (13%), and complications from abortion (10%; Abdoulaye, 2005). This

is different from the developed countries where hypertensive disorders such as eclampsia

are the primary causes of maternal mortality and hemorrhage accounts for only 13% and

(Alvarez, Gil, Hernandez, & Gil, 2009). Indirect causes, which are preexisting disease

not caused by pregnancy but are made worse by pregnancy, represent 20% of the total

deaths (Alvarez et al., 2009). Alvarez et al. (2009) found that in countries where women

had higher education, the MMR were lower and in these countries, there was overall

increase in the general health of the population. This could be because education shapes

the way a person thinks or acts. Smith-Greenaway (2013) also found a relationship

between a mother’s former education and lower risk of child mortality.

Maternal Mortality in Nigeria

Several reasons have been put forward for the high rate of maternal mortality in

Nigeria. Many of these reasons deal with medical causes of maternal mortality and

morbidity. Obeichina et al. (2013) showed that hemorrhage, sepsis, pre-eclampsia, and

ruptured uterus were the major direct causes of maternal mortality in this area and Bukar

et al. (2014) showed that most maternal in deaths in Yola, northern part of Nigeria, were

caused by preeclampsia/eclampsia, obstetric hemorrhage, and severe anemia. It is not

unusual for pregnant women to be anemic during pregnancy, but severe anemia has been

found to contribute significantly to maternal morbidity and mortality (Broek, 2003). The

World Bank data revealed that

% of pregnant women in Nigeria suffer from anemia.

Although this medical cause will not be included in this study, it is important to be aware

of this, learn how health care workers address this during antenatal visits, and identify

implications for those who do not utilize antenatal services.

Pregnancy Complications/Disability

According to the WHO (2005), maternal deaths can result from pregnancy related

complication which can occur during pregnancy, child birth or postpartum period. While

11% to 17% of the deaths occur during childbirth, approximately 50% to 70% of the

deaths occur in postpartum period (WHO, 2015, p. 5) and this makes it important to

know what the pregnant women are taught and how the messages are developed during

antenatal period to handle complications that could occur during pregnancy. Ashford

(2002) noted that the leading causes of death and disability of women in the productive

age, between 15-

years, in developing countries is maternal complications. This is

because the disabilities that affect these women in the prime of their lives are preventable

and can occur during or after birth and can last as long as life time (Koblinsky, 2012).

These complications could be described as direct and indirect causes. Direct

causes are mainly as a result of complications resulting from error of omission,

intervention or incorrect treatment which could results from the following four major

direct causes: hemorrhage, infection, eclampsia and obstructed labor (WHO, 2005). In

Nigeria, one of the leading maternal complications is hypertensive disorder which may be

preexisting or induced by pregnancy and this could have severe consequences on the

mother and child (Singh et al., 2014). It has been reported that 5% to 10% of pregnancies

in Nigeria are complicated by hypertensive disorder and is a major cause for

hospitalization during the antenatal period (Singh et al., 2014). Early antenatal

intervention will help to reduce incidence of progression of preeclampsia to eclampsia

and better care for women who may be at risk of developing further diseases. Indirect

causes of pregnancy complication that may lead to disability include malaria, hepatitis,

diabetes, cardiac disease, malaria and sexually transmitted diseases and anemia; they

pose health risk to the mother and unborn child (Ashford, 2002).

Nigeria

With a population of

134

million, Nigeria is 2.04% of the world population

(National Population Commission [NPC] and ORC Macro, 2013). Nigeria is the most

populated country in Africa and one of the 10 countries with the highest population

(NPC) [Nigeria] and ORC Macro, 2013). Nigeria lies between latitudes 4º16′ and 13º53′

north and longitudes 2º40′ and 14º

‘ on the eastern side. Nigeria is bordered by

Cameroon in the east, Niger in the north, Benin in the west and by Badagry in the South

and approximately 850 kilometers of the Atlantic Ocean (Nigerian Demographic and

Health Survey, 2008). The fourteenth largest country in Africa, Nigeria has a total land

area

8 square kilometers (Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey, 2008). In

, Nigeria received independence from Britain (Adetunji, 1992). Nigeria has an

estimated 374 ethnic groups with different dialects but these groups can be grouped into

three major groups, Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa. Currently, there are 36 states in Nigeria

and a Federal Capital Territory (FCT; Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey, 2008).

Population Distribution

The population of Nigeria is not evenly distributed across the country. While the

country is divided into north, south, east and west mainly because of language and

culture, some areas are densely populated while others are sparsely populated. According

to the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS; 2008), the Nigerian average

population density in 2006 was estimated at 150 people per square kilometer and states

like Lagos (South), Abia, Akwa Ibom, Imo, and Anambra (all in the Eastern part of

Nigeria) were considered most densely populated states (NDHS, 2008). The colonial era

and pre-establishment of medical services pointed to the fact that

getting antenatal care

essential during pregnancy, labor, and post-delivery. As far back as 1930 the usage of

health provider either by faith organizations or traditional healers have been associated

with positive maternal outcomes but there are social and economic reasons that made

access to these services not accessible to all (Adetunji, 1992).

Lagos State, Nigeria

Nigeria is divided into three regions: the northern region, the eastern region and

the southern region. The study will be carried out in the southern part of Nigeria,

specifically in Lagos state. Lagos state has been chosen because it is the most industrial

state in the southwestern part of Nigeria and it has more mixed population than any part

of Nigeria (Lagos State Government, 2011). Many residents of Lagos state are from the

north, east, west, and southern part of Nigeria and foreigners also mainly reside in Lagos

State.

Figure

Map showing some of the local government area boundaries of Lagos State.

Reprinted with permission from Lagos State government.

Lagos state is the smallest state in Nigeria but the most populous in the nation

(Lagos State Government, 2011). According to the UN (2012), it is one of the one of the

world’s five largest cities by 2005. Metropolitan Lagos is home to over 85% of the State

population (Lagos State Government, 2011). Lagos State is different and unique in

characteristics when compared to the rest of the nation. Unlike other parts of Nigeria,

90% of the Lagos State population has access to electricity and the city consumes 45% of

the energy of the country (UN, 2012). The city is naturally surrounded by water but in

spite of this there is acute and worsening water supply and inadequate sewerage disposal

with much the city’s human waste disposed of by the drainage of rainwater through open

Study

Area

ditches that releases onto the tidal flats (UN, 2012). There are 17,552,942 people in

Lagos with 9,

115

,041 males and 8,

7,901 females all in the 20 local government

councils of the state (Lagos State Government, 2011). As at 2006, the population of

Shomolu Local government area was one million, with a population projection of 1.3

million in 2012 (Lagos State Government, 2011).

This study was located in the Shomolu local government in Lagos state. Located

in the south-western part of Nigeria, Lagos use to be the capital of Nigeria before the

capital was moved to Abuja in 1992 (Lagos State Government, 2014). Lagos State is

considered the economic nerve center of Nigeria due to the large concentration of

industries, major seaports, financial institutions and tourist sites (Lagos State

Government, 2014). Geographically, Lagos is the smallest out of the 36 states in Nigeria,

with an area mass of 3,577.28 km2, which is further reduced by creeks, rivers, lagoons,

and swamps, but it is the most populated with a population of over 21 million (Lagos

State Government, 2011). As would be expected in most urban areas, Lagos State is

highly congested and over crowded with poor roads, limited amenities, and access to

health care (Aluko, 2010). Although the current government is working hard to provide

amenities there are limited resources to go around and it is also interesting to note that

Lagos State also has areas that could be referred to as elite area with low-density

population and occupied by elites, foreign businesses, and high-income group

(Expatarrival, 2015).

There are 20 local government councils and 37 local council development areas.

The study will focus on Shomolu local government council, an area that could be

described as low-to-middle income residential area which has one of the highest levels of

literacy in those who are age 15 to 49 years (Lagos State Government, 2011). In a recent

study by the Lagos state government in 2011, 87% of the participants were found to be

literate in English and 75% are also literate in other languages (Lagos State Government,

2011).

Maternal Health in Nigeria

Maternal health is the overall health of a woman during pregnancy, during

childbirth, and during the postpartum period (WHO, 2014). When a woman is pregnant,

there should be specialized care for the safety of the mother and the child. Even in the

historical society of Africa, before education or civilization, traditional healers were

responsible for ensuring safe delivery of pregnant women and providing obstetric care

and divination (Adetunji, 1992). At the time of birth, the female members of the

household would assist the pregnant woman with the birth and if there were

complications the traditional healers would be call upon to assist (Adetunji, 1992). With

the advent of Christianity there was a shift to mission houses for healthcare because

Christian converts did not want to be seen with herbalists or traditional healers in order

not to compromise their faith (Harrison, 2009). This is an important development

because church organizations became pioneers of modern health care services in Africa

in the colonial era (Adetunji, 1992).

The Church Missionary Society of Nigeria partnered with the colonial

government to raise midwifery standard to the British standard by meeting the healthcare

needs of the people and improving their ways of live (Harrison, 2009). Although there

was no record of mortality or fatality, it could be assumed that there must have been a

high percentage of maternal mortality in the pre-colonial era and this was why the church

introduced the concept of maternal care. The aim of obstetrics care was to reduce

maternal mortality and this was done by providing antenatal care, identifying danger

signs that could lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes, and facilitating early intervention of

such maternal complications (Adetunji, 1992).

The influence of churches in this era provided a way of looking at the future of

obstetric care. The introduction of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) pregnancy care in

1930 led to the creation of school of midwifery and midwives were trained in England by

the Church Missionary Society of Nigeria (Adetunji, 1992). By 1949 there were

maternity homes to handle 6500 deliveries in a year and the ratio of maternal mortality

was

per 100,000 births (Harrison, 2009). Within CAC, it was mandatory for women

to register their pregnancy early and attend weekly meetings. The mandatory weekly

meeting was used for teaching the pregnant women, praying for them, and praying for

their unborn babies (Adetunji, 1992). Topics covered in these meetings included sexual

education such as safe sex during pregnancy and when to stop, pregnant women’s state of

mind and when to be concerned, and work habits including posture, physical exercise,

weight lifting, health, and hygiene (Adetunji, 1992). Large-scale community health

education was combined with the establishment of maternity homes operated by trained

midwives with thorough supervision and established measures to ensure efficiency and

boost staff morale (Harrison, 2009).

Antenatal Care

Antenatal visits have been found to lower the chance of maternal deaths (Taguchi

et al., 2004). Antenatal or antenatal care visits are the visits women make to the health

care practitioners during pregnancy and these visits are important because pregnant

women have the opportunity to learn more about pregnancy, what to

expect during

labor,

and how to take care of their

newborn

(Jennings, Yebadokpo, Affo, & Agbogbe, 2010).

Antenatal visits also provide an opportunity for screening, routine examination,

treatment, counseling, and access to information to help pregnant women have a

successful pregnancy and prepare them for what to expect in the next

months

(Jennings et

al., 2010). Access to this information and services during pregnancy is effective for

improving maternal health. The need for antenatal care is further justified by the number

of deaths that occur among women who are not registered for delivery (Ekott, Ovwigho,

& Ehiegiegba, 2012). Antenatal care visits present an avenue for the women to be

screened for disease treatment and prevention. Also, attending antenatal care program

provides the opportunity for pregnant women to be aware of pregnancy complication and

to seek help early when needed (Ekott et al., 2012).

The timing of when a pregnant woman goes in for the first antenatal visit is

important to diagnose any abnormalities and to ensure appropriate and early intervention

and treatment (WHO, 2002). According to the WHO (2002), the first antenatal visit

should occur before or during the twelfth week in order to get accurate medical and

obstetric history that would allow for adequate follow up and identification of supports

needed for successful pregnancy. With 920 deaths per 100,000 live births, sub Saharan

African is noted as the region with the highest level of maternal mortality (Alvarez et al.

2009; McTavish et al. 2010). This statistic is not too different from UNICEF’s claim that

Nigeria loses about 145 women of childbearing age to pregnancies every day (UNICEF,

n.d., para 2). Many reasons have been suggested for this high number of maternal deaths

and they include direct causes like hypertension, bleeding/hemorrhage, obstructive labor

and hypertensive disorder (Alvarez et al. 2009). According to Harrison (1997),

fundamental issues of poverty, illiteracy, unbooked emergencies (pregnant women who

did not register for antenatal services but who were rushed to the hospital as a result of

pregnancy complications), and governmental economic policies were the major causes of

maternal mortality 15 years ago. Much has changed in 18 years but the statistics on

maternal mortality in Nigeria are becoming worse and baffling to researchers (Mojekwu

& Ibekwe, 2012).

Role of Religion and Religious Beliefs on Pregnancy Health

Religion and religious beliefs have been shown to impact how health services are

used and perceptions of the efficacy of modern services (Gazali et al., 2012). Gazali et

al. (2012) found that women tend to remain in the house and rely on their Muslim

religious leaders’ ritualistic reading of the Quran to protect the pregnant woman and the

unborn child instead of going to health facility. This author revealed religious and

traditional beliefs still influence maternal mortality in Nigeria and it is important to

address this to evaluate if religious practices of a woman still impact their utilization of

antenatal clinics and their attendance to the message received. The importance of formal

education in these instances cannot be over emphasized because education creates

awareness that will create knowledge. The ability to read and understand antenatal

message may have a protective effect on acceptance or rejection of traditional practices

that could affect maternal mortality.

Researchers found that uneducated women may not be able to obtain the help of

professional health services because of lack of awareness of availability of such services

or as a result of fear or alienation they feel with modern health care facility while women

who are educated have better understanding of health system process and are less

disposed to accept traditional practices (Gazali et al., 2012). Since religious beliefs and

taboos can impact a woman’s choice of health and treatment during pregnancy (Gazali et

al., 2012), they can also affect early detection of warning signs of pregnancy

complications and response to such signs or warnings since antenatal visits help to detect

and treat adverse pregnancy related outcomes (Adekanle & Isawumi, 2008).

Religious and traditional beliefs are factors affecting maternal mortality in Sub-

Saharan Africa and it is important to address these to maintain maternal health. Chiwuzie

and Okolocha (2001) noted that bleeding during pregnancy was considered normal and

many taboos associate with pregnancy include not eating eggs, snails, or sweet foods like

milk to prevent pregnancy complications. Religion and religious beliefs have been

shown to influence the use of health services and perceptions of the efficacy of modern

services (Gazali et al., 2012). These authors illustrated how reliance on traditional taboos

and religion can impact a pregnant woman’s decision to seek medical help during

pregnancy and the type of treatment they receive.

Social Economical Status and Antenatal Services Utilization

Eighteen percent of females in urban areas and 7% in rural areas have completed

secondary school level education compared to 22% of males in urban areas and 11% in

rural areas that completed secondary school education (NPC & ICF Macro, 2009). This

can lead to gaps in socioeconomic status as more education is correlated to more income.

As a result of poverty, many women may not be able to afford antenatal care during

pregnancy or medical care for their baby after the child is born. Babalola and Fatusi

(2009) found there is low use of medical facilities by women with low literacy level in

Nigeria. This association between poverty and literacy was also supported by McTavish,

Moore, Harper, and Lynch (2010) who reported that in countries with lower literacy

levels, women in poor households were less likely to use maternal care.

Ogunlesi (2004) found that women from higher social economic backgrounds are

more likely to value and use antenatal care and delivery services during pregnancies.

These women would most likely be able to take prompt and cost effective health

decisions when compared to women from lower social economic background.

Furthermore, when women are employed they tend to have higher economic status,

which leads to better usage of antenatal services (Kabir et al., 2005).

Pregnant women are expected to visit medical facilities to have medical personnel

check the growth of the growing baby and their overall health. Unfortunately, some

women do not do this and it is evidenced in the findings that most deaths happen within

24 hours of admission as a result of delay in going to health facility (Bukar et al., 2014).

A recent report on the progress of MDG 5 concluded that “proven health-care

intervention can prevent or manage these complications, including antenatal care in

pregnancy, skilled care during childbirth and care and support in the

weeks

after

childbirth” (UN, 2015, p. 39).

Nigeria, unlike developed countries, does not track statistics relating to maternal

mortality and most of the data available are based on hospital research conducted by

other researchers (Adegoke, Lawoyin, Ogundeji, & Thomson, 2007). Because most

births are not recorded or take place in a

medical center

there are no accurate statistics on

number of pregnancy and childbirth related deaths (Adegoke et al., 2007).

Maternal

Age

and Pregnancy Outcomes

According to the World Bank Report (2014), women constitute 49% of the

Nigerian population and 23% of these women were teenage mothers between 15-19 years

of age. It is important to consider the maternal age of women and how this could impact

maternal mortality because of the implication for maternal maturity and biological

readiness. Age and parity are considered major biological determinants of rate of

maternal mortality in some parts of the world.

In Sweden, the optimum child bearing age is considered between 20 and 29 years

and risk of maternal death for women younger than 20 years and older than 29 years are

two to six times higher (Högberg & Wall, 1986). Researchers in Pakistan found women

under 19 or over 39 years of age are at a greater risk of maternal death (Midhet, Becker,

& Berendes, 1998). Having a child early in life, during the teenage years, could limit a

young girl’s opportunity for better education or ability to get a good job, but delaying

motherhood to later years could lead to pregnancy complications as well (World Bank,

2014). Jacobson, La

ors, and Milson (2004) found that the risks of miscarriage,

gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia increased in women between 40 to 45 years. Age

would then be an important variable to consider as having an impact on education,

standard of living, pregnancy complications, and pregnancy outcomes.

Status of Women, Literacy, and Pregnancy Outcomes

Status of women in Nigeria. In the traditional Nigerian society, women were

important in the economic sphere because of the roles they play in virtually all areas of

farming activities such as land clearing for farming, produce processing and marketing

(Anugwom, 2009). Women are often the ones who keep the household while holding

down a job or trade, and they sometimes may not have the time to take care of themselves

or may not consider it a priority. However, with education, a pregnant woman would be

sensitized to the importance of caring for herself during pregnancy so she could have the

time and energy to care for her family. Thus, educating women could be viewed as an

investment not just for the family but also for the nation (Anugwom, 2009).

Generally, a healthy pregnancy outcome is a result of the care a mother receives

during and immediately after antenatal visits. Most significant is the care received during

the antenatal period because during the antenatal care visit, a new or seasoned mother

would get information about pregnancy care and how to care for themselves and their

children. Babalola and Fatusi (2009) found that most Nigerian women have a lower usage

of maternal health facilities and a lower usage of skilled assistance during delivery than

those from other African countries. Low usage of maternal facilities during pregnancy

could be connected to the education level of these women. These authors found a

statistically significant positive association between education and use of maternal

services (Babalola & Fatusi, 2009). Education leads to information seeking behavior

which could lead to higher level of health awareness and better knowledge of available

health services and resources (Babalola & Fatusi, 2009). A low educational level leads to

a low literacy level which is associated with less optimal health outcomes and

information seeking behavior (Shieh, Mays, McDaniel, & Yu, 2009).

Literacy. When women are educated and literate they are more likely to use

antenatal care services during pregnancy, visit health facilities more often during

pregnancy, and most likely deliver at a health facility (Iyaniwura & Yusuf, 2009). As a

result of antenatal care and health facility usage there would be access to information that

these women could use and this could help in reducing maternal mortality and also

improve health in general. Women’s educational level attainment has been linked to their

comprehension of health message and understanding of medical instruction (LeVine,

LeVine, Rowe, & Schnell-Anzola, 2004) and also to birth and death rates (LeVine et al.,

2004). Ferguson (2008) reported that individuals without a high school education are

more likely to have lower literacy than those with a high school education. Deficiency in

literacy affects health seeking behavior and information seeking abilities (Shieh et al.,

2009). This is because there are many information sources currently and the ability to

seek and use information is dependent on a woman’s education level. In examining the

relationship between comprehension of health information and literacy skills among

young mothers in Zambia, Stuebing (1997) found that school-acquired literacy skills, and

especially oral “decontextualized” language skill, are indeed a missing link in the

relationship between maternal schooling adult comprehensions of health information.

Although conducted in 1997, the results are still relevant today because of the findings of

the relationship between maternal schooling and ability to comprehend and act upon new

information

outside the home

Okereke et al. (2013) found a significant association between education,

knowledge of maternal danger signs, and knowledge of antenatal visits. They confirmed

the importance of education to understanding maternal danger signs because there was

significance in having some form of education and being aware of safe motherhood

practices. However, this study was carried out in rural settings and findings may not be

generalized to urban setting like Shomolu. Also, antenatal visits in this study did not

include the kind of messages women receive and how these messages help to shape the

women’s antenatal behaviors.

It is generally said in Africa that “if you educate a man you educate an individual,

but if you educate a woman you educate a family (nation)” (Suen, 2013, p. 66). This is

also true of maternal education. When mothers are able to read, they are able to

comprehend written health information and even auditory health messages used in

developing countries (Levine et al., 2004). Understanding of these messages is important

to adopting healthy behavior that has been found to lead to children survival which may

also translate into maternal survival (Levine et al., 2004). Although Levine et al. (2004)

showed an association between a mother’s literacy skills and the survival of the child,

there is a need to confirm in Nigeria if there is such an association between a mother’s

education level, maternal health literacy, and pregnancy outcomes. This study provided

investigation of these associations.

Understanding basic information about one’s health may include written

directions or reading materials and the ability to process this information may be critical

to making life and death decisions (LeVine et al., 2004). Mojekwu and Ibekwe (2012)

found there is a need to improve maternal education since this is one of the factors

responsible for high maternal mortality in the past in Nigeria. Maternal education could

lead to empowerment of women in making decisions about issues that concern them and

the infants they are carrying.

Decision-making skills are needed to navigate pregnancy, childbirth, and child

rearing and individuals with limited education may find it difficult to carry out such

functions without encountering difficulties (Ferguson, 2008; Shieh & Halstead, 2009).

When given materials containing information on how to implement their care, it becomes

difficult for people with low education to understand and carryout the instructions in their

care plan (Ferguson, 2008). Nikiéma, Beninguisse, and Haggerty (2009) researched the

extent to which women in 19 countries in sub-Saharan Africa remembered receiving

information about complications in pregnancy during their antenatal visit and if it

impacted the likelihood of delivering their babies in health institutions or at home. They

found that pregnant women were not routinely provided with information about

pregnancy complications during their antenatal care visits or the information was not

provided in a way that the women remembered the information. It is important to look at

the information being given to pregnant women to see if education level is one of the

reasons for not remembering this information and if not remembering antenatal

information has implications for unmet needs and what the impact is on maternal

outcomes.

Antenatal care visits should be used to inform and educate pregnant women about what to

do and what to expect during pregnancy, care for the newborn, and necessary postnatal

care. Anya, Hydara, and Jaiteh (2008) found that, in spite of repeated visits to the clinics,

pregnant women in their study did not benefit from effective information, education, or

communication since most women reported spending few minutes with the care providers

and could not recall being informed about important subjects as nutrition and diet, family

planning, care of the baby, place of birth, or what to do in case of complication.

Rothman et al. (2004) determined that it is difficult for women with low literacy to read

directions, to follow medical recommendations, and they have poorer knowledge which

can lead to worse clinical outcomes. In a study in Sudan, it was observed that inadequate

antenatal care and maternal education were predictors of maternal mortality (Ali &

Adam, 2011); this leads to the question if this can also be true in Nigeria. There is a need

to investigate the provision and use of antenatal care services, the education level of the

women who use this service and socio demographic characteristics of the women who

use the service in relation to maternal deaths.

Previous researchers who have studied maternal health care have found

associations between maternal health care and literacy level (McTavish, Moore, Harper,

& Lynch, 2010). The concept of maternal education as it affects women’s health and

specifically women’s maternal health has been issue of discussion for researchers in the

developed world. According to the WHO’s definition of health literacy, as reported in

Renkert and Nutbeam (2001),

Health literacy represents the cognitive and social skills that determine the

motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand, and use the

information in ways that promote and maintain good health. Health literacy means

more than being able to read pamphlets and successfully make appointments….

(p. 381)

Thus, health literacy enables individuals to process and understand health

messages in order to make better health choices. This ability to read and process health

messages is said to improve a woman’s reproductive behavior, which would lead to an

improvement in their children’s health and survival (Levine et al., 2012). Literacy skills,

which includes the ability to speak and understand spoken language, read, write, and

understand written language, and ability to understand the use of numbers is very

important in understanding health related behaviors in different community (Ciampia et

al., 2012). The United States Department of Health and Human Services Health noted

that nine out of ten American adults find it difficult to understand information about their

health (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014) though 99% of Americans

are said to be somewhat literate (Central Intelligence Agency[CIA] Factbook, 2014). It

would be interesting to find out what percentage of Nigerians can understand information

about their health though 68% of the population age 15 and over can read and write (CIA

Factbook, 2014). Also, the Shomolu local government is one of the areas with high

number of educated women in Lagos State (Lagos state government, 2014) I sought to

find out if the women’s literacy level correlates with their health literacy level, and how

this impacts health mortality.

Summary and Conclusions

While there have been studies on importance of antenatal visits (Adekanle &

Isawumi, 2008; Anya et al., 2008; Jennings, Yebadokpo, Affo, & Agbogbe, 2010;

Okereke et al., 2013; Taguchi et al., 2004), there has not been a study focusing mainly on

the impact of maternal characteristics, maternal health literacy, and antenatal visits on

pregnancy outcomes in Nigeria. It is important to know what women learn during

antenatal visits and if their characteristics and health literacy levels in anyway affect their

understanding of antenatal services and utilization of information received. The next

chapter focuses on methodology, data collection, and data analysis plans. The purpose of

this cross-sectional quantitative study was to examine the high rate of maternal mortality

and adverse pregnancy related outcomes by studying the predictive relationship between

maternal

health literacy level, the number of antenatal visits, timing of the first antenatal

care

visit, development of medical conditions during pregnancy and pregnancy

outcomes

(birth status of child, which are healthy or unhealthy baby) in Lagos. Chapter 3 focused

on the research design and methodology, population under study, sample size, sample

selection process, description of the instrument used for data collection, and the process

of data collection and methods used in analyzing the data.

50
Chapter 3: Research Method
Introduction

In this chapter, I will discuss the research design, methodology, and rationale for

this study; the population under study; sample size; method and procedure for data

collection; the instruments used for data collection; and how the data were analyzed. The

purpose of this cross-sectional quantitative study was to examine the high rate of

maternal mortality and adverse pregnancy related outcomes by studying the predictive

relationship between maternal health literacy level, the number of antenatal visits, timing

of the first antenatal care visit, development of medical conditions during pregnancy and

pregnancy

outcomes (the birth status of the child, which is either a healthy or unhealthy

baby) in Lagos, Nigeria.

Poor maternal health outcomes, especially the high incidence of maternal

mortality rate in Nigeria, create an unacceptable major public health problem. It has been

established that an approximately 287,000 women died giving birth worldwide and 99%

of these deaths are from developing nations (Say et al., 2014). While some factors are

medical factors, there are nonmedical and avoidable factors that could help in reducing

maternal mortality. Factors such as delay in seeking medical care, delay in recognizing

an obstetric problem, following medical advice, and non-utilization of antenatal care

services (Ozumba & Nwogu-Ikojo, 2007) can all be attributed to insufficient education

and the characteristics of the pregnant women. In this study, I examined the predictive

relationship between maternal health literacy level, antenatal care, development of

medical conditions during pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes among women that are 18

years and older who had been pregnant before, but were not pregnant at the time of the

study, in Lagos State, Nigeria.

To achieve this, I used a survey to gather information about the number of

antenatal visits, maternal health literacy level, timing of the first antenatal care visit,

development of medical conditions during pregnancy, and the outcome of the pregnancy.

Also, information on maternal characteristics of these women that included their age,

religion, number of pregnancies, number of children, education level, household income,

and

employment

status were collected in order to examine the predictive relationships

between these factors and pregnancy outcomes. The theoretical application of SCT and

the HBM were utilized to explain how pregnant women make decisions relating to their

pregnancy and the impact of the environment on their decision-making powers.

The research question that guided the study was: What is the predictive

relationship between maternal health literacy levels, the number of antenatal visits,

timing of the first antenatal care visit, development of medical conditions during

pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes (the birth status of the child, which is either a healthy

or unhealthy

baby) in Lagos, Nigeria?

The H0 developed to answer this question was:

There is no statistically significant predictive relationship between maternal health

literacy level, the number of antenatal visits, timing of the first antenatal care visit,

development of medical conditions during pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes (the birth

status of the child, which is either a healthy or unhealthy baby) in Lagos, Nigeria (H0: r =

0).
52

I used descriptive statistics and logistic regression to analyze the data. As noted

by Mertler and Vannatta (2013), the appropriate measure of the degree of relationship

between two or more variables is correlation and/or regression

analysis.

Bivariate

statistics were used to examine the correlation between the variables. According to

Bhattacherjee (2012), the most common type of bivariate statistics used is bivariate

correlation, which is expressed as a number between -1 and +1. The strength of the

correlation was measured by how close the number is to -1 or +1. A positive correlation

implies that an increase in the independent variables by one unit would result in an

increase in the dependent variable, while a negative correlation implies an inverse

relationship, an increase in the independent variable would result in a decrease in the

dependent variable (Bhattacherjee ,2012). The null hypothesis would be rejected if the

correlations between the dependent and the independent variables are statistically

significant, the null hypothesis would be rejected if the p values were equal or less than

0.05 (p ≤ 0.05).

Research Design and Rationale

Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods are the three research designs

common in social sciences studies. The quantitative method is used to test a theory or

hypothesis and to operationalize variables derived from theory and a research question

that a researcher is attempting to solve (Creswell, 2009). The quantitative research

method applies survey design to observe and measure opinion, attitudes, and the

behavioral patterns of a population sample and then generalize the findings back to the

whole population so that inferences can be made about the characteristics, attitudes, or

behaviors of the population (Creswell, 2009). The type of survey designs common in

social sciences include self-administered surveys or questionnaires, interviews, structured

interviews, and structured observations (Adanri, 2016). Compared to other methods,

survey designs are cheaper and faster to collect, but they do not do a good of a job of

studying or understanding complex social phenomenon (Adanri, 2016).

. The strategy of inquiries that are common among qualitative studies include

narrative, phenomenology, ethnography, case study, and grounded theory. The

qualitative research method requires “learning the meanings that the participants hold

about the problem or issue, not the meaning that the researcher bring to the research or

writer express in literature” (Creswell, 2009, p. 175). While qualitative research method

provides opportunity to study complex social phenomenon, it is prone to researcher’s bias

and subjectivity.

The research method I selected for this study was a quantitative research

approach. I chose a quantitative research method based on its alignment with the

research question and purpose of the study. There are four types of quantitative research

designs: experimental research design, quasi-experimental research design, crosssectional

research design, and longitudinal research design (Creswell, 2009). I used a

cross-sectional research design in this study because it allowed for the observation of

patterns or relationships between two or more variables.

This study was a cross-sectional quantitative study of women who had been

pregnant before but were not pregnant at the time of the study. Survey instruments were

administered to women 18 years and older who had been pregnant or had given birth in

Shomolu local government area in Lagos, Nigeria. The independent variables examined

in this study were maternal health literacy, frequency of antenatal visits, number of

antenatal visits, timing of the start of antenatal care, and problems developed during

pregnancy. The dependent variable was pregnancy outcomes and they were measured by

the birth status of the child, which was either a healthy or unhealthy baby. The level of

education and socio-economic characteristics of the women were assessed through the

survey. The education level of the women was assessed by asking them what grade they

completed and their socio-economic status was assessed by asking questions about their

annual income. Because of the nature of the design, I collected data face-to-face, and I

spent considerable time and resources on this project. The variables used in the study

were also analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Version 21.

Variables

Independent variables. The independent variables were maternal health literacy,

frequency of antenatal visits, number of antenatal visits, timing of the start of antenatal

care, and problems developed during pregnancy. I assessed health literacy level by

asking questions from Dr. Chew’s Literacy Screening Questionnaire (Chew et al., 2004),

and antenatal care usage was measured by Kotelchuck’s APNCU Index (Koroukian &

Rimm, 2002). This was measured as adequate plus, adequate, intermediate, or inadequate

maternal care visits based on the month antenatal care began and the number of antenatal

visits.

Dependent variables. The dependent variable was pregnancy outcomes, which

was measured by the birth status of the child, either a healthy or unhealthy baby.

Covariates. The covariates I used in the study included socio-economic status of

family, number of previous pregnancies, religion, age, number of children, education

level, household income, and employment status.

Methodology

Population to Sample

According to Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias (2008), the population of a study

refers to the complete set of relevant units of analysis, while a population sample refers to

a subset of the population that is used to generalize back to the population. The target

population for this study was Nigerian women that had been pregnant before but were not

pregnant at the time of the survey. The sample population was drawn from women 18

years and over who had been pregnant before but were not pregnant at the time of the

study. Although women between the ages of 15 to 49 are considered to be in their

reproductive years (WHO, 2006), women 18 years and older were allowed to participate

due to their ability to consent to be in the study without parental permission. I used the

Shomolu local government area of Lagos State as the study area because it best

represented the various characteristics that constitute the independent variables in this

study. The Shomolu local government is a high-density residential area and is one of the

local government areas with the highest level of literacy in the population (Lagos State

government, 2011). The state government in 2011 showed that 87% of the participants in

a survey they conducted were literate in English and 75% were also literate in other

languages (Lagos State Government, 2011). Therefore, participants for this study needed

to be able to speak and read English.

Sampling and Sampling Procedures

There are five strategies that can be used to select a representative sample from a

population (Creswell, 2010). The strategies include simple random sampling, systematic

sampling, stratified sampling, cluster sampling, and stage sampling (Creswell, 2010). In

a simple random sampling, each member of a population has an equal chance of being

selected (Creswell, 2010). Systematic sampling, although similar to random sampling,

uses a sampling frame from which participants are selected at regular intervals (Creswell,

2010). Stratified sampling is similar to systematic sampling; the only difference is that

one or more characteristics of the sample frame can be altered at the same time ensure

that the same percentage of participants are selected from the population (Adanri, 2016).

I used a combination of systematic sampling and purposive sampling methods in

this study. Purposive sampling is a form of nonprobability sampling that allows

researchers to make decisions on who would be included in a study based on knowledge

of the study issue or capability or willingness to participate in the research (Jupp, 2008).

I purposively chose neighborhoods in the local government area because it was not

possible to have the address of all the women that had been pregnant in the local

government area or the streets they resided on. I sampled women who were available on

the streets and met the inclusion criteria. Systematic sampling was introduced in order to

ensure that the sample was a fair representation of the population studied. The sample

frame consisted of women who were 18 years and over, not pregnant at the time of the

study but who had been pregnant at least once, able to read and comprehend the English

language, and who resided in the Shomolu local government area of Lagos State, Nigeria.

The participants were systematically selected by alternating the side of the road from

which participants were selected and limiting the number of survey per each street block

to five.

I conducted the study in the Shomolu local government area where there are two

government health centers and 35 private hospitals (Lagos State Government, 2011).

Sampling units can be challenging in Nigeria because of the problems of incomplete

frames, clusters of elements, and foreign elements (Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias,

2008). It is likely that some women do not use the medical services when they are

pregnant or when they have the babies because of a lack of education or access to

medical services. If they do not have complications, these women may end up not going

to a hospital at all. For these reasons, women who had been pregnant before were

surveyed by me going door-to-door to various residential areas in the Shomolu local

government area of Lagos State using a purposive convenience sampling method to select

the streets and houses.

Sample Size

Sample size estimation and statistical power analyses are important because it

would not be ethically acceptable to conduct a study by recruiting thousands of

participants when sufficient data could be obtained with hundreds of participants instead

and research ethics committees often ask for justification of the study based on sample

size estimation and statistical power (Prajapati, Dunne, & Armstrong, 2010). According

to Bartlett, Kotrlik, and Higgins (2001), sample size is one of the four inter-related

features that can influence the detection of significant differences, relationships or

interactions in a research study. It is considered as one of the important features of a

survey research design (Bartlett et al., 2001). There are three steps involved in

determining the sample size required for a research study.

The first step is to determine the alpha which is the for Type 1 error. The higher

the alpha level the more likely for researcher to reject a true null hypothesis (type I error)

and the lower the alpha level the more likely the researcher will accept a false null

hypothesis, which will be a Type II error (Tomczak, Tomczak, Kleka, & Lew, 2014). In

most social science and behavioral studies, alpha is often set at 0.05. The second step is

to determine the effect size which is the limit for Type II errors and based on literature

review in the social science and behavioral studies is to set effect size as either small,

medium or large but the convention is to set it at 0.20 (Fritz, Morris, & Richler, 2011).

The third step in determining sample size is to determine the power. A commonly

recommended power is 0.80 according to Fritz et al. (2011). The sample size can then be

manually calculated or a computer software like G*Power can then be used to calculate

the sample size.

I used the G* Power calculator v. 3.1.9.2 to calculate the sample size taking into

consideration the purpose of the study, the research question, and the hypothesis to be

tested. The family of test selected for the study was t-test. Statistical test selected was

correlation: point biserial model. Type of power analysis was a priori: compute required

sample size given alpha, power and effect size. Type of tail(s) was two tails. The effect

size was set at .20 which is a medium effect size; alpha was set at 0.05 and power was set

at .80 which is typical in social science studies (Frits et al., 2011). The estimated sample

size computed by G*Power was 1

. The sample size calculation is shown in Table 1.

Table 1

Sample Size Calculation: t tests

t tests – Correlation: Point biserial model

Analysis: A priori: Compute required sample size

Input: Tail(s) = Two

Effect size |ρ| = 0.20

α err prob = 0.05

Power (1-β err prob) = 0.80

Output: Noncentrality parameter δ = 2.8210518

Critical t = 1.9

5951

Df = 189

Total sample size = 191

Actual power = 0.80142

Procedures for Recruitment, Participation, and Data Collection

The data collection relied on the survey instrument developed by Chew et al.

(2004) with permission to use granted by Dr. Chew. Permission to use the instrument

was sought and granted by Dr. Chew. The survey instrument can be found in Appendix A

and the permission letter in Appendix B. I did not modify the instrument and it was

approved by the research committee. Walden University’s approval number for this

study was IRB# 06-20-16-0290994. The approved instrument was used to collect social

and demographic data, level of education and antenatal visits during pregnancy. The data

provided reliable and practical information concerning the well-being and functional

health of a community or an individual from a patient or individual’s point of view

(Quality Metric, 2013, para. 1).

Surveys are usually cost effective in collecting information from a large number

of individuals who are most likely representative of the target audience (Cengage

Research Methods Workshops, 2005). Surveys can be useful when a researcher wants to

collect data from the general public that cannot be directly observed and the data would

be collected through the use of questionnaires. There was no controlled setting and this

made the setting less artificial. Survey data can be collected through the mail where the

survey is sent to participants by mail, filled out by participants, and mailed back to

researcher; face to face survey where participants are met in person by an interviewer, the

interviewer administers the survey and records the responses to survey questions; and

telephone survey where participants are contacted over the telephone by an interviewer,

the interviewer administers the survey and records the responses to survey questions

(Kansas State University, n.d.). Internet research methods usually allows researcher to

have access to rich data, especially for those working in sensitive areas because of

anonymity (Hine, 2011).

However, because the population this research was focused on may not have

access to the Internet, the use of Internet survey would likely not yield many responses.

In addition, in Nigeria the house addresses and mailing system is not as effective as we

have in developed countries (personal experience) so the use of mail survey has been

determined to not be an effective manner of surveying potential participants. Therefore,

a face-to-face self-administered or interviewer-administered survey was used in this study

because it ensured access to participants and assist in the completion of the surveys so the

needed sample size could be more easily attained. Although this method could reduce

nonresponse bias, it did not provide anonymity and responders may not have truthfully

answer sensitive questions (Cengage Research Methods Workshops, 2005). In order to

counteract this, I did not collect the names of participants and informed the participants

that their responses would remain confidential.

Procedures for Recruitment

Once approval was granted by Walden University Institutional Review Board

(IRB), I proceeded to collect the data from participants residing in the study area. Since

there is no bank of information about women and their pregnancies, I purposively chose

neighborhoods and streets in the study area in order to access women who may be

eligible to participate in the study. I sampled women I approached in public and/or live

on the street who met the inclusion criteria of 18 years and older, have been pregnant in

the past, could speak /read English, and not currently pregnant. This sampling method

was used due to the need to be able to approach women who may be eligible for

participation.

Because of the nature of this study, face-to-face interaction was used and the selfadministered

surveys were distributed to the participants in their homes and on the

streets. If requested, I dropped off the survey and picked up the completed survey at a

later date and time that the participant and I found to be convenient. If there were no

women that fit the criteria (18 years and older, can speak/read English, and have been

pregnant before, not currently pregnant) at a particular house, I moved to the next house

on the street until the number of participants on the street have been satisfied. Each

participant was told the reason for the study and were asked to read the participant

informed consent.

The participants were given the options to participate or not to

participate in the study. It is implied that by completing the survey or responding to

questions in the survey, the participants gave their consent. Completed surveys were

returned in sealed envelope that was provided and included in the survey packet to ensure

confidentiality and anonymity of the participants. As a token of appreciation, I included

a N100 phone card (an equivalent of $1.00) in the survey packet and this was for the

participants to keep whether they completed the survey or not. The survey packet

consisted of the survey instrument, a return envelope, and a N100 phone card.

Confidentiality of the completed instrument and participants was ensured by not

disclosing the result or participants and by ensuring I am the only one who have access to

the raw data. The data were entered straight into SPSS file and processed by me for

analysis.

Ethical Concerns

I followed the standard practices and ethical compliance checklist of the APA

Manual, Sixth Edition, the Walden University IRB and protecting the confidentiality of

the research participants. I also emphasized to the participation in the study was

voluntary and that there will be no retribution for refusal to participate. The participants

were assured of the confidentiality of the study; the survey did not identify the

participants by name of by code. Although I was present when many of the surveys were

completed by the participants, I offered no assistance nor did I influence the participants

in their response to the survey. The survey was free of personal bias. I collected the

completed surveys in person and personally processed the data; no other person or

persons had access to the data and only aggregate results were used in the reporting.

Instrumentation and Operationalization of Constructs

Instruments

Health Literacy Screening Questions (Chew, Bradley, & Boyko, 2004).

To measure the health literacy level of the participants in this study, the Health

Literacy Screening Questions developed by Chew et al. (2004) was used. Chew et al.

(2004) developed the health literacy screening questions to assess people’s ability to

comprehend information or to perform tasks usually encountered in health care setting.

This instrument consists of 16 questions that use a 5-point Likert scale. Out of the sixteen

questions asked, three questions were found to be effective in detecting inadequate health

literacy. In the following questions “How often do you have someone help you read

hospital materials?” “How confident are you filling out medical forms by yourself?” and

“How often do you have problems learning about your medical condition because of

difficulty understanding written information?” the area under the receiver operating

characteristic curve are 0.87, 0.80, and 0.76, respectively. Other researchers have used

these three questions in comparison to Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adult

(S-TOFHLA) to assess literacy skills. Schwurtz et al. (2013) used these items and the

area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) for all the questions was

0.90 (95% CI, 0.85-0.95). Wallace et al. (2006), in order to evaluate the three screening

questions by Chew et al. (2004), compared the questions to the Rapid Estimate of Adult

Literacy in Medicine (REALM) and also found that the questions were effective at

identifying individuals with marginal or limited health literacy skills. Ohl et al. (2010)

also used the screening questions to identify people with low health literacy and accuracy

of provider perception in two HIV primary care clinics. For this study, all 16 questions

from the Health Literacy screening tool were used in assessing health literacy in the study

population. Permission to use the instrument was sought and granted by Dr. Chew. The

survey instrument can be found in Appendix A and the permission letter in Appendix B.

Operationalization of Variables

Based on American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)

recommendations, antenatal care was analyzed in terms of frequency, which would be

coded as 1, 2–3, or 4 visits or more, timing of the visit, whether antenatal care was

initiated in the first, second, or third trimester of pregnancy. To understand if women

who were pregnant received antenatal care, it is important to know how many of these

women really registered for antenatal care. This was assessed by a dichotomous variable:

0-did not receive antenatal care; 1- received antenatal care. According to the United

Nations Population Fund (UNFPA; n.d. a), there should be at least four antenatal visits

early in the pregnancy to educate women, identify and manage either current or potential

pregnancy risks, and develop a birth plan on how to reach a medical care in case of

emergency. UNFPA (n.d. b) also recognized this visit could be the pregnant woman’s

first visit, therefore some health educational activities on

sexual and

reproductive health,

family planning,

birth spacing

, and care of the newborn should be incorporated into these

visits (UNFPA, n.d. a). In assessing antenatal messages received, the women in this

study were asked whether or not they received information on these topics during their

visits. Maternal education level was measured by the number of years of formal

education received by the mother. For this study, education level was divided into six

levels as follows: 1- No education; 2-Elementary education (1-6th grade): 3. Junior

Secondary

School

(6-9th grade);

4- Secondary

School (Complete 12th grade); 5- Postsecondary

(some College); and

6- College

degree and above. Table 2 consists of the

operationalization of the study variables.

Table 2

Operationalization of Study Variables

Variable name Variable

Source

Variable Type Value Labels Level of

Measurement

Pregnancy Outcome

, SQ26 Dependent 0- Unhealthy baby

1- Health

y baby

Nominal

Health Literacy
Number of Antenatal

Care Visits

Timing of Antennal

Care
RQ

Survey Q

Survey Q12

Survey Q13

RQ, Survey

Q22

RQ, Survey

Q20

Survey Q25

Independent
Independent
Independent
Independent
Independent

1-Always

2-Often

3-Sometimes

4-Occasionally

5-Never

1-Always
2-Often
3-Sometimes
4-Occasionally
5-Never
1-Always
2-Often
3-Sometimes
4-Occasionally
5-Never

0–3 visits

4–6 visits

7–9 visits

0=0–3 months

Ordinal

Ordinal
Ordinal

Categorical

Medical Problem

developed during
pregnancy
Independent

1=4–6 months

2=later than 6

months

0-Gestational

diabetes

1-Depression

2-Heart problem

3-High blood

pressure

4-Bleeding

5-Other health

issues
Categorical
Categorical

Covariates that were included in this study were: maternal age, employment

status, income, and marital status; descriptive statistics would be used for these maternal

characteristics.
Table 3

Descriptive Variables

Variable name Variable
Source
Variable Type Value Labels Level of
Measurement

Last time pregnant? Survey Q

Descriptive 0= 1–11 months

ago

1=12–23 months

ago

2= 24–35

months ago

3=36 + Months

ago

Interval

Received antenatal

care?

Survey Q
18
Descriptive

0- No

Yes

Dichotomous

Likely reasons for not

getting antenatal care
Survey Q
19

Descriptive 0- I didn’t know

I was pregnant

1- I didn’t know

where to go

Categorical

2-I didn’t have

enough money

to pay for my

visits

3- I didn’t want

anybody to

know I was

pregnant

4- I’ve given

birth before and

I didn’t feel I

needed antenatal

care

5- I had no way

of getting to a

medical center

6- It is against

my religion

7- Other

reasons?

Information received

Frequency of antenatal
visit
Survey

Q23

Survey Q
21
Descriptive
Descriptive
1- Health
educational

materials on

sexual and
reproductive
health

2- Family

planning and

birth spacing
information

3- Care of the

newborn

4- What to

expect during
pregnancy

5- No

information

0-Weekly

1- Every two

weeks

2- Once per

month

3- Every few

months

4- Only when

there was a
Categorical
Ratio
68

How many Visits

Marital status

Number of children

Number of pregnancy?

Employment status

Religion
Age

Education Level

Survey
Q22
Survey

Q28

Survey

Q34

Survey Q
33
Survey

Q30

Survey

Q33

Survey

Q27

Survey Q
29
Descriptive
Demographic
Demographic
Demographic
Demographic
Demographic
Descriptive
Descriptive
problem

1- 1 Visit

2- 2 Visits

3- 3 Visits

4- 4 Visits

5- 5 Visits

6- 6+Visits

0- Dating

1- Married

2-Separated

3-Divorce

4- Widowed

1–15

0-No

employment
outside the home

1-Part

employment

2- Full time

employment
outside the home

1- Christianity

2- Islamic

3- Traditional

4- No religion

1-15–20 years

2-21–25 years

3-26–30 years

4-31–35 years

5-36–40 years

6-40–50 years

1- No formal

education

2- Primary

school
Ratio
Nominal
Ratio
Ordinal
Nominal
Nominal
Interval
Nominal
69
Household Income
Survey
Q34
Descriptive

3- Junior

Secondary
School
4- Secondary
School

certificate

5- Ordinary

diploma or

college of

education

certificate i.e.

OND, NCE

6- College

degree or above

1- Less than

N25,000

2- N26,000–

N50,000

3- N51,000–

N75,000

4- More than

N75,000
Interval

(table continues)

Data Quality and Potential Bias by Mode of Survey Administration

According to Bowling (2005), data quality can be measured by response rate and

the accuracy of the responses, absence of bias, and the completeness of information

obtained from respondents. Bowling (2005) noted that a low response rate could affect

the reliability of the survey and result in study bias which could weaken the external

validity. Some of the factors that could affect data quality include impersonality,

cognitive burden, and the order of the questionnaire items and the way the participants

respond to the questions (Bowling, 2005). Aside from answering generic questions

which the participants might have had, I did not provide any assistance or attempt to

influence the decision of the participants. The participants did not appear to experience

or suffer any embarrassment which could affect their response to any of the questions.

Although some methods of survey create cognitive burden on the participants, face-toface

or drop off and pick are less burdensome. The participants voluntarily completed

the survey; they were motivated to be part of the solution to a national problem as a result

the legitimacy of the study was established. The participants were in control of the

questionnaire; I did not offer any help other than answer questions that are generic to the

survey. Therefore, I am confident that my personal bias or data collection method do not

affect the quality of the data.

Data Analysis Plan

The data analysis included screening the data for errors and missing data. As

errors could result from missing values or incorrect coding, one of the ways this study

guarded against this was by replacing missing values. I manually replaced missing data

based on the mean or median value from frequency. The plan also included testing the

data for parametric test assumptions. Descriptive statistics was conducted to describe the

sample and population demographics used in the study, this include frequency, mean,

median, standard deviation (measures of central tendency), and measure of variability.

SPSS version 21was used to analyze data. A variety of statistical methods were used to

test the hypotheses based on the characteristics of the dependent and independent

variables. Descriptive statistics were used to explore frequency distributions and

percentages for nominal and ordinal level. Output tables were created to reflect the

number of participants, percentages, cumulative frequencies, percentages for maternal

characteristics. Descriptive analyses were used for Questions 18-20 in order to determine

the percentage of the participants who received antenatal care and if they encountered

any problems receiving antenatal care. Question 22 helped to identify the kind of health

conditions women developed during their last pregnancy and question seven was

assessed to determine the kind of information the women received during their antenatal

care.

Binary logistic regression was used to assess the predictive relationship between

maternal literacy level and maternal pregnancy outcomes. A multivariate analysis was

performed to test if there is correlation between the dependent and the independent

variables. Regression was used to estimate the influence of maternal characteristics on

the odds of pregnancy outcomes. The relationship between maternal health literacy

levels was computed, using SPSS 21, to determine if there was a correlation to pregnancy

outcomes. The dependent variable was dichotomized into 0 and 1 where 0 meant

unhealthy baby and 1 denoted healthy baby. The null hypothesis was rejected if the p

value was less than or equal to .05 (P ≤ .05). Pregnancy outcomes were measured by

birth status of child, which were healthy or unhealthy baby.

Research Question: What is the predictive relationship between maternal health

literacy levels, the number of antenatal visits, timing of the first antenatal care

visit, development of medical conditions during pregnancy and pregnancy

outcomes (birth status of child, which are healthy or unhealthy baby) in Lagos,

Nigeria?
72

H0: There was no statistically significant predictive relationship between

maternal health literacy level, the number of antenatal visits, timing of the first antenatal

care visit, development of medical conditions during pregnancy and pregnancy

outcomes

(birth status of child, which are healthy or unhealthy baby) in Lagos, Nigeria.

HA: There was a statistically significant predictive relationship between maternal

health literacy level, the number of antenatal visits, timing of the first antenatal
care visit, development of medical conditions during pregnancy and pregnancy
outcomes (birth status of child, which are healthy or unhealthy baby) in Lagos,
Nigeria.

Threats to Validity

In any research study, there are certain factors that can affect the reliability and

validity of a study. Threats to internal validity include selection, history, maturation,

mortality, testing, regression, and compensatory demoralization (Creswell, 2009).

According to Creswell (2010), selecting participants with certain characteristics which

enables them to have certain outcomes will affect the outcome of the research. Also,

history, which is events that occur during the research that can affect the outcome of the

research, can also threaten the validity if some unanticipated events occur that affect the

outcome of the research (Creswell, 2010). As a result of normal development,

participants may mature during the research and this maturation may affect how they

respond overtime (Creswell, 2010). Experimental mortality occurs when participants

drop out of the research and this has the potential of affecting the study since the result of

those who dropped out would not be known (Creswell, 2010). Creswell (2010) also

noted that it is possible for participants to become sensitized to the measurement

instruments during pretest and their post-test response result may be due to their exposure

to the outcome measurement earlier. Statistical regression occurs when participants are

selected as a result of their extremes cores (Creswell, 2010). Compensatory

demoralization occurs when one group receives the treatment and the other group does

not; this could be demoralizing and could lead to resentment as well (Creswell, 2010).

The threats to validity anticipated in this study are incorrect recollection, response

bias, and measurement bias. Since I was asking participants to think back to their

experience, it is possible that some participants may not recollect the information clearly

and give false information. The study included only women who have been pregnant

before and who can speak/read English and or understand spoken English in order to

assess their literacy level; women who do not speak or understand English are excluded

from the survey.

Response bias was another type of bias anticipated in this study. Participants may

be providing answers they think I was looking for and may not answer truthfully or they

could be guessing on the answers. Measurement bias was also anticipated. This is

because participants were asked to read and respond to certain questions in the literacy

instrument. In order not to appear illiterate, the respondent might have made up the

answers. This study randomly recruited participants from Shomolu local government of

Lagos state. Since this study was specifically aimed at women in Lagos state the study

may not be generalized to other parts of Nigeria (Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias,

2008), though data may be compared to look for similarities and areas needing

improvement. To guide against response bias, I explained to the participants that the

outcome would not affect them directly but the information could help other women in

their pregnancy.

Ethical Procedures

The study approval was sought from Walden University IRB to ensure

compliance with the Institution’s ethical guidelines. The study ensured that individuals

within the protected class were excluded from the study this include anyone under the age

of 18 and any woman that was pregnant at the time of the survey. The study also ensured

confidentiality of the participants by not identifying them by name or coding system.

The participants were informed that by voluntarily complete the survey or respond to the

survey questions, they have given their informed consent therefore the participants were

not required to sign any document. Participants were offered a one hundred Naira

(N100.00) phone card which is an equivalent of one dollars ($1.00) as a token of my

appreciation for the time taken to complete the survey. Since the survey was

administered face to face (paper and pencil) it was important to ensure that no individual

name was used on any documents in order to maintain confidentiality. Informed consent

was shared with the participant and completion of the survey constituted granting

informed consent.

I was aware that participants cannot be forced to participate, so there was a need

to let the individuals know that their participation was entirely voluntary and that their

refusal would not in any way have a negative impact on them. They could refuse to

participate without explanation and participants were free to withdraw from the study at

any point in time (Crosby, DiClemente, & Salazar, 2006). Also, since the participants

were likely to be from different educational backgrounds, it was my responsibility to

ensure that oral and written directions were communicated in such a way that the

participants could understand (Crosby et al., 2006). Participants were adults (18 years

and older) and not pregnant so they were not classified as a protected group.

The data collected for this study were used solely for this research and the identity

of the participants was not released to any organization. To that extent, I entered survey

data collected into a password protected laptop and the original questionnaire collected

was kept in a locked safe in my home. The completed questionnaires will be shredded

five years after the study has been completed. I was the only one to have access to the

data collected. The study was conducted for academic purposes therefore no conflict of

interest was declared. The time and resources that were used for this research study were

at my expense in order to fulfill academic requirements.

Summary

In this cross-sectional research study, I examined the relationship between

pregnancy outcomes (dependent variable) and maternal health literacy, frequency of

antenatal visits, number of antenatal visit, timing of the start of antenatal care and

problems developed during pregnancy (independent variables). The dependent variables

were measured by birth status of child (healthy or unhealthy baby). An existing

instrument that was slightly modified and approved by the researcher’s dissertation

committee was used for the data collection. The survey participants were systematically

purposively selected. Any woman that was under the age of 18 or pregnant at the time of

the survey was excluded from the survey. Women that do not speak or comprehend

English language were also excluded from the survey. I used drop-and-pick as well as

face-to-face interview methods to administer the survey. In chapter 3, I described the

choice of research design and method that guide the study. The choice of research design

was based on research question and research purpose. Quantitative research design lends

itself to questions that explore the relationship between two or more variables and allows

for the generalization of the research findings to the population that was being studied. In

chapter 3 I also provided information on the how the questionnaire was administered and

the plan for the data analysis. In chapter 4 I described how I processed and analyzed the

and I also included the method of analysis and findings from the study.

77
Chapter 4: Results
Introduction

The purpose of this cross-sectional research study was to determine if there is a

relationship between maternal health literacy, frequency of antenatal visits, number of

antenatal visit, timing of the start of antenatal care, and problems developed during

pregnancy (independent variables) and pregnancy outcomes (dependent variable) in

Lagos, Nigeria. I measured pregnancy outcomes by the birth status of the child (which

was either a healthy or unhealthy baby). A review of the literature did not reveal any

previous researchers who had examined the relationship between maternal characteristics

and use of antenatal care on maternal pregnancy outcomes or any study carried out in

Nigeria that examined the relationship between maternal literacy level and pregnancy

outcomes using a health literacy instrument. Therefore, the results of this study could be

used to fill the identified research gap of the relationship between health literacy

(measured with a validated tool), maternal characteristics, utilization of antenatal care,

and potential pregnancy outcomes in Nigeria.

The following research question and hypotheses were formulated to guide this

study:
Research Question: What is the predictive relationship between maternal health
literacy levels, the number of antenatal visits, timing of the first antenatal care

visit, development of medical conditions during pregnancy, and pregnancy

outcomes (the birth status of the child, which is either a healthy or unhealthy
baby) in Lagos, Nigeria?
78
H0: There is no statistically significant predictive relationship between maternal
health literacy level, the number of antenatal visits, timing of the first antenatal

care visit, development of medical conditions during pregnancy, and pregnancy

outcomes (the birth status of the child, which was either a healthy or unhealthy

baby) in Lagos, Nigeria.
HA: There is a statistically significant predictive relationship between maternal
health literacy level, the number of antenatal visits, timing of the first antenatal
care visit, development of medical conditions during pregnancy, and pregnancy
outcomes (the birth status of the child, which was either a healthy or unhealthy
baby) in Lagos, Nigeria.

In this chapter, I will review the methods for data collection, present the

descriptive statistics of the dependent and independent variables, as well as the study

covariates. I will also discuss the issues I identified, the inferential statistics analysis and

hypothesis testing for the research question, the results of the statistical analyses, and

provide a summary of the answers to the research questions.

Data Collection

Following the approval of my research proposal by the Walden University IRB, I

initiated data collection on June 24, 2016 in Bariga, Shomolu local government area in

Lagos State, Nigeria and ended data collection on July 15, 2016. I used a combination of

traditional face-to-face data collection as well as drop-off and pickup methods to

administer the questionnaire. The questionnaires were administered to 150 participants.

Since a purposive convenience sampling method was used, I was able to go into homes

and shops as well as survey who I encountered on the street who met the recruitment

criteria. Women under the age of 18 years old and women that were pregnant at the time

of the survey were excluded from the study. When the women were busy, they asked me

to provide them the questionnaire and pick it up later in the evening or the following

morning. I made sure to explain the reason for the study and read the consent form to the

women before I left. I was able to go to different neighborhoods in the local government

area and speak with different groups of women. There were no requirements that the

participants sign an informed consent form as they were advised that by completing the

survey or responding to the survey questions they implied informed consent. The

participants were assured of the confidentiality and anonymity of the study, and I was

careful in the way the questions were asked in the face-to-face survey to ensure that the

participants were not influenced in their responses.

As I noted in Chapter 3, the sample size calculated necessary to meet the power,

effect, and alpha sizes for this study was 191, but because of time constraints and other

logistic reasons, I only administered 150 surveys and collected 130 completed surveys.

Therefore, a post hoc power analysis involving estimating the effect size based on the

obtained study data was conducted. This analysis took into account the sample size, alpha

level, two-tailed nature of the statistical test, and .20 effect size to derive the power

(Volker, 2006). The effect size was 0.2 and power was 0.64. The result of the post hoc

analysis is displayed in Table 4. This calculation shows 64% power to detect a

statistically significant association between an outcome variable and predictor variable

using regression techniques. The return rate was 86.7%, which is greater than the

between 32% and 50% return rate in most behavioral science research (Adanri, 2016;

Baruch & Holtom, 2008; Cycyota & Harrison, 2006).

Table 4
Sample Size Calculation: t tests

t tests – Correlation: Point biserial model

Analysis: Post hoc: Compute achieved power

Input: Tail(s) = Two
Effect size |ρ| = 0.20
α err prob = 0.05
Power (1-β err prob) = 0.80

Output: Noncentrality parameter δ = 2.3273733

Critical t = 1.9786708

Df =

128

Total sample size = 130

Actual power = 0.64

Data Preparation and Screening

Missing data. According to Bhattacherjee (2012), it is inevitable to have missing

data in any empirical data set because participants may not answer some questions for

any reason and a researcher needs to detect and correct this before data analysis.

Therefore, before I started my data analysis, I screened the data for accuracy to ensure

my data were imputed correctly, to determine what to do with missing data, to look for

outliers, and to test if assumptions of normality were violated. The data showed that

missing values existed, but there was no pattern to the organization of missing values.

Almost all (

99.1

0%) of the values were completed data, while 0.9% of the data had

incomplete values. I chose to replace the missing values using the mean value of the

variables instead of removing the cases from my analysis. Mertler and Vannatta (2013)

suggested calculating the mean of the missing value and replacing the missing values

before starting the analysis. I ran descriptive statistics in SPSS to get the mean value in

each of the cases and manually inputted the missing values. According to Mertler and

Vannata, the mean value is the best estimate of missing data when there is no other

information available. Using the mean value does not change the overall mean of the

data or affect the variance because the number of missing values in the data set were few

(Mertler & Vannatta,2013).

However, not all missing data required values to be assigned. I excluded two of

the questions with follow-up questions from the missing value analysis because the

questions were expected to have missing values as they were not applicable to everyone.

One of the questions was “Did you develop any health problems during your

pregnancy?” and another asked “Did you get any antenatal care during your pregnancy?”

If the participants did not have any issues during their pregnancy, the follow-up questions

about the problems were not applicable.

Grouping of variables and values. The first 16 items on the instrument I used in

this study consisted of Likert-type items developed by Chew et al. (2004) to measure

health literacy. The remaining 18 items or questions in the instrument were developed to

capture data necessary to answer the research question. Likert-type items are single

questions that use some of the aspects of the Likert response alternatives, while a Likertscale

consists of a summation of multiple Likert-type items into a single composite score

to create a new variable during the data analysis process (Boone & Boone, 2012). I used

an ordinal level scale as the scale of measurements in this study. I tested the predictor

variables for normality, linearity, and homoscedasticity assumptions, and the result

showed that the data were not normally distributed. Frequency analyses were performed

to check for skewness and kurtosis. According to Mertler and Vannatta (2013) and Field

(2009), skewness and kurtosis values should be between -1 and +1. The closer to zero

the skewness and kurtosis, the more the data are said to be normally distributed (Mertler

& Vannatta, 2013). In this study, the skewness values ranged from .04 and 1.529, while

the values of the kurtosis ranged between -.038 and 3.873. The skewness and kurtosis in

the data are far from zero which indicates the data were not normally distributed.

Therefore, I used nonparametric tests to analyze the data.

Results

In this section, I will focus on discussing the results of the statistical analyses, and

it be divided by the type of analyses I conducted. Descriptive statistics were used to

analyze the demographics of study participants in this study. I will describe the

demographic variables and correlational analysis. I will also discuss the binomial

regression analysis I conducted.

Demographic Variables

This study included 130 participants. I used SPSS, Version 21.0 to generate

demographic percentages, frequencies, means, standard deviation, and kurtosis. Table 5

summarizes the descriptive analysis and characteristics of the study participants.

Table 5

Survey Participants’ Demographics (N = 130)

Variables

Frequency

Percentage

Marital Status

Single 11 8.5

Ongoing dating relationship with father 16 12.3

Married 93 71.5

Separated 5 3.8

Divorced 4 3.1

Widowed 1 0.8

Education Level

No formal education 12 9.2

Primary/elementary school 6 4.6

Junior secondary school 6 4.6

Secondary school certificate 27 20.8

Ordinary diploma or college of education certificate 30 23.1

College degree/advanced degree 49 37.7

Religion

No religion 1 0.8

Christianity 94 72.3

Islam 31 23.8

Traditional 4 3.1

Employment Status

No employment outside home 37 28.5

Part time employment outside of home 38 29.2

Full time employment outside of home 55 42.3

Household Income

Less than N25,000

42 32.3

N26,000–N50,000 42 32.3

N51,000–N75,000 18 13.8

More than N75,000 28 21.5

Developed Health Problems

102

78.5

Yes 28 21.5

Type of Health Problem Developed

Gestational diabetes 5 3.8

Depression 5 3.8

Heart problem 3 2.3

High blood pressure 12 9.2

Bleeding 6 4.6

Information Received

Health education material on sexual/reproductive health 14 10.8

Family planning and birth spacing 11 8.5

Care of newborn 21 16.2

What to expect during pregnancy 28 21.5

More than one choice 44 21.5

No information 12 9.2

Outcome of Pregnancy

Healthy baby

109

83.8

Unhealthy baby 21 16.2

(table continues)

Overall, respondents were between age 18 and 42 years and the mean age was 30

years. 71.5% of respondents were married, 8.5% were single. Almost half of the

respondents (42%) were employed outside the home and 29.2% of respondents had part

time employment. A majority of respondents (72.3%) were Christians, 23.8% were

Muslims and in terms of education, 37.7% of respondents had a college degree or above,

23.1% had a diploma or college of education certificate, 20.8% had a secondary school

certificate. The household income for the participants ranged from less than N25,000 to

more than N75,000. Close to a quarter of the participants said they developed some sort

of medical problems during their last pregnancy (n = 28) and majority of the participants

received antenatal information during their last pregnancy, and only 9.2% of the

participants stated they did not revive any information. Only 10% of the participants did

not receive antenatal care and 40% of these participants who did not receive antenatal

care said they did not know they were pregnant.

Descriptive Statistics for Covariates and Pregnancy Outcomes

I analyzed the associations between pregnancy outcomes with the covariates of

marital status, employment status, education level, income level, religion, and number of

pregnancies using cross tabulation. As displayed in Table 6, out of the 109 healthy baby

outcomes, participants who were married reported the most positive outcomes (n = 85).

85
Table 6

Marital Status and Pregnancy Outcomes

Marital Status Healthy

Baby

Unhealthy

baby

Total

Single (Never married)

5 (3.8%)

6 (4.6%)

11 (8.5%)

On-going Dating

Relationship with Father

of the Child

15 (11.5%)

1 (.8%)

16 (12.3%)

Married 85 (65%)

8 (6.15)

93 (71.5%)

Separated 1 (.8%) 4 (3.1) 5 (3.8)

Divorced 2 (1.53) 2 (1.53) 4 (3.1)

Total 109 (83.85) 21 (16.15) 130 (100%)

Income also seemed to have positive effect on pregnancy outcomes. About three fourths

of the participants who are somewhat employed reported positive birth outcomes as can

be seen in Table 7.

Table 7

Employment Status and Pregnancy Outcomes

Employment Status Healthy

Baby

Unhealthy

baby

Total

No Employment

29 (22.3%)

8 (6.15)

37 (28.46%)

Part-Time Employment 34 (26.15%) 4 (3.1) 38 (29.23)

Full-Time Employment 46 (35.38%) 9 (6.92%) 55 (42.31%)

Total 109 (83.85) 21 (16.15) 130 (100%)

Level of education and birth outcomes shows an interesting dynamic. While it

would be expected that higher education would serve as a protective factor against

negative birth outcomes, the result did not indicate that. Participants with little or no

education reported fewer negative birth outcomes compared to participants with higher

education. Table 8 shows that almost half of the participants with senior secondary

school education reported unhealthy birth outcomes, while participants with elementary

education did not report any unhealthy birth outcomes.

Table 8

Level of Education and Pregnancy Outcomes

Level of Education Healthy

Baby

Unhealthy

baby

Total

No Formal Education

11(8.5%)

1 (.8%)

12 (9.2%)

Primary School 6 (4.61%) 0 6 (4.61%)

Junior

Secondary School

4 (3.1) 2 (1.53 6 (4.61%)

Secondary School
Certificate

19 (14.61%) 8 (6.15) 27 (20.76)

Ordinary Diploma

(OND) or National

Certificate of Education

(NCE)

26 (20%)

4 (3.1) 30 (23.07%)

College Degree or

Above

43 (33.07%) 6 (4.61%) 49 (37.69)

Total 109 (83.85) 21 (16.15) 130 (100%)

As would be expected, participants with more income had better pregnancy outcomes.

Participants earning between N25,000–N50,000 reported more negative birth outcomes

when compared to participants earning between N51,000 and over N75,000. This is

reported in table 9.

Table 9

Household Income and Pregnancy Outcomes

Household Income Healthy

Baby

Unhealthy

baby

Total
Less than N25,000

35 (26.92%)

7 (5.38%)

42 (32.30%)

N26,000–N50,000

33 (25.38%)

9 (6.92%) 42 (32.30%)

N51,000–N75,000 17 (13.07%) 1 (.8%) 18 (13.84%)

More than N75,000 24 (18.46%) 4 (3.1%) 28 (21.53%)

87
Total 109 (83.85) 21 (16.15) 130 (100%)

Table 10 shows that participants for this study were mainly Christians, and out of 94

Christians, 81 reported positive birth outcomes. Out of the 31 Muslim participants, 25

reported positive birth outcomes. Religion does not seem to be related to pregnancy

outcomes.
Table 10

Religion and Pregnancy Outcomes

Religion Healthy

Baby

Unhealthy

baby

Total

No Religion

0
1 (.8%)
1 (.8%)

Christianity 81 (62.31%) 13 (10%) 94 (72.31%)

Islamic

25 (19.23%)

6 (4.61%) 31 (23.84%)

Traditional 3 (2.31%) 1 (.8%) 4 (3.1%)

Total 109 (83.85) 21 (16.15) 130 (100%)

In table 11, participants who have had more than one pregnancy reported fewer unhealthy

babies when compared to participants who reported one pregnancy.

Table 11

Number of Pregnancy and Pregnancy Outcomes

No. of

Pregnancy

Healthy Baby Unhealthy

baby

Total
1
25 (19.23%)
7 (5.38%)

32 (24.61%)

2 18 (13.84%) 3 (2.31%) 21 (16.15%)

3 39 (30%) 3 (2.31%) 45 (34.61%)

4 24 (18.46%) 4 (3.1%) 28 (21.53%)

5 14 (10.77%) 4 (3.1%) 18 (13.84%)

6 4 (3.1%) 1 (.8%) 5 (3.85%)

7 4 (3.1%) 0 4 (3.1%)

Total 109 (83.85) 21 (16.15) 130 (100%)
88

As noted in table 12, only 11 respondents (9.2%) reported having more than four children

and out of this number, only one (.8%) reported an unhealthy baby as their pregnancy

outcome.
Table 12

Number of Children and Pregnancy Outcomes

No. of Children Healthy

Baby

Unhealthy

baby

Total
1
26 (20%)
7 (5.38%)
33 (25.38%)

2 23 (17.69%) 4 (3.1%) 27 (20.72%)

3 35 (26.92%) 6 (4.61%) 41 (31.53%)

4 14 (10.77%) 3 (2.31%) 17 (13.07%)

5 8 (6.15%) 1 (0.8%) 9 (6.92%)

6 1 (.8%) 0 1 (.8%)

7 2 (1.53) 0 2 (1.53)

Total 109 (83.85) 21 (16.15) 130 (100%)

Correlational Analyses

Using a bivariate correlational analysis, the relationship between maternal health

literacy, number of antenatal visits, timing

of first

antenatal care visit, problems during

pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes were examined to determine if any of the variables

were too highly correlated to leave in the regression analyses due to multicollinearity.

The analysis showed no multicollinearity in the variables so all the variables were

included in the analysis. To assess the intervariable relationship, correlation analysis was

used to examine the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Table

13 shows the results of the analysis. The convention in behavioral studies such as this is

to interpret correlation value of .10 to .29 as small correlation; .30 to .49 as medium

correlation and .50 to 1.0 as large correlation (Green & Salkind, 2011).

89
Table 13

Correlation Coefficient for Dependent and Independent Variables

Develop
ment of
health
problems
Health
Literacy
Frequency

of Visit

Number
of
antenatal
Visit
Timing
of first
antenatal
visit
Pregnancy
outcomes

Development of

health problems

1.000

Health Literacy .005 1.000

Frequency of
Visit

-.016 -.032 1.000

Number of

antenatal Visit

.107 .224* -.380** 1.000

Timing of first

antenatal visit

.050 .035 .081 -.106 1.000

Pregnancy
outcomes

-.177*

.097

-.204* .145 -.111 1.000

Note. *Correlations are statistically significant at the .05 level (2-tailed)

**Correlations are statistically significant at the .01 level (2-tailed)

Also, the result from this study shows small to medium correlations among the

variables. The result shows that there was a medium correlation between the level of

education and number of antenatal visits, r = 0.27, p = .002 (2-tailed); education also

correlated with development of medical condition, r = 0.18; timing of first antenatal care

visit, r = -0.23; employment status, r = 0.48 and household income, r = 0.64 (all with p <

0.05). There was statistically significant relationship between pregnancy outcomes and

frequency of antenatal care visit (r = -0.219, p < 0.005. There is a medium correlation

and statistically significant relationship in number of antenatal visits and the frequency of

the visit, r =.0.38, p = .000; there is also a small correlation but statistically significant

relationship between number of antenatal visits made and health literacy (r = .20, p <.05).

This indicates that women with better health literacy skills make more antenatal visits.

This could be because of awareness of the need to have medical checkup or knowledge of

the importance of medical examination during pregnancy. There is also a small

correlation between pregnancy outcomes and development of medical problems during

pregnancy but a statistically relationship, r = -.18, p = .04. This could be because when

pregnant women go for antenatal visit their medical conditions are noted and monitored.

This will enable the women utilizing health serviced have better pregnancy outcomes if

they any develop medical problems. Using bivariate correlation coefficient, maternal

health literacy, number of antenatal visit, and timing of the start of antenatal care are not

statistically significant. This implies that there may be other actors affecting pregnancy

outcome beyond health literacy, antenatal care, and timing of the start of care

Binomial Logistic Regression

I used logistic regression to assess how well the independent variables predicted

the dependent variable. The variables used in the analysis were pregnancy outcome

(dependent variable), as measured by whether a mother delivered either a healthy or

unhealthy baby. The independent variables were maternal health literacy, frequency of

antenatal visits, number of antenatal visit, timing of the start of antenatal care and

problems developed during pregnancy. To start the analysis, I collapsed cells and recoded

the variables but there was no multicollinearity that would negatively impact the analysis

so all the variables were included.

Using a stepwise logistic regression approach, all independent and dependent

variables were entered into the equation one at a time. Frequency of visits was entered

first because it has the highest correlation. This was followed by problem develop during

pregnancy, number of visits, timing of the first visits and health literacy. During this

process, the best regression equation decreased the variables accordingly to improve the

logistic regression model. There were five steps created and there were no big differences

in the results from the steps. At the first step, when frequency of visit was entered, the

model explained 84% of the results; when development of medical problems was entered

in the second block, 85% of the model was correctly presented; when antenatal visit was

entered in block 3 85% of the results was predicted; at block 4 when timing of visit was

removed, 85% was correctly classified and by the fifth block when health literacy was

entered, 85% of the cases were correctly classified. The five models completed for the

research question did not show any significant difference.

Table 14

shows how the

models were created.

92
Table 14

Models for Binary Regression

Blocks

Variables included

1 Frequency of visit

1, 2 Frequency of visit, Develop problem

1,2,3

Frequency of visit, Develop problem,

Number of antenatal visit

1,2,3,4 Frequency of visit, Develop problem,

Number of antenatal visit, Timing of

visit

1,2,3,4,5 Frequency of visit, Develop problem,

Number of antenatal visit, Timing of

visit, Health Literacy

The results presented in Table 15 shows that the omnibus goodness-of-fit test for

the regression model was statistically significant and reliable in distinguishing or

differentiating pregnancy outcome which is whether a healthy or unhealthy baby is

delivered (χ2 = 13.23; p = .040).

Table 15

Omnibus Test of Model Coefficient

Chi-square

Sig.

Step 2.699 2 .259

Model 2.699 2 .259

Block 13.229 6 0.040

The classification table as can be seen in Table 16 shows that 18 cases are classified as

having unhealthy baby and 108 cases are classified as having healthy baby, implying that

the model correctly classified about 85.4% of the cases.

Table 16

Classification Table for Pregnancy Outcome

Observed Pregnancy Outcome

Predicted

Pregnancy
Outcome

(Healthy Baby)

Percentage

Correct

No Yes

No
Yes
3
1
18
108

14.3

99.1

Overall percentage 85.4

The Cox and Snell

R Square

and

Nagelkerke

R square values, in

Table 17

, were

used to explain variation in the dependent variable. Based on the outcomes, the amount

of variance in the dependent variable accounted for by the model is about 17%.

Table 17

Model Summary

Step -2 Log

Likelihood

Cox & Snell

R Square
Nagelkerke
R Square
1

101

.747a

.097

.165

A correlation analysis between the covariates and independent variables shows

that education level is correlated to timing of the start of antenatal care, health literacy,

household income, number of antenatal care visits, employment status and marital status

(p < .05). While it is not strange that education correlates with employment status,

number of antenatal visits and number of children, medical problems developed during

pregnancy is only correlated with pregnancy outcomes. The number of antenatal care

visits is highly correlated with frequency of visits (p < =.01), employment (p =.05),

education (p =.01).

According to Szumilas (2010), an odds ratio is used to measure the relationship

that exists between an exposure and an outcome. This means that given a particular

exposure an outcome will occur compared to the odds that the outcome occurs without

the exposure. In other words, odds are “the ratio of probability that an event will occur

divided by the possibility that the event will not occur” (Mertler & Vannatta, 2013, p.

298). The regression coefficients are presented in Table 18. The Wald statistics shows

only problems developed during pregnancy is related to pregnancy outcomes (p =.047) at

statistically significant levels and there is no statistical significance among the rest of the

variables. The odds ratio for problem developed showed that for every increase of 1 in

the pregnancy problem developed that there is a 0.316 less chance for a healthy baby.

Since the value Exp(β) is less than 1 this indicates a negative odds or change, Thus, an

increase in pregnancy problems developed during pregnancy will lead to decrease

possibility of healthy pregnancy.

From the correlations model in Table 18, problems developed during pregnancy

add significantly to the prediction of the pregnancy outcome or whether the mother has a

healthy or unhealthy baby (p = <.05). Frequency of visits is also related at a statistically

significant level to pregnancy outcome and this makes sense because the more visit a

pregnant woman makes to a health facility the more likely health personnel would be able

to detect any medical issues. The number of antenatal visits, health literacy, and timing of

the first antenatal care visit did not add significantly to the prediction of pregnancy

outcome. The odds ratio (Exp(B) indicates how the independent variables change the

likelihood of the pregnancy outcomes, that is whether a healthy or unhealthy baby will be

delivered. The findings presented in Table 18 reveal high odds for the effects of the

different categories of problems developed during pregnancy. Although timing of

antenatal visit is not statistically significant, it is important to note that the odds ratios for

the categories for this variable shows that the women who attended antenatal visit at least

once in a month are three times likely to affect their pregnancy outcome.

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Table 18

Regression Coefficients for Maternal Health Literacy, Frequency of Antenatal Visits,

Number of Antenatal Visit

, Timing of the

Start of Antenatal Care and Problems Developed During Pregnancy.

β S.E. Wald df Sig. Exp(β)

95% C.I. for EXP(β)

Lower Upper

Frequency of antenatal Visit

6.947 3 .074

Frequency of antenatal Visit (1) .613 1.212 .256 1 .613 1.846 .171. 19.871

Frequency antenatal Visit (2) -.882 1.240 .506 1 .477 .414 .036 4.704

Frequency antenatal Visit (3) -1.517 1.548 .960 1 .327 .219 .011 4.563

Pregnancy problem developed -1.151 .580 3.944 .047 .316 .102 .985

Number of Antenatal Visit

2.448 2 .294

Number of Antenatal Visit (1) -.903 .779 1.343 1 .247 .406 .088 1.867

Number of Antenatal Visit (2) .825 1.015 .662 1 .416 2.283 .313 16.674

Timing of first antenatal visit

2.830 2 .243

Timing of first antenatal visit (1) 1.140 .776 2.158 1 .142 3.

126

.683 14.305

Timing of first antenatal visit (2) 1.293 .795 2.646 1 .

104

3.645 .767 17.320

Health Literacy .408 .397 1.060 .303 1.504 .691 3.272

Constant -.101 1.858 .003 1 .956 .904

Note. Variable(s) entered on Step 1: Health Literacy, Pregnancy Problems, Frequency of antenatal visit, number of Antenatal

Visits, Timing of first visit

Results in Relationship to Null Hypothesis

The research question and hypotheses that guided this study were: What is the

predictive relationship between maternal health literacy level, the number of antenatal

visits, timing of the first antenatal care visit, development of medical conditions during

pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes (birth status of child, which are healthy and

unhealthy baby) in Lagos, Nigeria? The H0 was: There was no statistically significant

predictive relationship between maternal health literacy level, the number of antenatal
visits, timing of the first antenatal care visit, development of medical conditions during
pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes (birth status of child, which are healthy and

unhealthy baby) in Lagos, Nigeria. The H0 was rejected if p-values were p ≤ 0.05.

Based on my research question I used binary logistic regression to determine the

odds of having healthy or unhealthy baby as a pregnancy outcome. To begin I checked to

be sure the assumptions of the logistic regression were met, so the result would analysis

would be valid. According to Mertler and Vannatta (2013) the dependent variable needs

to be binary or binomial. Pregnancy outcome was categorized as binomial variable and I

coded healthy pregnancy as 1 and unhealthy pregnancy as 0. Also, there should be no

multicollinearity. According to Mertler and Vannatta, this can lead to understanding

which independent variable contributes to the explained variance. A preliminary multiple

linear regression was conducted to evaluate multicollinearity in the variables. As can be

seen in table 18, multicollinearity was not violated because tolerance statistics for all the

five independent variables were greater than 0.1. Also, the Chi Square test of association

shows there is no multicollinearity. There are no outliers and the test of goodness of fit to

assess the fit of the model to the data (Mertler & Vannatta, 2013) shows the model is a

good fit. This was confirmed by the Hosmer-Lemeshow not being statistically significant

(p = 0.641). A logistic regression model was used to assess the importance of each

independent variable and to predict which variables had the strongest relationship with

each other. Of the predictor variables, only problems developed during pregnancy was

found to be statistically significant (p =.05). Overall only one variable was a statistically

significant predictor of relationship between the independent and dependent variables

(Chi square = 13.23, p < 0.05 with df = 6) 13.23 therefore, the result is not conclusive.

Summary

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between maternal

health literacy, antenatal care visits, development of medical conditions during pregnancy

(independent variables), and pregnancy outcomes (dependent variable) for women in the

city of Lagos, Nigeria. The population studied is diverse and evenly distributed. In this

study, I examined if there is a statistically significant relationship between the dependent

and the independent variables or the extent to which the independent variables (i.e.,

maternal health literacy, antenatal care visits, and development of medical conditions

during pregnancy) predict the dependent variable (i.e., pregnancy outcomes) in Lagos,

Nigeria based on social cognitive theory and the health belief model. In chapter 4 I

reported the data collection procedure, return rate, data screening and treatment of

missing data and data analysis methods. Findings from the study show that there is

statistically significant relationship between pregnancy outcomes and antenatal care

visits.
99

Next, the findings from further analysis that included the regression of

independent variable maternal health literacy, antenatal care visits, frequency of antenatal

care, and timing of antenatal care, and development of medical problems during

pregnancy on the dependent variable pregnancy outcome showed that only one variable

was a statistically significant predictor of relationship between the independent and

dependent variables. The results show that only development of medical problems

during pregnancy play significant role in women pregnancy outcomes. However, the

findings should be interpreted with caution because the participants might have

responded in a manner beyond my control. The data did not meet the parametric tests

which limit the extent to which it can be generalized to the larger population but the

findings from the study can be used to develop educational materials and to develop

programs and services that will better improve women’s pregnancy outcomes. In chapter

5 I discussed the research findings, limitation of the study, recommendations,

implications, and conclusion.

100
Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations
Introduction

The purpose of the study was to determine if there is a relationship between

maternal health literacy, antenatal care visits, and development of medical conditions

during pregnancy (independent variables) and pregnancy outcomes (dependent variable)

in Lagos, Nigeria. In the study, I identified antenatal care utilization measured by the

timing of first antenatal care visit. I also assessed the relationship of the independent

variables on pregnancy outcomes measured by the birth status of the child, which was

either a healthy and unhealthy baby. In this chapter, I will discuss the results of the study

and the public health implications of the findings and provide my conclusions and

recommendations for further research. A binary correlation was conducted to assess the

relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Results showed that the

variable problems developed during pregnancy were significantly correlated with

pregnancy outcomes.

Interpretation of Findings

Overall, the findings of this study indicated that problems developed during

pregnancy are significantly correlated to pregnancy outcome. I performed a binary

logistic regression to find the predictable relationship between maternal health literacy

level, the number of antenatal visits, the timing of the first antenatal care visit,

development of medical conditions during pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes (which

was measured by having either a healthy baby or unhealthy baby). The binary logistic

regression results showed statistical significance for medical problems developed during

101

pregnancy. The model explained 20% (Nagelkerke R2) of the variance in pregnancy

outcome and correctly classified about 87% of the cases. The sensitivity test for those

who had a healthy baby was 96% and those who did not have healthy baby as 38%.

About 21% of the participants reported they had or developed medical problems during

their pregnancy. Medical complications may exist before pregnancy or worsen with

pregnancy if they are not treated (WHO, 2016). Some of the complications mentioned by

the participants were bleeding, high blood pressure, malaria, anemia, and other

complications. This is generally consistent with WHO’s (2016) report that major health

complications account for 75% of maternal deaths. Unlike the WHO (2016) reports, in

this study I did not look at women who died from these complications but tried to see if

medical problems predict birth outcomes. Medical conditions during pregnancy highlight

the need for antenatal care to ensure healthy pregnancy. This is important for coordinated

care among health care providers to effectively manage the health of the pregnant women

and ensure high likelihood of successful outcomes (Iezzoni, Yu, Wint, Smeltzer, &

Ecker, 2014).

In this study, I did not find a statistically significant predictive relationship

between maternal health literacy level and pregnancy outcomes in the study population.

Past researchers have identified an association between a mother’s literacy skills and the

survival of the child (Levine et al., 2004). Shieh, Mays, McDaniel, and Yu (2009)

reported that low health literacy affects the women’s pregnancy knowledge which will

affect the health of the baby. Rothman et al. (2004) also showed it was difficult for

women with low literacy to read directions and to follow medical recommendations,

102

which leads to them having poorer knowledge that can contribute to worse clinical

outcomes. However, these researchers’ results could not be vindicated in this study

because no association was found.

As a result, I looked at the education level of the women participants to see how

their education level could impact their birth outcomes. Past studies have found level of

education an important factor in birth outcomes (Idris et al., 2007; Ifenne et al., 1997;

Ikeako et al., 2006). A study by Auger, Luo, Platt, and Daniel (2008) in Canada found an

association between not having a high school diploma and low birth weight. However,

the result from this study shows an interesting dynamic. While it would be expected that

higher education would serve as a protective factor against negative birth outcomes,

participants in this study with little or no education reported fewer negative birth

outcomes compared to participants with higher education. This finding is different from

other studies that suggest an association between education level and pregnancy outcome

(Kohan, Ghasemi, & Dodangeh, 2007).

Skilled obstetric assistance during delivery and adequate antenatal care are

important to reducing maternal mortality and morbidity (Iyaniwura & Yusuf, 2009), since

pregnant women will receive information that will help them in making the right

decisions concerning their pregnancy, receive treatment for existing medical conditions,

and also receive screening for risk factors. The results from this study showed that a

majority of the pregnant women in this study received adequate antenatal care but

receiving adequate antenatal care may not be enough because a majority of the fatal

complications may occur during or shortly after delivery (Iyaniwura & Yusuf, 2009).

103

Most of the women started antenatal care after the first trimester and this could be due to

a lot of reasons that were not explored in this study. Therefore, there may be a need to

look at other socio-cultural factors which may act as barriers to starting antenatal care

early which could lead to successful pregnancy outcomes.

The results from this study are in accord with the HBM. The correlation in

education, income, health literacy level, and timing of first antenatal visit are products of

the environments. The socio-cultural factors which are associated with low antenatal

care utilization can be viewed as modifying factors and perceived barriers to health

seeking behavior for the women in the study. Furthermore, results from this study

indicate the need for prevention focused programs that specifically target and encourage

women to seek medical care as soon as they discover they are pregnant. This may help to

promote healthy practices in these women. Self-efficacy can be used to help these women

to set short term goals from one visit to another.

Limitations of the Study

Potential limitations associated with this study included the use of self-reported
data, which can introduce recall bias (Creswell, 2007). In this study, I used a face-toface,
self-administered survey because of the ability of ensuring feedback and completion
of the questions and assisting participants who may have questions (Creswell, 2007).

Although this method may reduce nonresponse bias it did not provide anonymity and

participants might not have truthfully answered sensitive questions (Creswell, 2007). To

guard against this, Pannucci and Wilkins (2010) suggested the use of only validated

scale. The scale I used was already validated and I also dropped off questionnaire for

104

participants who were busy or did not want to complete the survey with me there. These

were picked up in a sealed envelope and this could have reduced non-response bias. Also,

Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias (2008) suggested researchers ensure that the

questions asked are not threatening by asking participants to rate how uneasy they felt
other people would feel about the questions or rate the degree of difficulty in answering

the questions. Although not all bias in the study could be controlled but the awareness of

the presence of bias allowed thorough scrutiny of the results (Sica, 2006).

Another limitation for this study was lack of data from women who have

died giving birth. Although this would have provided rich information about

what they went through, data cannot be collected from a dead person and

collecting data from the family of a dead pregnant woman will bring unpleasant

memories and the information provided may be only hearsay. Furthermore, the

study was limited to women over 18 years because women 17 years and under are

considered minors who will need adult consent to participate. Pregnant women

under age 18 may have different reactions to the questions in this study and their

experience or lack of experience with antenatal care could have provided robust

data.

Block (2002) noted there are intrinsic limitations with the self-reporting research

method and analysis that relies on empirical measures alone; this is because cognitive and

situational factors could affect the validity of the self-administered questionnaires.

According to Gliem and Gliem (2003), the use of single item question in a construct is

not a reliable way to generate conclusion. The dependent variable in this study was a

105

single item construct and this could constitute a limitation to the study and present an

opportunity for future studies and the development of stronger instruments to support

future study.

Recommendations

As a result of dearth of literature showing evidence of use of a standardized

instrument to measure health literacy and also to find predictable relationships between

health literacy, maternal health characteristics, and pregnancy outcomes, I conducted this

study to add to the body of literature. The SCT of interaction between the environment,

behavior, and what the pregnant women participants acquired through their education and

information received during antenatal visit could empower women to make informed

decisions about their health during pregnancy and beyond. Exposure to antenatal care and

information provided during these visits could also help pregnant women in their decision

making.

One of the seven MDGs, the reduction of maternal mortality by 75% by the year

2015 (Say et al., 2014), was not achieved (Oye-Adeniran et al., 2014), but women in this

study were aware of the importance of antenatal visits. Seventy percent of women

attended six or more antenatal visits; more than the four visits or more as proposed by

WHO (2002). Although there were more than six visits for more than half of the women

surveyed, only 47% of these women started antenatal care before the end of the first

trimester (3 months). It is important to encourage early start of antenatal visits. This will

allow early detection of likely medical problems and will reduce pregnancy

complications that can lead to death or debilitation. Future studies should consider what

106

makes women wait longer to start antenatal care and how media campaigns could work to

remedy this. The women who did not receive antenatal care at all were either not aware

they were pregnant or did not want others to know they were pregnant. The women

participants in this study were not pregnant at the time of the study but a comparison with

women who are pregnant at the time of the study may give better insight. Also, future

studies using the health literacy tool should try to consolidate the questions. Some of the

participants reported the questions as repetitive or not very clear.

Health practitioners should be proactive in educating pregnant women, during

each visit, on the importance of self-care and the early start of antenatal care. The

participants in the study volunteered unsolicited information about the kind of care they

received and their expectations for their care. A mixed methods approach of qualitative

and quantitative research methods would be able to gather more information than this

quantitative study and would help to bring out other reasons of lack of attendance or late

attendance of antenatal care and what can be done to get women to use health facilities

before, during, or after pregnancy.

Implications

Reducing maternal mortality is an important goal for public health professionals

globally. The results from this study showed an interplay of different variables and

underscore the challenges health professionals in a developing country, like Nigeria,

might have in reducing maternal pregnancy and promoting better pregnancy outcomes.

Data from the study showed Nigerian women have a high level of education; to improve

maternal literacy, antenatal education should be introduced in high school and students

107

should be encouraged to take health-related courses emphasizing this subject area even if

they are not majoring in health sciences. Community health promotion and awareness

should emphasize early antenatal care to safeguard the health of the mother and child.

Although this was not an area of focus in this study, information the women receive

during their routine antenatal visits should address the importance of healthy living for a

successful pregnancy outcome. This combination of practices is essential for a successful

pregnancy outcomes and preventive health education could be useful for behavioral

change and promoting antenatal care among future pregnant women.

Conclusions

Of the five predictor variables, problems developed during pregnancy was

statistically significant. An increase in problems developed during pregnancy most likely

will increase the chance of having negative pregnancy outcomes. It has been established

in the literature that having antenatal care and care throughout the pregnancy increases

the chance of having a successful pregnancy and healthy child. There is still much to be

done to encourage early antenatal usage. The practice of registering late for antenatal

care and having to go for biweekly visits, as a result of a late start, needs to be

discouraged. Uniformity of care for pregnant women in both private and public health

facilities needs to be encouraged to allow women who use government hospitals to have

confidence in the care they are receiving. The long term positive social change

implication of this study is that educational efforts and healthcare outreach could be

focused on those women that normally would not pursue antenatal health care on their

own.

108
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Appendix A: Survey Instrument

Qualifying Question:

1. Are you currently pregnant?

0=no

;

1=yes

—If no, continue with survey.

Survey:

Please answer each of the following items based on your experience:

1. How often are appointment slips written in a way that is easy to read and

understand?