African Agroforestry Research (Forestry/Agriculture) | 02 December 2009
Health System Strengthening Initiatives and Their Impact on Maternal and Child Healthcare Service Accessibility and Satisfaction Among Low-Income Families in Rural Lesotho
T, s, i, a, b, e, d, i, D, i, t, u, m, o, ,, M, o, t, s, w, a, n, e, M, o, k, o, n, e, ,, T, h, a, b, o, K, h, u, m, a, l, o, ,, M, p, h, o, H, l, e, n, g, w, e
Abstract
In rural Lesotho, maternal and child health services are often inaccessible due to inadequate infrastructure and financial barriers. A mixed-methods approach including surveys and focus group discussions was employed to assess the outcomes of health system improvements over a year. Service availability increased by 20% after implementing new referral systems, with parents reporting satisfaction levels rising from 45% to 70%. Health system strengthening initiatives have significantly improved access and parental satisfaction in maternal and child healthcare services. Continued support for community health workers and enhanced training programmes are recommended to sustain these improvements. Lesotho, Health System Strengthening, Maternal Child Healthcare, Service Accessibility, Parental Satisfaction Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p<em>i)=\beta</em>0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.