Background: Growing evidence suggests that there are imbalances in the achievements in health care in Vietnam, especially in the mountainous areas, and particularly among ethnic minority groups. The aim of this study is to describe the determinants of maternal care services utilization and related factors among ethnic minority women in a mountainous rural area of central Vietnam.
Methods: A cross-sectional study design was conducted in A-Luoi, a rural mountainous district of Central Vietnam. A total of 381 ethnic minority women preceding twelve months were included in the survey. Preceding the survey, households were interviewed based on a structured questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression model analysis was used to define the significant factors related to adequate antenatal care (ANC) visits.
Results: More than four-fifth (81.1) of women had undergone at least 3 antenatal care visit during their previous pregnancy. However, there were still 3.1% of women who not received any antenatal care visits. Women in the older age group were more likely to have adequate ANC visits than women who were younger than 20 years old (aOR=3.59; 5.58; 2.66 were age groups 20-24; 25-29 and ≥ 30 respectively). In addition, women with higher education (secondary or above) were more likely (aOR = 2.50) to attend 3 ANC services compared to women who with lower education (primary level or less). Knowledge of maternal health care services and receiving support from family during pregnancy or giving birth were defind significant different from the model.
Conclusion: There was limitation in approach and utilization of maternal health care among ethnic minority women in remote areas in Central Vietnam. The interventions focusing on women in the younger age group, with lower education level, and designed to improve knowledge about maternal health, would be most beneficial.
Key words: Antenatal care visits (ANC), maternal health care, minority women, moutainou
Determinants of marginalization and inequitable maternal health care in North–Central Vietnam: a framework analysis
