Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Structured interviews were conducted among eligible women in both districts, while key informant interviews, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted for the qualitative component. By comparison, however, women in Ngabwe spent significantly more time traveling to facilities than those in Kaputa, with bad roads and transport challenges cited as factors affecting service use.
The requirement to have a traditional birth attendant TBA accompany a woman when going to deliver from the facility, and paying these TBAs, was a notable access barrier. Generally, services seemed to be more acceptable in Kaputa than in Ngabwe, though both districts complained about long queues, being delivered by male health workers and having delivery rooms next to male wards. Keywords: Access, maternal health, antenatal care, availability, affordability, acceptability. Maternal mortality remains a major health problem in low-resource settings due to weak health systems and poor health service delivery [ 1 - 3 ].
One of the major contributing factor to maternal deaths, in these settings, is the low access to healthcare services, especially in rural areas [ 5 , 6 ].
Maternal services, such as antenatal care ANC , provide an opportunity for prevention and early detection of maternal conditions such as anaemia, malaria, hypertension and other medical conditions affecting maternal health, and thereby improving pregnancy outcomes [ 7 ]. Delayed and poor access to services is associated with increased maternal, fetal and infant mortality and morbidity [ 8 ].
Access is, therefore, an important aspect of service delivery and has been receiving increased attention due to its importance in health policy [ 9 ]. The framework defines three distinct dimensions of access, i. The availability dimension examines whether appropriate services are provided in the right place and at the right time to meet the needs of the population [ 9 ].
