Impediment To Adequate Utilization of Primary Health Care Facilities Among Pregnant Women in Ikpoba-Okha LGA of Edo State

This study was designed to investigate impediments to adequate utilization of Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities by pregnant women in Ikpoba-Okha LGA of Edo State. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study and a multistage sampling technique was used to select the study sample of 250 respondents. The instruments for data collection were checklist and questionnaire designed by the researchers and built around the research questions. The reliability of the questionnaire was established through test re-test method and a correlation co-efficient of 0.84 was obtained. The researchers led a team of two trained research assistants to administer the instrument to the women during antenatal care services in their PHC Centres. The instrument was then retrieved immediately after completion. Data were analysed using frequency counts and simple percentages. The results of the study showed that: socio-cultural issues, attitudes of health staff, infrastructural decay, accessibility and traditional beliefs affect adequate utilization of PHC facilities by pregnant women in Ikpoba-Okha. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that health education be intensified in creating public awareness on the importance of using PHC facilities among pregnant women and that harmful traditions should be discarded. Keywords: Impediment, Adequate Utilization, PHC, Pregnant Women DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-17-13 Publication date:June 30th 201