Health and Health Care of Mothers and Children in a Suburban Area of Luanda, Angola

Abstract

Population health data available in Angola are often insufficient to guide the planning of health interventions. To address this gap, the goal of the present study was to investigate the health of mothers and infants in a suburban municipality in Luanda (Cacuaco), in order to provide a baseline for future comparisons. This was a prevalence study investigating infants younger than 2 years of age and their mothers. Mothers were interviewed, and children’s height and weight were measured. Of 749 mothers interviewed, 98.5 % (95 % CI 98.2–99.1 %) had at least one prenatal visit and 51.7 % (95 % CI 47.4–56.3 %) had a health card. Most mothers with a health card had their first prenatal visit before the 20th week of pregnancy, and had at least four prenatal visits; 81.1 % (95 % CI 78.3–84.1 %) of mothers also had their child’s health card. Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months was 19 % (95 % CI 16.2–23.1 %). Prevalence of low height-for-age and low BMI-for-age were 32 and 6 %, respectively. Mothers with higher education levels were more likely to have had their first prenatal visit earlier, to have had more prenatal visits, to have given birth at a health facility, and to have her own and her child’s health cards. Results showed a high prevalence of prenatal care and a low frequency of acute malnutrition. Maternal education level, among factors studied, was the predominant correlate of more positive health behaviors. These findings suggest important progress of mother and child health in Cacuaco, and may serve as a baseline for the planning of health interventions.

Malnutrition and its associated factors: a cross-sectional study with children under 2 years in a suburban area in Angola

“…Therefore, we do not know how much they are involved with the high prevalence of malnutrition at the study site, but the fact that we identified relatively few individual risk factors speaks in favor of the importance of collective exposures. Nevertheless, it is important to highlight the effort of revitalization of the Municipal Health System in Cacuaco [26], whose deployment began in 2007, including the Community Health Workers Program [6, 27]. The findings concerning this suburban area in Luanda cannot be generalized to the whole country, but they provide a scenario that is probably similar to other suburban areas in Angola, especially those surrounding the capital city.…”

“…We carried out a cross-sectional population-based study, linked to a larger project entitled “Developing primary health care services in Angola: a proposal for evaluation of the Community Health Workers Program”, whose data were collected from August 1 to September 26 of 2010 [6]. The study site, Cacuaco, located in the suburban region of Luanda, was chosen because it was the first municipality to implement the Angolan Community Health Workers Program.…”

Charting health system reconstruction in post-war Liberia: a comparison of rural vs. remote healthcare utilization

“…Over the last decade there has been a growing interest in provision of universally available primary care services in low-income countries, especially in those emerging from years of civil conflict. Investment in primary care can improve health outcomes, particularly among low socioeconomic groups, in a cost-effective manner [ 1 – 6 ]. This principle has been applied in Liberia following the end of a 13-year civil conflict in an effort to re-design fragmented, war crippled health systems along principles of equity and effectiveness [ 7 – 9 ].…”

Continuum of care for maternal and child health and child undernutrition in Angola

“…Therefore, the utilization of care continuity needs to be strengthened. A long distance to a health facility [ 50 ], the mother’s low education level [ 23 , 28 , 30 , 31 ], the partner’s low education level [ 48 ], less participation of women in decision-making [ 48 ], economic restrictions [ 24 , 26 – 29 ], and a lack of knowledge regarding ANC [ 51 ] prevent mothers from utilizing ANC. A delay in a first ANC visit also contributes to less frequency of ANC visits [ 52 ].…”