A study to assess maternal and child health care utilization by slum dwellers in Shivamogga

Abstract

Background: As per the WHO estimates, Slums are home to an estimated 8280 lakh people, representing around one third of the world’s urban population. Health is a major economic issue for slum residents. Objective of the study was to assess utilization of health care facilities by slum dwellers with special reference to maternal and child health.Methods: A list of all slums and the number of households therein was collected from city municipal corporation Shivamogga of which 10 slums were selected by simple random sampling all the households in the selected slums were included in the study. Quantitative data were collected from the households of selected slums after taking informed consent using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Information about health care seeking with reference to maternal and child health was obtained by checking the available medical records and as self-reported by the respondents. Data were analyzed by using SPSS software.Results: In this study, among the 339 households studied 93.5% of the women had more than 4 antenatal visits and 99.1% of the deliveries were institutional, the most frequently contacted healthcare facility was government medical college. Conclusions: The availability of better healthcare facilities like government medical college in the proximity of these slums has led to good health seeking behaviour among them.