Abstract

Maternal and Child Health (MCH) refers to the broad means of providing promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative health care for mothers and children. Due to the fact that the health status of the mother is vital to the survival and well being of children and the family, there is the need for integration of maternal and child health care programmes.
The objective of the study was to assess and compare the utilization of MCH services among women in two rural communities in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria.
The study employed community-based comparative cross-sectional design to assess and compare the utilization of MCH services among women in two rural communities. Four hundred women from the two communities were selected using a multistage sampling technique and data was collected using a pre-tested, interview-administered questionnaire.
The study showed that women in both study communities had good and comparable perception of MCH services. They however had low and variable levels of utilization of MCH services; these

include use of ante natal, delivery, post natal, family planning and child health services. The utilization of MCH services significantly associated with age groups, religion, marital status, occupation, income and education of women in the two study groups.
Sustained public enlightenment of rural dwellers (particularly women) on benefits of utilizing health facilities is required to enable them make better use of available health services. Relevant stakeholders should also develop modalities to overcome the social-cultural factors that inhibit optimal utilization of MCH services in rural communities. Furthermore, the findings of this study should be disseminated to the LGAs and FCT authorities so as to assist them to improve the current situation and to encourage more operational researches in this important area of public health.

COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF UTILISATION OF MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTHCARE SERVICES IN TWO RURAL COMMUNITIES IN THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, ABUJA, NIGERIA