Improving Maternal Health Awareness through Mobile Clinics in Rural Northern Chad
Keywords:
maternal health awareness, mobile clinics, rural Chad, community-based intervention, antenatal education, traditional birth attendantsAbstract
Maternal mortality in rural northern Chad remains critically elevated, with persistent structural barriers—geographic remoteness, cultural gatekeeping, shortages of trained birth attendants, and profound health literacy deficits—preventing communities from accessing essential antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal care. This community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) study investigated the effectiveness of a mobile clinic intervention program in improving maternal health awareness among women of reproductive age (15–49 years) across four rural districts of Kanem, Barh-El-Gazel, Batha, and Ennedi West Provinces in northern Chad over a 10-month program cycle (March 2024–December 2024). Engaging 180 participants alongside traditional birth attendants, community health volunteers, and village leaders, the mobile clinic program delivered structured antenatal education modules, nutritional counseling, danger sign recognition training, and facility birth preparedness workshops. Mixed-methods assessment revealed a mean effect size of Cohen's d = 0.86 across five maternal health awareness indicators, with statistically significant pre-to-post improvements (p < .001). Community trust, religious leader endorsement, and traditional birth attendant integration emerged as pivotal mechanisms amplifying intervention reach and sustaining awareness gains.
Downloads
References
Bhutta, Z. A., Lassi, Z. S., Pariyo, G., & Huicho, L. (2010). Global experience of community health workers for delivery of health related millennium development goals: A systematic review, country case studies, and recommendations for integration into national health systems. World Health Organization.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Byrne, A., Morgan, A., Külker, E., Starrs, A., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2019). Traditional birth attendant training for improving health behaviours and pregnancy outcomes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (1), CD012430. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD012430.pub2
Chad National Statistics Institute. (2021). Enquête sur la condition de vie des ménages au Tchad: Rapport de synthèse 2020–2021. Institut National de la Statistique des Études Économiques et Démographiques.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Chilisa, B. (2019). Indigenous research methodologies (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Kickbusch, I., Wait, S., Maag, D., McGuire, P., & Banks, I. (2013). Navigating health: The role of health literacy. Alliance for Health and the Future, International Longevity Centre.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press.
Ministère de la Santé Publique du Tchad. (2022). Plan national de développement sanitaire 2022–2030. République du Tchad.
Muhsyanur, M. (2025). Praktik Alih Kode Bahasa Indonesia-Bugis dalam Pengajian di Pesantren As’ adiyah: Strategi Linguistik untuk Memperdalam Pemahaman Keagamaan Santri Multikultural. Sawerigading, 31(1), 1–15. https://sawerigading.kemendikdasmen.go.id/index.php/sawerigading/article/view/1560/0
Ramadhanti, D., Yanda, D. P., & Muhsyanur. (2021). Scholarly Text Writing Workshop: Uncloking Weaknesses in Article Writing. Rangkiang: Jurnal Pengabdian Pada Masyarakat, 3(1), 55–64.
Nutbeam, D. (2000). Health literacy as a public health goal: A challenge for contemporary health education and communication strategies into the 21st century. Health Promotion International, 15(3), 259–267. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/15.3.259
Perry, H. B., Zulliger, R., & Rogers, M. M. (2014). Community health workers in low-, middle-, and high-income countries: An overview of their history, recent evolution, and current effectiveness. Annual Review of Public Health, 35, 399–421. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182354
Wilson, A., Gallos, I. D., Plana, N., Lissauer, D., Khan, K. S., Zamora, J., MacArthur, C., & Coomarasamy, A. (2011). Effectiveness of strategies incorporating training and support of traditional birth attendants on perinatal and maternal mortality: Meta-analysis. BMJ, 343, d7102. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d7102
World Health Organization. (2015). Maternal and newborn health knowledge assessment tool: Field testing guide. WHO.
World Health Organization. (2023). Trends in maternal mortality 2000 to 2023: Estimates by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and UNDESA/Population Division. WHO.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Mahamat Saleh Oumar, Amina Hassan Idriss, Halima Abakar Moussa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
