The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #71691

Kelvin Mwaba, PhD¹, Edward S. Cherry², Makhosazana Xaba³, Ellen M. H. Mitchell, PhD¹, and Karen Trueman¹. (1) Research & Evaluation Unit, Ipas, 12th floor Metal box Centre, 25 Owl Street, Auckland Park 2006, Gauteng, South Africa, 27 251 9 203 380, mwabak@unw001.uniwest.ac.za, (2) Arcadis, 119 Lantern Way, Carrboro, NC 27510, (3) Country Team Leader, Ipas, 12th floor Metal box Centre, 25 Owl Street, Auckland Park 2006, Gauteng, South Africa

WHO Safe Motherhood guidelines recommend that countries strive to allocate at least 1 comprehensive essential obstetrical care (EOC) facility per 500,000 inhabitants. Such demographic benchmarks may belie significant inequities among women and disadvantage rural women whose real “access” remains low. Spatial analysis tools permit more accurate measurement of country progress toward Safe Motherhood goals. This study reports the results of a mapping exercise to document the improved spatial dispersion of abortion care services in Limpopo province over the course of a three year scale-up initiative. Improving women’s access to safe abortion care in remote rural areas involves many steps including purposive facility designation, institutional and community mobilization, training, equipping, and coordination. This study will compare the progressive deconcentration of abortion care services against the spatial density of women of reproductive age to demonstrate declining average travel time and costs on a population level. GIS and MIS data will be synthesized to create graphical representations of the improvements in waiting periods, time to treatment, and post-abortion contraceptive provision over time. This study will demonstrate how tracking improved depth and quality of safe abortion services using simple geo-referenced MIS systems can be a cost effective strategy for measuring impact at the population level.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Understand the tools needed to map service delivery points and quality measures
• 2. Appreciate the simplicity and power of GIS as an evaluation tool for health service delivery improvement
• 3. Articulate the value of spatial analysis for measuring women’s access to safe abortion care

Keywords: Information Systems, Data/Surveillance

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.