Postnatal care services utilisation in sub-Saharan Africa countries: a scoping review

Postnatal care is a critical component of maternal and newborn health services. Most maternal and infant deaths occur during this time according to the World Health Organisation, yet its utilisation rates remain suboptimal in many low- and middle-income countries. Thus, this scoping review aimed to examine, describe, and identify the gaps in the utilisation of PNC services.

A scoping review guided by Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework was conducted. The review study explored the literature published from 2013 to 2024 on PNC services utilisation in sub-Saharan African countries. A search of five electronic databases search engines: PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and the WHO African Index Medicus, was undertaken for relevant articles. A backward and forward reference check was done to identify additional relevant literature. Duplicates were removed, two authors independently screened the abstract and full text, and data extraction of the included articles. Results are presented narratively after an exploration of the data was undertaken with descriptive analyses.

A total of 350 potentially eligible articles were screened, and 32 studies were included for data extraction and analysis. From the 32 included studies, the majority were from Ethiopia (n = 21, 65.6%), with most of the studies published between 2019 and 2024 (n = 23, 71.9%); a cross-sectional study design was largely employed (n = 28, 87.5%). The included studies revealed the following themes: Awareness and knowledge of PNC healthcare services, resources in the healthcare system, and urban-rural gaps and disparities.

There is low utilisation of postnatal care services in the aforementioned places in this study. There is a need for significant improvements in maternal and child healthcare utilisation by focusing on the areas of greatest need. This can be enhanced through the development of more health facilities close to the community residence to improve accessibility; provision of access to transportation and awareness of the relevance of postnatal care, as a few key strategies. The education of the girl child should be a priority in order to improve PNC services utilisation. Interventions should be targeted at rural areas where there appears to be a significant dearth of services.