PREVALENCE OF PRECONCEPTION CARE PROVISION IN KISUMU COUNTY-KENYA

ABSTRACT Background ‘Preconception care’ (PCC) is the provision of biomedical, behavioral and social health interventions to women and couples before conception occurs. The PCC, is valuable and key in preventing and controlling non-communicable diseases. There is the need for comprehensive preconception care provision in Kisumu County in order to promote healthy reproduction, improve maternal and neonatal health indicators in this and similar settings. Unfortunately, the current rate of provision for this service has not been documented in Kenya and more specifically in Kisumu County. Methods In a cross-sectional study, data on the provision of various services as per the recommended package for preconception care was collected in health facilities using a checklist. The targeted facilities (n=28) were selected using multistage sampling. The means for all of the services in the package was determined. The significance of the difference in the means was determined by one sample T-test at P -value ≤ 0.05 Results Level of implementation of PCC was quite low at 39%. It was observed to be lower in the primary level facilities (KEPH level 2 and 3) at 34% and higher in referral facilities (level 4 and above) at 45%. The service with the highest implementation level was HIV prevention and management (84%) followed by sexually transmitted diseases (80%) and vaccination services (75%). The service with lowest level of implementation was environmental risk exposure reduction at 13% for level 2 and 3 followed by management of mental health disorders. Conclusion Provision of PCC was relatively low at 39% and provision was fragmented. Provision differed across service levels and care packages.