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Assessment of utilisation of PMTCT services at Nyanza Provincial Hospital, Kenya
OBJECTIVE: The main objective of the study was to assess the utilisation of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services among mothers registered for services at Nyanza Provincial Hospital in Kenya.
METHODS: A crosssectional exploratory study was conducted, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches to collect primary and secondary data. The study population was 133 clients registered for PMTCT services.
RESULTS: The study revealed that 52.4% of clients received PMTCT information at the health facility without prior knowledge about intervention, 96% waited for more than 90 minutes, and 89% took less than 10 minutes for post-test counselling. Knowledge of MTCT and PMTCT was inadequate even after counselling, as participants could not recall the information divulged during counselling. In addition, 80% of clients did not present for follow-up counselling irrespective of HIV status, and 95%, did not disclose positive HIV status to spouses/relatives for fear of stigma, discrimination and violence. Inadequate counselling services delivered to clients affected service utilisation, in that significant dropout occurred at the stages of HIV result (31.5%), enrollment (53.6%), and delivery (80.7%). Reasons for dropout included fear of positive HIV result, chronic illness, stigma and discrimination, unsupportive spouse and inability to pay for the services.











































