Exploration of nurses perception about the implementation of focused ante natal care services in the District Health Facilities of Dar Es Salaam

Abstract

A number of countries in Africa, including Tanzania, have introduced focused antenatal care (FANC) as an approach to improve maternal and child health-care services and decrease the high rate of maternal deaths. The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of nurses with regard to the implementation of FANC in practice. A quantitative descriptive design was used to determine how the implementation of FANC guidelines was perceived by nurses who provided midwifery services in Tanzania. A questionnaire was used to collect data. Stratified random sampling was used to recruit 143 nurses, comprising nursing officers (n=50), midwives (n=53), and public health nurses (n=40). The SAS/Basic and SAS/STAT version 11.1 statistical analysis programs were used to analyse data and compile descriptive statistics. Cronbach's coefficient of reliability was 0.86. The results revealed that the greatest area of concern (73.8%, n=104) was the shortage of human and material resources for the successful implementation of FANC. However, there was a positive perception about the implementation and the outcome of FANC services by 98.6 percent (n=141) of the respondents. Authorities and management of these services need to attend to and review the human and non-human resource allocation budgets.