Views of HIV positive pregnant women on accessibility of the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission programme in North West Province, South Africa

Abstract

Many governments, including the South African government, have made health care services accessible to their citizens. However, studies have revealed that most services are inadequate and inaccessible for all in rural areas. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the views of the HIV positive pregnant women on accessibility of the prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme (PMTCT) in the North West Province of South Africa. Ten HIV positive pregnant women selected by purposeful sampling were recruited for the study. Semistructured interviews were used to collect data. Tesch’s approach was used to analyse the data. The findings of the study showed that most of the HIV positive pregnant women do not access the prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme due to distance and shortage of health care workers. The study recommends the need to develop strategies that would enhance accessibility to such services in the rural communities.