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Empowering Expecting Women to Obtain High-Quality Healthcare in Pakistan: An Evaluation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Conditional Cash Transfer Program.

Authors :
Majeed R
Iqbal J
Haq ZU
Shahzad MF
Source :
Evaluation review [Eval Rev] 2024 Apr 26, pp. 193841X241246826. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Apr 26.
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
Ahead of Print

Abstract

Maternal mortality, largely stemming from complications during pregnancy and childbirth, impacts poor expecting women with limited healthcare access in rural Pakistan. Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs), commonly implemented in developing nations, are designed to improve the well-being of vulnerable populations by focusing on health and education. A CCT initiative named Chief Minister's Special Initiative for Mother and Child Health (CM-SIMCH) was launched in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), one of the less-developed provinces of Pakistan, to empower expecting women to access quality healthcare. This study investigates the factors influencing CM-SIMCH program participation and assesses its impact on the health of expecting women by analyzing health-seeking hospital visits in KP, Pakistan. The study utilizes the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) technique to analyze cross-sectional data obtained from 303 expecting women residing in the Nowshera district of KP. The PSM allows for a balanced comparison of participants who received the CM-SIMCH transfers with those who did not, assessing its impact on maternal healthcare access and outcomes. Empirical results show that factors such as education and family system positively influence the participation of expecting women in the CM-SIMCH program, whereas travel costs exert a negative effect. The intervention leads to a notable increase in hospital visits among these women, contributing to improved health outcomes in KP. This underscores the program's potential effectiveness in addressing maternal healthcare challenges and enhancing healthcare access for vulnerable women in less-developed areas. Therefore, empirical evidence supports the CM-SIMCH program's potential to promote maternal health and improve healthcare access in KP. The study recommends government intervention in health sector as a strategic imperative to empower women and enhance infant health.<br />Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1552-3926
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Evaluation review
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
38665096
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X241246826