The Impact of Women's Agency on Accessing and Using Maternal Healthcare Services: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

ABSTRACT: Agency, defined as the ability to identify one's goals and act upon them, has been recognized as a prominent strategy to access maternal healthcare services (MHS). The purpose of this study was to synthesize evidence of the association between women's agency and MHS utilization. A systematic review was performed on five academic databases, comprising Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and ProQuest. Meta-analysis was performed with a random-effects method using the STATA™ Version 17 software. A total of 82 studies were selected following the PRISMA guidelines. The meta-analysis demonstrated that an increase in women's agency was associated with a 34% increase in the odds of receiving skilled antenatal care (ANC) (OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.18-1.52); 7% increase in the odds of initiating the

SUBMITTER: Vizheh M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10002172 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature