A Study of Community Perceptions and Attitudes on integrated reproductive Health Services in Chongwe District of Lusaka Province,Zambia

This is exploratory and descriptive study that used both qualitative and quantitative data collection approaches to assess the community’s perceptions and attitudes towards an integrated reproductive health services in Chongwe district of Zambia. The integrated reproductive health care system is a system that strives to provide curative, maternal and child care and several other health services on a daily basis at a health institution. The study analyzed community’s knowledge, perceptions and attitudes about the use and quality of care of IRH services. This study may help improve the delivery of reproductive health service in a more efficient manner. A total of 104 respondents, including health care providers were interviewed. Information was also collected from two focus group discussion comprising to about 15 in each group. Various methods were used to collect data such as household questionnaire, exit-client interviews, focus group (FGD), and in-depth interviews. All these field instruments were pre-tested at Kabwata clinic in Lusaka. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select the households while clients were selected at random until the required sample was reached. At data processing stage the Census and Survey Processing System (CSPRO) was used for data entry while Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the production of frequency tables, cross-tabulation and data analysis.The study showed that communities had sufficient knowledge of IRH services. They perceived integrated reproductive health services as an important health service as they strived to use and access these services regardless of their socio-economic background. However urban communities were more critical in their perceptions and attitudes on the use and quality of care of IRH services.