Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programs are based on strengthening the PMTCT cascade, a series of integrated health care services and behaviors that begins with all pregnant women and ends with assessment of HIV status in HIV-exposed post-breastfeeding infants. PMTCT cascade programs and other programs targeting maternal and early child health in low- and middle-income countries are built on the implicit assumption that pregnant women will attend a single health facility for all or most of their antenatal and postnatal care.
Ijeamaka's research examines data from an impact evaluation in Zimbabwe to address three primary objectives: 1) to describe the prevalence and characteristics of Zimbabwean women with a recent birth who attended more than one health facility during pregnancy or the postpartum period; 2) to assess the association between multiple facility attendance and women’s characteristics, their partnerships, and affordability and accessibility of healthcare; and 3) to assess the association between multiple facility attendance and infant ARV prophylaxis, early infant diagnosis of HIV, and MTCT of HIV.
