Author: Hotnida Erlin Situmorang
Situmorang, Hotnida Erlin, 2019 Health worker perceptions about factors that contribute to infant mortality in Indonesia, Flinders University, College of Nursing and Health Sciences
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Background: Indonesia had a high infant mortality rate (IMR) at 30.6 per 1000 live births in 2012, which decreased to 25.4 by 2016. However, a high rate of infant mortality remains an issue in disadvantaged regions, such as Papua Province. The purpose of the study is to investigate health workers’ perceptions about factors that contribute to infant mortality in Papua Indonesia.
Methods: A qualitative descriptive method using semi-structured phone interviews was employed to investigate the perceptions of nurses, midwives and doctors about factors that contribute to infant mortality in Papua Indonesia. The results were analysed using NVivo 12 then discussed under two frameworks the three delays model and the primary health care principles
Result: This study identified local beliefs and practices related to pregnancy, birth and infants, infant health factors, maternal health factors, and barriers to seeking, receiving and providing infant health care are factors that contribute to infant death. In general, infant mortality in Papua was negatively impacted predominantly by delays in decision to seek care, delay in reaching care and delay in receiving care.
Conclusion: The local people’s cultural beliefs about pregnancy, birth and infant and maternal health, poverty and geographic isolation were major factors that contribute to infant mortality in Papua Indonesia. This study has uniquely focused on understanding the participant health workers’ perceptions, and found that, in addition to government funding of health centres, cultural knowledge and sensitivity are central to the provision and acceptance of health care by local families, particularly for maternal and infant health.
Keywords: Infant mortality, The three delays, The primary health care principles, Health worker, Perception, Factors.
Subject: Paediatrics and Child Health thesis
Thesis type: Masters
Completed: 2019
School: College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Supervisor: Associate professor Julian Grant