Assessment of Manpower, Equipment and Material Resources Adequacy for the Provision of Basic Obstetric Ultrasound Services in PHC Facilities in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background and aim: The World Health Organization (WHO) advocates for a world where every pregnant woman and newborn receives quality care throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal periods. This study was thus aimed at assessing the manpower, equipment and material resources adequacy for providing Basic Obstetric Imaging Services (BOIS) services, in primary healthcare facilities in Rivers State, Nigeria.
Materials and methods: This study utilized the descriptive, cross-sectional design and was conducted in 83 PHC facilities in Rivers State, Nigeria, where the heads of facility provided responses on the availability of manpower, equipment and material resources necessary for the provision of BOIS services. Data was collected using adapted manpower, equipment and materials checklists, after which evaluation was done using laid down PHC standards to identify the adequacy of the assessed resources. Data analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 and was presented on tables and charts.
Results: Regarding the manpower, it was identified that the largest proportion of the facilities had one doctor 45 (47.4%), one nurse 27 (28.4%), one community health officer (CHO) 32 (33.7%), three community health extension workers (CHEW) 22 (23.2%), and one records officer 39 (41.1%) working in the facilities. About 38 (40.0%), 22 (23.2%), 28 (29.5%), 2 (2.1%), and 7 (7.4%) of the facilities did not have any doctor, nurse, CHO, CHEW, nor records officer respectively. Assessing the adequacy of the various cadres of workers using the national minimum standard requirements for manpower at PHC facilities, revealed inadequacies affecting all cadres, with nurses (76%) and doctors (40%) having the highest proportion of inadequacies. An assessment of the adequacy of the equipment and materials using a 50% cut-off for categorization of availability into “adequate” and “inadequate” showed that most facilities 72 (76.0%) experienced inadequacies as they did not have a number of these equipment and materials.
Conclusion and recommendation: The manpower, equipment and material resources necessary for BOIS provision in PHC facilities in Rivers State was found to be inadequate. It was recommended that PHC facilities in the State be strengthened with all resources for the effective provision of BOIS services to the populace.