Factors influencing the accessibility to maternal and child healthcare services: Case study of rural areas of northeast Bangladesh

Despite efforts at the government level, maternal and child healthcare (MCH) services continue to pose significant challenges in Bangladesh. However, limited empirical and country-specific research has been conducted to understand how health system elements impact the effectiveness of MCH services. This paper takes an initial step in identifying socio-demographic and infrastructural factors that influence MCH service accessibility in rural areas of northeast Bangladesh. Through in-depth interviews and logistic regression analysis, data from respondents were collected to explore the relative importance of various factors. Results showed that age, level of education, monthly income, and farm size are significant driving factors of MCH services. On the hand, availability of healthcare services, satisfaction with service providers, knowledge about maternal and child healthcare services, and availability of experienced and skill predictrics are significantly associated to MCH services. The model developed in the study provides a detailed understanding of the determinants of MCH and how they influence MCH outcomes. The findings of the study serves as a foundation for the ‘white box’ approach to theory-driven evaluation of MCH.