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Background <p>Access to healthcare services is a fundamental human right as stipulated in Sustainable development goals (SDG) 3.8. Women’s health, especially pregnant women remain a global public health concern. Pregnant women’s access to healthcare services may impact maternal and child health. This study aimed to understand barriers to healthcare access and its associated factors among pregnant women in Tanzania.</p> Methods <p>Utilizing secondary data from the 2022 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria Indicator Survey, an analytical cross-sectional study was conducted to determine barriers to healthcare access and its associated factors among pregnant women in Tanzania. This study included 1,182 pregnant women selected through two-stage sampling strategy. A modified Poisson regression model with robust variance estimator was used to estimate prevalence ratios with corresponding confidence intervals (CI). Statistical significance was set at <i>p</i> &lt; 0.05.</p> Results <p>This study found that half, 50.5% (95%CI: 46.2–54.1) of pregnant women encountered barriers to healthcare access. The most reported barriers were getting money for treatment (34.1%) and distance to health facility (31.7%). Pregnant women with secondary/higher education (Adjusted prevalence ratio [APR] = 0.59, 95%CI: 0.33–0.75) were less likely to face barriers to healthcare access. Pregnant women in middle (APR = 0.51, 95%CI: 0.33–0.79) and rich quantile (APR = 0.38, 95%CI: 0.22–0.66) were less likely to face barriers to healthcare access than their counterparts. Grand multiparous women were more likely to face barriers than nulliparous women (APR = 2.15, 95%CI: 1.08–4.23). Pregnant women who were using internet (APR = 0.49, 95%CI: 0.28–0.89) were less likely to face barriers to healthcare access than their counterparts.</p> Conclusion <p>This study demonstrates that half of Tanzanian pregnant women face barriers to healthcare access, with financial limitations and long distances to the health facilities emerging as the most prevalent challenges. These barriers disproportionately affect women with lower education levels, those from poorer households, high-parity women, and those without internet access. These findings highlight the need for a comprehensive, multisectoral intervention that addresses these barriers and aligns explicitly with the country’s commitment to universal health coverage as highlighted in SDG 3.8.</p>

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Barriers to healthcare access and associated factors among pregnant women in Tanzania

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年8月2日

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  • Mtoro J. Mtoro,
  • Elihuruma Eliufoo Stephano,
  • Arnold Gideon Lumbe,
  • Godwin Yoyo,
  • Patricia Materu,
  • Tegemea Patrick Mwalingo

摘要

Background

Access to healthcare services is a fundamental human right as stipulated in Sustainable development goals (SDG) 3.8. Women’s health, especially pregnant women remain a global public health concern. Pregnant women’s access to healthcare services may impact maternal and child health. This study aimed to understand barriers to healthcare access and its associated factors among pregnant women in Tanzania.

Methods

Utilizing secondary data from the 2022 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria Indicator Survey, an analytical cross-sectional study was conducted to determine barriers to healthcare access and its associated factors among pregnant women in Tanzania. This study included 1,182 pregnant women selected through two-stage sampling strategy. A modified Poisson regression model with robust variance estimator was used to estimate prevalence ratios with corresponding confidence intervals (CI). Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results

This study found that half, 50.5% (95%CI: 46.2–54.1) of pregnant women encountered barriers to healthcare access. The most reported barriers were getting money for treatment (34.1%) and distance to health facility (31.7%). Pregnant women with secondary/higher education (Adjusted prevalence ratio [APR] = 0.59, 95%CI: 0.33–0.75) were less likely to face barriers to healthcare access. Pregnant women in middle (APR = 0.51, 95%CI: 0.33–0.79) and rich quantile (APR = 0.38, 95%CI: 0.22–0.66) were less likely to face barriers to healthcare access than their counterparts. Grand multiparous women were more likely to face barriers than nulliparous women (APR = 2.15, 95%CI: 1.08–4.23). Pregnant women who were using internet (APR = 0.49, 95%CI: 0.28–0.89) were less likely to face barriers to healthcare access than their counterparts.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that half of Tanzanian pregnant women face barriers to healthcare access, with financial limitations and long distances to the health facilities emerging as the most prevalent challenges. These barriers disproportionately affect women with lower education levels, those from poorer households, high-parity women, and those without internet access. These findings highlight the need for a comprehensive, multisectoral intervention that addresses these barriers and aligns explicitly with the country’s commitment to universal health coverage as highlighted in SDG 3.8.