Abstract

In Nigeria, maternal mortality remains a social health problem as more than 140 women die daily from pregnancy - related complications. Studies have adduced a number of factors such as lack of skilled birth attendants, household income, education and distance from facilities without considering the socio-cultural factors. This study therefore investigated socio-cultural factors that may influence utilization of healthcare facilities in urban centers of Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study utilized Andersen’s Health-seeking behavioural model. Survey design was adopted to achieve the objectives of the study. Quantitative data were generated through the use of structured questionnaire administered to 1600 women respondents. Frequency distribution was used to present the pattern of socio-cultural and behavioural characteristics of the respondents while multiple regression analysis was used to establish the relationship between the socio-cultural factors and respondents’ utilization of healthcare facilities at 0.05 level of significance. The main findings of the study are that socio-cultural factors influence healthcare facilities utilization among pregnant women, the results shows religious belief (R2 =0.628); cost of service (R2 = 0.821); efficacy of the service (R2 = 0.726); women’s working conditions (R2 = 0.182); stereotypes (R2 = 0.845) and family customs (R2 = 0.814) while marital status exhibit an inverse relationship (R2 = -0.120). The study concluded that socio-cultural and other factors have significant influence on utilization of healthcare facilities among pregnant women in the study area with their negative consequence on maternal mortality. The study therefore recommended that; women should be educated especially on harmful cultural practices that may affect them, while there should be public enlightenment by government, religious institutions and prominent members of the community.