The Role of Health Information Managers in Minimizing the Rate of Maternal Mortality among the Women of Childbearing Age in Obafemi Awolowo University Complex, Ile Ife, Nigeria

Abstract

This study focused on the roles of health information professionals in minimizing the rate of maternal mortality among the women of childbearing age. The study assessed the rate of maternal mortality, identified the causes of maternal mortality among the women of childbearing age and assessed the roles of health information management professionals in minimizing the rate of maternal mortality at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, lle-lfe. Descriptive cross-sectional research design was adopted for this study and a close-ended questionnaire was used to gather information which was administered to 165 respondents and 155 were retrieved for data analysis, giving 93% response rate, cutting across health information managers, nurses and doctors. A proforma was designed to generate data on maternal mortality rate. The data obtained from the respondents were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics through the aid of IBM SPSS version 21. The findings of this study showed the overall rate of maternal death of 9 maternal deaths per 1000 live births for the period of 2017 to 2021; the study also revealed that sepsis (2.1161), lack of education (1.7806), teenage marriage (1.7548), preeclampsia and eclampsia (1.7355), inadequate facilities and equipment to provide adequate care for pregnant women (1.6645), lack of adequate antenatal care (1.6581) and obstetric hemorrhage are the major causes of maternal mortality among women of childbearing age. The study further revealed that the major roles of health information manager in minimizing maternal mortality rate are provision of data on the rate of maternal mortality in the hospital (1.5677) and providing data on management of maternal health and childbirth (1.4839). The study concluded that lack of adequate facilities and equipment to provide adequate care for pregnant women, poverty, lack of education, lack of family planning, teenage marriage, sepsis, hypertensive diseases are some of the major causes of maternal mortality among women of childbearing age.