Conference abstract
Factors associated with the non-declaration of birth at health facilities in Yaoundé II subdivision
Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2023:17(93).04
Jun 2023.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2023.17.93.1494
Archived on: 04 Jun 2023
Contact the corresponding author
Keywords: Unregistered, children, Cité verte
Oral presentation
Factors associated with the non-declaration of birth at health facilities in Yaoundé II subdivision
Gameni Kamtcheu Yannick Durand1, Nseme Etouckey Eric2, Ousmanou
Bala3, Bahetaken4, Kamwa Samuel5, Nguefack-Tsague Georges1,&
1Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 2Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 3Civil Registry Office, Yaoundé II city council, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 4Corporate Law and Consulting, Non-Governmental Organisation, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 5Vital Strategies, Global Health Organisation, Yaoundé, Cameroon
&Corresponding author
Introduction: birth registration is an important source of health system management and provides actionable data to improve the performance of the health system in tracking progress toward health-related development goals. In Cameroon, about two out of five children under 5 years, are not registered at the civil registry office (CRO). This study was undertaken to determine the factors associated with the non-declaration of births at health facilities in the Cité Verte Health District, Yaoundé II, Cameroon.
Methods: a cross-sectional analytic study was conducted from November 2021 to May 2022 among health facilities event notifiers (HFNs) and parents or tutors of children aged under 17 years given to birth in the Cité Verte Health District. A structured questionnaire was used to gather the quantitative data. To analyze the data, SPSS version 26.0 was used. Logistic regression analysis was employed to assess the association between dependent and independent variables.
Results: findings reveal that HFNs had poor birth registration knowledge (83.3%, n=40) corresponding to a low birth notification at the civil registry office (10.4%, n=5). We also found 12 (25.0%) health facilities in which there is a poor birth declaration by parents. Furthermore, the proportion of unregistered children was high (41.5%, n=172). From bivariate analysis, health facilities in which parents declared the births of children less than thirty days after birth, had a higher proportion of birth declaration compared to those in which births are declared after thirty days, this difference was statistically significant (aOR=5.2; CI= 1.3-21.2; p=0.021). Meanwhile from a multiple logistic regression analysis, poor knowledge on birth registration (aOR = 2.4; C.I at 95% [1.5-3.8]; p<0,001), less than five children (aOR=4.4; C.I at 95% [2.5-7.6]; p<0.001), and mother’s age of 24 years and less (aOR=5.0; C.I at 95% [2.4-10.7]; p<0.001) were found to be significant predictors of this poor birth registration.
Conclusion: birth registration is suboptimal in the Cité Verte Health District; four factors were found to be associated with poor birth registration. Young teenager does not register the birth of their children. Healthcare workers have poor knowledge on birth registration and thus do not notify birth at the civil registration office as recommended by the law. Hence, healthcare workers need training on birth registration and young teenagers sensitize on birth declaration.
Factors associated with the non-declaration of birth at health facilities in Yaoundé II subdivision
Gameni Kamtcheu Yannick Durand1, Nseme Etouckey Eric2, Ousmanou Bala3, Bahetaken4, Kamwa Samuel5, Nguefack-Tsague Georges1,&
1Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 2Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 3Civil Registry Office, Yaoundé II city council, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 4Corporate Law and Consulting, Non-Governmental Organisation, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 5Vital Strategies, Global Health Organisation, Yaoundé, Cameroon
&Corresponding author
Introduction: birth registration is an important source of health system management and provides actionable data to improve the performance of the health system in tracking progress toward health-related development goals. In Cameroon, about two out of five children under 5 years, are not registered at the civil registry office (CRO). This study was undertaken to determine the factors associated with the non-declaration of births at health facilities in the Cité Verte Health District, Yaoundé II, Cameroon.
Methods: a cross-sectional analytic study was conducted from November 2021 to May 2022 among health facilities event notifiers (HFNs) and parents or tutors of children aged under 17 years given to birth in the Cité Verte Health District. A structured questionnaire was used to gather the quantitative data. To analyze the data, SPSS version 26.0 was used. Logistic regression analysis was employed to assess the association between dependent and independent variables.
Results: findings reveal that HFNs had poor birth registration knowledge (83.3%, n=40) corresponding to a low birth notification at the civil registry office (10.4%, n=5). We also found 12 (25.0%) health facilities in which there is a poor birth declaration by parents. Furthermore, the proportion of unregistered children was high (41.5%, n=172). From bivariate analysis, health facilities in which parents declared the births of children less than thirty days after birth, had a higher proportion of birth declaration compared to those in which births are declared after thirty days, this difference was statistically significant (aOR=5.2; CI= 1.3-21.2; p=0.021). Meanwhile from a multiple logistic regression analysis, poor knowledge on birth registration (aOR = 2.4; C.I at 95% [1.5-3.8]; p<0,001), less than five children (aOR=4.4; C.I at 95% [2.5-7.6]; p<0.001), and mother’s age of 24 years and less (aOR=5.0; C.I at 95% [2.4-10.7]; p<0.001) were found to be significant predictors of this poor birth registration.
Conclusion: birth registration is suboptimal in the Cité Verte Health District; four factors were found to be associated with poor birth registration. Young teenager does not register the birth of their children. Healthcare workers have poor knowledge on birth registration and thus do not notify birth at the civil registration office as recommended by the law. Hence, healthcare workers need training on birth registration and young teenagers sensitize on birth declaration.
