Quality of newborn care and associated factors: An analysis of the 2022 Kenya demographic and health survey.
Authors: Asiimwe John Baptist , Amwiine Earnest , Namulema Angella , Sserwanja Quraish , Kawuki Joseph , Amperiize Mathius , Nabidda Shamim , Nmaatovu Imelda , Nuwabaine Lilian 
Published: August 2024

Background Kenya is one of the African countries that have pledged to reduce neonatal death as per the World Health Organization set target by 2030. Providing high-quality newborn care is critical in minimizing neonatal mortality. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that influence the quality of newborn care in Kenya. Methods Secondary data from 11,863 participants of the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2022 were analyzed. The participants were chosen using a two-stage stratified sampling method. The quality of newborn care was operationalized as receiving all components of newborn care after childbirth, as reported by the mother. To identify the factors associated with the quality of newborn care, multivariable logistic regression was carried out using SPSS (version 20). Results In this study, 32.7% (95% CI: 31.0-34.5) of the mothers reported that their newborns had received all components of quality neonatal care after childbirth. Mothers who subscribed to the Christian (3.60 (95%CI: 1.32-9.83) or Muslim faith (3.88 (95%CI: 1.29-11.67) compared with those from other faiths, were more likely to report that their newborns had received quality newborn care. Mothers who spent an average of one hour accessing the health facilities compared with those who spent less than half an hour were 1.33 (95%CI: 1.01-1.75) times more likely to report that their newborns had received quality newborn care. Mothers who gave birth in a non-government organization health facility were 30.37 (95%CI: 2.69-343.20) times more likely to report that their newborns had received quality newborn care compared with those who delivered from a faith-based organization. On the contrary, in terms of regions, Mothers who lived in Nyanza, Eastern, and Rift Valley provinces compared with those who lived in the coastal regions were 0.53 (95%CI: 0.34-0.82), 0.61 (95%CI: 0.39-0.94), and 0.62 (95%CI: 0.41-0.93) times less likely to report that their newborns had received quality newborn care, respectively. Finally, mothers who gave birth through cesarean section were 0.44 (95%CI: 0.32-0.61) times less likely to report that their newborns had received quality newborn care than mothers who gave birth through spontaneous vaginal delivery. Conclusion The study indicates about a third of the neonates (1 in 3) received quality newborn care. This study seems to suggest that facility-related and parental social factors are associated with receiving quality newborn care. Several stakeholders including health care providers may need to pay more attention to newborn babies whose mothers come from marginalized regions of the country, minority religious faith denominations, and those delivered by ceasearen section. Stakeholders should focus on strengthening collaborations with NGO health facilities and achieving universal health coverage to improve the quality of neonatal care. Also, the government could utilize minority faith denominations as an avenue for staging sensitization about quality neonatal health services.