Antenatal Care Services Part II: Factors Influencing on ANC Services of Health Facilities in Bangkok

Abstract

This research aimed to explore the real practices of ANC services of health facilities in Bangkok. It composed of two parts, the first part focused on the practices and guidelines. This paper is the second part focused on the factors that determine the provided ANC services, and also the challenges in delivering ANC service based on Bangkok contexts using qualitative methods: document review, in-depth and group interview of 19 health professionals in 6 ANC units. Findings indicated that the ANC service deliveries were influenced by two factors; internal and external. The internal factors include human resource and availability of necessary equipment. The external factors include monitoring and evaluation, referral system and coordination among health facilities, and characteristics of pregnant women. An inefficient referral system, fragmented information system and health records, and language barrier were the most common problems faced by health professional who delivers ANC services.