Factors Associated with Utilization of Preconception Care among Women of Reproductive Age

Preconception care (PCC) is the care provided to all male and female who have not conceived before, whether planning or not to have a baby for they are potential parents. The aim of this study was to find out factors that are associated with preconception care utilization among women in Kapsabet referral hospital in Nandi County, Kenya. A cross-sectional study design comprising of 200 women participants was carried out using a questionnaire. The zero-inflation Poisson regression analysis was employed to explore the factors associated with utilization of preconception care using the ?zip? command in STATA version 13.1. The unadjusted and adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with a 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were then presented in the tables for further interpretation. After adjusting for all variables, the study found the following variables to be associated with utilization of preconception care among women: marital status, religion, family size, ethnicity, residence, education, pesticide use, alcohol use, previous delivery, having ever lost pregnancy, and the number of current pregnancy. Those who were SDAs (IRR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.31 - 1.76; p ? 0.001), had more than 4 household members (IRR = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.11 - 1.39; p ? 0.001), had tertiary education (IRR = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.20- 1.67; p ? 0.001), were using pesticides (IRR = 2.22; 95% CI: 2.00 - 2.46; p ? 0.001) and were in their fourth pregnancy (IRR = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.16 - 1.73; p ? 0.001) were more likely to use PCC than the reference groups. In conclusion, several variables were associated with the utilization of PCC. Public health education and promotion is therefore necessary to improve maternal, new-born and child health in the county.