Unmet reproductive health needs among women in West Africa: a systematic review of outcome measures and determinants

Martin Ayanore, Universiteit Maastricht
Milena Pavlova, Universiteit Maastricht
Wim Groot, Universiteit Maastricht

Identifying relevant measures of women’s reproductive health needs is critical to improve women’s service utilization options. The study systematically reviewed and analyzed the adequacy of outcome measures and determinants in previous studies across West Africa for meeting global goals and targets for reproductive health. The review included recent English language publications (from January 2009 - March 2014). Outcomes and determinants were assessed and defined at three main levels; contraceptive use, obstetric care, and antenatal care utilization. Results show increasing unmet need for women’s reproductive health needs across most countries, despite few improvements in certain populations. Outcome measures were mainly assessed based on service utilization, satisfaction, cost, and quality of services available. Evidence from this review indicates current applied measures of women’s reproductive health needs might be inadequate in attaining best maternal outcomes. More support and research for developing and advancing context-related measures may help to improve women’s maternal health.