RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: In the perspective of health care, community perception is defined as a combination of experiences, expectations and perceived needs. The community and client's perception of health services seem to have been largely ignored by health-care providers in developing countries. There is a knowledge gap about communities' perception and perspective of maternal health. If the community's perception is known, the quality of maternity care may be improved, maternal morbidity and mortality could be decreased, and the overall health of the mother can be improved. The aim of this study was to explore community's perception of maternity service provision in public health institutions. METHODS: A qualitative study with the underpinning philosophy of phenomenology was conducted in five subcities of Mekelle city, Ethiopia. Focus group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews (IDSs) with participants who are residing in Mekelle city and who experienced maternity service as a client or as attendants were conducted to collect the necessary information. Using a semi-structured tool that has been translated into the local language, collected data were analyzed thematically using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software ATLAS version 7. Qualitative data were transcribed through replaying the tape recorded interview from IDIs and FGDs. The text was carefully read and similar ideas were organized together. The participant's inductive meanings were extracted verbatim and described in narratives. The researcher and research assistants independently transcribed participant's comments verbatim to confirm the reliability of the findings. RESULTS: Participants reported that maternal health services in public health institutions were negative. Participants described experiencing poor staff attitude, lack of prescribed drugs in the institutional pharmacies, long waiting time, family proximity by professionals, poor attention to women during labor, lack of privacy and mistreatment made them develop a negative perception towards public health institutions. Despite these complaints, participants acknowledged public health facilities for affordable, accessible, qualified personnel and usually stocked with quality medications and equipment. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that the community has a negative perception of the maternal health services in the public health institutions. The main reasons for their negative perception were poor staff attitude, unavailability of prescribed drugs in the institutional pharmacies, long waiting time, family proximity by professionals, poor attention to women during labor, lack of privacy and mistreatment.