Examining the maternal health services-seeking behaviour among adolescent urban refugees in Kampala, Uganda

BACKGROUND: Reproductive health is a key concern during crisis situations and improving maternal health is crucial. In Uganda, refugees living in urban areas are expected to be self-reliant and this makes the adolescents who get pregnant vulnerable. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the maternal health services seeking behaviour of the adolescent refugees in Kampala. METHODS: This study examined the experiences of twenty refugee girls who got pregnant and delivered babies from the ages of 10 to 19, while living in Kampala. This was done through in-depth interviews. Thematic content analysis was used to interpret, code and analyze the data. RESULTS: This study found that many of the refugee girls get pregnant as a result of sexual violence. The girls seek maternal health services from the public and private facilities around Kampala, but face barriers to access and utilization like poverty, language barrier, health worker's attitudes, and overcrowded facilities and therefore many received suboptimal care. CONCLUSION: The urban refugee adolescents who get pregnant face several challenges to utilize maternal health services. Increased funding, favourable policies and programs are needed to support these girls to access comprehensive maternal health services because they face multiple vulnerabilities.