Effect of a comprehensive program on maternal and child healthcare service in Battambang, Cambodia: A multivariate difference-in-difference analysis

Background: Interventions for raising use and quality of antenatal care and delivery service through building health information systems, training health professionals, and campaigning, etc., were performed in two operating districts of Battambang in Cambodia between 2013 and 2014 by Korean Foundation International Healthcare (KOFIH). We assessed the effect of KOFIH's comprehensive program on institutional delivery. Methods: We used two waves of Demographic and Health Survey collected in 2010 and 2014. The outcome measures were a delivery at a public facility and any type of facility (public or private). A difference-in-difference approach compared changes of the intervention group (Battambang province) with the control group (other 24 provinces) in terms of institutional delivery before and after program implementation. Results: Both intervention and control group showed an increase in both outcomes. Compared with a control group, the odds of giving birth to a baby at public facility or any type of health facility in the afterrelative to the before-period were significantly higher in Battambang province (odds ratio [OR], 2.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26–3.57 for delivery at the public facility and OR, 2.08; 95% CI, 1.00–4.30 for delivery at any type of facility). Conclusion: Comprehensive maternal and child health program performed by KOFIH in the Battambang area of Cambodia increased the use of institutional (public or any type) delivery. Recipient-driven, a need-based and comprehensive approach might have led to a positive effect.