Exploring the influence of family level and socio-demographic factors on women's decision-making ability over access to reproductive health care services in Balkh province, Afghanistan

In this paper, we analyze the family level and socio-demographic factors affecting women's decision-making ability over access to reproductive health care services in rural communities of Balkh province, Afghanistan. A questionnaire survey was conducted with a total of 176 married women. Using logistic regression analysis, we found that four out of seven variables significantly influenced women's decision-making ability over access to Reproductive Health Care Services (RHCS): extended family structure (OR = 14.31, p < 0.01), husbands accompanying their wives to RHCS (OR = 4.12, p < 0.05), discussing issues related to reproductive health with partner (OR = 3.57, p < 0.05), and distance from home to a health facility (OR =0.86, p < 0.01). Therefore, some policies or programs designed to improve husband-wife communication, in particular fostering discussions related to reproductive health and encouraging husbands to accompany their wives to health centers, are recommended to improve women's decision-making ability over access to RHCS.