“It’s what we perceive as different”: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of Nigerian women’s characterization of their health during the COVID-19 pandemic

TL;DR

This study explores how Nigerian women experienced and adapted to healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on maternal health and social inequalities.

Contribution

The study provides a feminist interpretive phenomenological analysis of how the pandemic uniquely affected maternal healthcare access and experiences in Nigeria.

Findings

Women adopted new personal health behaviors in response to the pandemic.

The pandemic acted as a temporal equalizer for marginalized individuals.

The pandemic significantly impacted maternal healthcare access and practices in Nigeria.

Abstract

Health has historically been adversely affected by social, economic, and political pandemics. In parallel with the spread of diseases, so do the risks of comorbidity and death associated with their consequences. As a result of the current pandemic, shifting resources and services in resource-poor settings without adequate preparation has intensified negative consequences, which global service interruptions have exacerbated. Pregnant women are especially vulnerable during infectious disease outbreaks, and the current pandemic has significantly impacted them.

This study used an interpretive phenomenological analysis study with a feminist lens to investigate how women obtained healthcare in Ebonyi, Ogun, and Sokoto states Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic. We specifically investigated whether the epidemic influenced women’s decisions to seek or avoid healthcare and whether their experiences differed from those outside of it.

We identified three superordinate themes: (1) the adoption of new personal health behaviour in response to the pandemic; (2) the pandemic as a temporal equalizer for marginalized individuals; (3) the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal health care. In Nigeria, pregnant women were affected in a variety of ways by the COVID-19 epidemic. Women, particularly those socially identified as disabled, had to cross norms of disadvantage and discrimination to seek healthcare because of the pandemic’s impact on prescribed healthcare practices, the healthcare system, and the everyday landscapes defined by norms of disadvantage and discrimination.

It is clear from the current pandemic that stakeholders must begin to strategize and develop plans to limit the effects of future pandemics on maternal healthcare, particularly for low-income women.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12905-024-03259-w.

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