ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Induction of labor is common; however, the optimum clinical strategy for induction of labor is less clear. Variations in clinical practices related to induction of labor may lead to increased complications and longer induction of labor times. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze whether the implementation of an evidence-based standardized care pathway improves the clinical outcomes associated with induction of labor. STUDY DESIGN: This was an approved quality improvement project implementing a clinical care pathway for induction of labor. Moreover, this was a retrospective cohort study of inductions of labor for 5 months before (January 2018 to May 2018) and 14 months after (August 2018 to September 2019) the implementation of the care pathway. The primary outcome was time from admission to delivery. Time from admission to delivery was stratified by mode of delivery. The secondary outcomes included chorioamnionitis, endometritis, neonatal intensive care unit admissions, cesarean delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, and a composite of unanticipated outcomes (chorioamnionitis, endometritis, neonatal intensive care unit admissions, cesarean delivery, and postpartum hemorrhage). In addition, pathway adherence was analyzed. The outcomes were analyzed using 2-tailed t tests for continuous data and the Fisher exact test and chi-square tests for categorical data. Propensity score matching was used to assess for confounding by potential covariates. RESULTS: A total of 1471 inductions of labor were reviewed, with 392 inductions of labor before the implementation of the care pathway and 1079 inductions of labor after the implementation of the care pathway. The pathway was associated with a nonsignificant reduction in the time from admission to delivery by 1.2 hours (from 23.4 to 22.2 hours; P=.08). There was a nonsignificant increase in the time to cesarean delivery before (28.2 hours) and after (28.8 hours) protocol implementation (P=.71). There was a significant decrease in the time to delivery by 1.7 hours for vaginal deliveries (from 22.2 to 20.5 hours) after protocol implementation (P=.02). There was a significant decrease in chorioamnionitis (from 12.5% to 6.0%; odds ratio, 0.44; 95% confidence interval, 0.29-0.67), a significant decrease in endometritis (from 6.9% to 2.6%; odds ratio, 0.36; 95% confidence interval, 0.20-0.65), and a significant decrease in composite unanticipated outcomes (from 56.9% to 36.6%; odds ratio, 0.46; 95% confidence interval, 0.34-0.56) after the implementation of the care pathway. There was no significant difference in postpartum hemorrhage (from 7.9% to 6.1%; odds ratio, 0.76; 95% confidence interval, 0.48-1.22), neonatal intensive care unit admissions (from 18.1% to 14.0%; odds ratio, 0.74; 95% confidence interval, 0.54-1.02), or cesarean deliveries (from 19.6% to 20.1%; odds ratio, 1.03; 95% confidence interval, 0.76-1.40) after the implementation of the care pathway. Pathway adherence varied, ranging from 50% to 89%. CONCLUSION: The introduction of a standardized induction of labor pathway was associated with a nonsignificant reduction in the time from admission to delivery by 1.2 hours and improved pregnancy outcomes, including decreased infections and unanticipated outcomes. Further opportunities for improvements in clinical outcomes may be realized with increased compliance with the care pathway.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Social media is increasingly becoming a health resource for people suffering from complex and debilitating health conditions. A comprehensive understanding of how and why social media and the Internet are used among patients with chronic gynecologic pain will allow for the intentional development and incorporation of web-based tools into patient care plans. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine whether gynecologic patients with pain are more likely to use social media and the Internet to understand and manage their condition than those without pain. The survey was designed to explore how gynecologic patients with and without pain use and interact with social media and other web-based health resources and the clinical, personal, and demographic factors influencing these behaviors. STUDY DESIGN: Patients presenting with a new complaint to a gynecologist at 1 of 6 Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery-affiliated hospital systems were screened, consented, and assigned to pain and no-pain groups. Participants were surveyed about social media and Internet use, symptoms, bother, physician selection, motivation, trust, and demographic information. Survey responses were compared using the Fisher exact tests, odds ratios, and risk ratios from standard tabular analysis, univariate or multivariate tests of means, and regression analyses, as appropriate. RESULTS: Of 517 participants included in the study, 475 (92%) completed the survey, 328 (69.1%) with pain and 147 (30.9%) without pain. Study participants in the pain group reported more than double the odds of using social media than those without pain (37.8% vs 19.7%; odds ratio, 2.47; 95% confidence interval, 1.54-3.96) and triple the odds of using the Internet (88.4% vs 69.4%; odds ratio, 3.37; 95% confidence, 2.04-5.56) to understand or manage their condition. Participants with pain were more likely than those without pain to engage in social media at a higher level (3.5 vs 1.7 on a scale of 0 to 10; P<.0001), be motivated by interpersonal elements of online engagement (Hotelling's T2=37.3; P<.0001), prefer an interactive component to their online health resource (35.6% vs 24.3%; risk ratio, 1.46; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-2.20; P=.0433), be influenced by others in their choice of a gynecologist (0.37 vs 0.32 on a scale of 0 to 1; P=.009), use social media as a coping tool (38.3% vs 17%; P=.0001), trust information found on social media (31.4% vs 16.7%; P=.0033), and trust other women with the same condition, informal health resources, and personal sources more and doctors and formal health resources less (P=.0083). Participants in both groups reported higher levels of social media engagement with higher levels of symptom bother (28% increase in engagement with every doubling of bother level (P<.0001). CONCLUSION: Patients with gynecologic pain were more likely than those without pain to use social media and the Internet to understand and manage their condition. Patients with pain engaged in and trusted social media at a higher level, with engagement rising directly with bother level.
