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BACKGROUND: Patient autonomy is central to the provision of respectful maternity care. Enabling women to make decisions free of discrimination and coercion, and respecting their privacy and confidentiality can contribute to positive childbirth experiences. This study aimed to deepen the understanding of how patient autonomy is reflected through social practices during intrapartum care in Benin. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with women and midwives, a focus-group discussion with women's birth companions, and non-participant observations in the delivery room were conducted within the frame of the ALERT research project. This study analysed data through a reflexive thematic analysis approach, in line with Braun and Clarke. RESULTS: We identified two themes and five sub-themes. Patient autonomy was systemically suppressed over the course of birth as a result of the conditions of care provision, various forms of coercion and women's surrendering of their autonomy. Women used other care practices, such as alternative medicine and spiritual care, to counteract experiences of limited autonomy during intrapartum care. CONCLUSIONS: The results pointed to women's experiences of limited patient autonomy and their use of alternative and spiritual care practices to reclaim their patient autonomy. This study identified spiritual autonomy as an emergent dimension of patient autonomy. Increasing women's autonomy during childbirth may improve their experiences of childbirth, and the provision of quality and respectful maternity care.
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Grupos Focais , Autonomia Pessoal , Humanos , Feminino , Benin , Gravidez , Adulto , Pesquisa Qualitativa , Parto/psicologia , Parto Obstétrico/psicologia , Tocologia , Coerção , Serviços de Saúde Materna/normas , Adulto JovemRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The majority of women experience pain during childbirth. Offering and supporting women to use different methods for coping with pain is an essential competency for maternity care providers globally. Research suggests a gap between what women desire for pain management and what is available and provided in many low-and middle-income settings. The study aimed to understand how pain management is perceived by those involved: women experiencing childbirth and maternity care providers. METHODS: Individual semi-structured interviews with women (n = 23), maternity care providers (n = 17) and focus group discussions (n = 4) with both providers and women were conducted in two hospitals in Southern Tanzania in 2021. Transcribed interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Coding and analysis were supported by the software MAXQDA. RESULTS: Three main themes were generated from the data. The first, 'pain management is multifaceted', describes how some providers and women perceived pain management as entailing various methods to manage pain. Providers perceived themselves as having a role in utilization of pain management to varying degree. The second theme 'pain management is primarily a woman's task' highlights a perception of pain management as unnecessary, which appeared to link with some providers' perceptions of pain as natural and necessary for successful childbirth. Few women explicitly shared this perception. The third theme 'practice of pain management can be improved' illustrates how women and maternity care providers perceived current practices of pain management as suboptimal. According to providers, this is primarily due to contextual factors such as shortage of staff and poor ward infrastructure. CONCLUSION: Women's and maternity care providers' perceptions ranged from perceiving pain management as involving a combination of physiological, psychological and social aspects to perceive it as related with limited to no pain relief and/or support. While some women and providers had similar perceptions about pain management, other women also reported a dissonance between what they experienced and what they would have preferred. Efforts should be made to increase women's access to respectful pain management in Tanzania.
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Atitude do Pessoal de Saúde , Grupos Focais , Manejo da Dor , Pesquisa Qualitativa , Humanos , Feminino , Tanzânia , Adulto , Gravidez , Manejo da Dor/métodos , Parto/psicologia , Parto Obstétrico/psicologia , Dor do Parto/psicologia , Dor do Parto/terapia , Adulto Jovem , Serviços de Saúde Materna , Pessoal de Saúde/psicologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Women's childbirth experiences provide a unique understanding of care received in health facilities from their voices as they describe their needs, what they consider good and what should be changed. Quality Improvement interventions in healthcare are often designed without inputs from women as end-users, leading to a lack of consideration for their needs and expectations. Recently, quality improvement interventions that incorporate women's childbirth experiences are thought to result in healthcare services that are more responsive and grounded in the end-user's needs. AIM: This study aimed to explore women's childbirth experiences to inform a co-designed quality improvement intervention in Southern Tanzania. METHODS: This exploratory qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with women after childbirth (n = 25) in two hospitals in Southern Tanzania. Reflexive thematic analysis was applied using the World Health Organization's Quality of Care framework on experiences of care domains. RESULTS: Three themes emerged from the data: (1) Women's experiences of communication with providers varied (2) Respect and dignity during intrapartum care is not guaranteed; (3) Women had varying experience of support during labour. Verbal mistreatment and threatening language for adverse birthing outcomes were common. Women appreciated physical or emotional support through human interaction. Some women would have wished for more support, but most accepted the current practices as they were. CONCLUSION: The experiences of care described by women during childbirth varied from one woman to the other. Expectations towards empathic care seemed low, and the little interaction women had during labour and birth was therefore often appreciated and mistreatment normalized. Potential co-designed interventions should include strategies to (i) empower women to voice their needs during childbirth and (ii) support healthcare providers to have competencies to be more responsive to women's needs.
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Trabalho de Parto , Serviços de Saúde Materna , Gravidez , Feminino , Humanos , Tanzânia , Parto Obstétrico/psicologia , Pesquisa Qualitativa , Hospitais , Parto/psicologiaRESUMO
Health information systems are important for health planning and progress monitoring. Still, data from health facilities are often of limited quality in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries. Quality deficits are partially rooted in the fact that paper-based documentation is still the norm at facility level, leading to mistakes in summarizing and manual copying. Digitization of data at facility level would allow automatization of these procedural steps. Here we aimed to evaluate the feasibility, usability and acceptability of a scanning innovation called Smart Paper Technology for digital data processing. We used a mixed-methods design to understand users' engagement with Smart Paper Technology and identify potential positive and negative effects of this innovation in three health facilities in Southern Tanzania. Eight focus group discussions and 11 in-depth interviews with users were conducted. We quantified time used by health care providers for documentation and patient care using time-motion methods. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. Descriptive statistics and multivariable linear models were generated to compare the difference before and after introduction and adjust for confounders. Health care providers and health care managers appreciated the forms' simple design features and perceived Smart Paper Technology as time-saving and easy to use. The time-motion study with 273.3 and 224.0 hours of observations before and after introduction of Smart Paper Technology, respectively, confirmed that working time spent on documentation did not increase (27.0% at baseline and 26.4% post-introduction; adjusted p = 0.763). Time spent on patient care was not negatively impacted (26.9% at baseline and 37.1% at post-intervention; adjusted p = 0.001). Health care providers described positive effects on their accountability for data and service provision relating to the fact that individually signed forms were filled. Health care providers perceived Smart Paper Technology as feasible, easy to integrate and acceptable in their setting, particularly as it did not add time to documentation.
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INTRODUCTION: Health information management system data is collected for national planning and evaluation but is rarely used for healthcare improvements at subnational or facility-level in low-and-middle-income countries. Research suggests that perceived data quality and lack of feedback are contributing factors. We aimed to understand maternity care providers' perceptions of data and how they use it, with a view to co-design interventions to improve data quality and use. METHODS: We based our research on constructivist grounded theory. We conducted 14 in-depth interviews, two focus group discussions with maternity care providers and 48 hours of observations in maternity wards to understand maternity providers' interaction with data in two rural hospitals in Southern Tanzania. Constant comparative data analysis was applied to develop initial and focused codes, subcategories and categories were continuously validated through peer and member checks. RESULTS: Maternity care providers found routine health information data of little use to reconcile demands from managers, the community and their challenging working environment within their daily work. They thus added informal narrative documentation sources. They created alternative narratives through data of a maternity care where mothers and babies were safeguarded. The resulting documentation system, however, led to duplication and increased systemic complexity. CONCLUSIONS: Current health information systems may not meet all data demands of maternity care providers, or other healthcare workers. Policy makers and health information system specialists need to acknowledge different ways of data use beyond health service planning, with an emphasis on healthcare providers' data needs for clinical documentation.
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Serviços de Saúde Materna , Gravidez , Humanos , Feminino , Tanzânia , Pesquisa Qualitativa , Mães , Grupos FocaisRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The three delays model proposes that maternal mortality is associated with delays in: 1) deciding to seek care; 2) reaching the healthcare facility; and 3) receiving care. Previously, the majority of women who died were reported to have experienced type 1 and 2 delays. With increased coverage of healthcare services, we sought to explore the relative contribution of each type of delay. METHOD: 151 maternal deaths were identified during a 12-month reproductive age mortality survey (RAMOS) conducted in Malawi; verbal autopsy and facility-based medical record reviews were conducted to obtain details about the circumstances surrounding each death. Using the three delays framework, data were analysed for women who had; 1) died at a healthcare facility, 2) died at home but had previously accessed care and 3) died at home and had not accessed care. RESULTS: 62.2% (94/151) of maternal deaths occurred in a healthcare facility and a further 21.2% (32/151) of mothers died at home after they had accessed care at a healthcare facility. More than half of all women who died at a healthcare facility (52.1%) had experienced more than one type of delay. Type 3 delays were the most significant delay for women who died at a healthcare facility or women who died at home after they had accessed care, and was identified in 96.8% of cases. Type 2 delays were experienced by 59.6% and type 1 delays by 39.7% of all women. Long waiting hours before receiving treatment at a healthcare facility, multiple delays at the time of admission, shortage of drugs, non-availability and incompetence of skilled staff were some of the major causes of type 3 delays. Distance to a healthcare facility was the main problem resulting in type 2 delays. CONCLUSION: The majority of women do try to reach health services when an emergency occurs, but type 3 delays present a major problem. Improving quality of care at healthcare facility level will help reduce maternal mortality.
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Instalações de Saúde/estatística & dados numéricos , Acessibilidade aos Serviços de Saúde/estatística & dados numéricos , Serviços de Saúde Materna/estatística & dados numéricos , Mortalidade Materna , Aceitação pelo Paciente de Cuidados de Saúde/estatística & dados numéricos , Adolescente , Adulto , Causas de Morte , Feminino , Humanos , Malaui , Morte Materna/etiologia , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Gravidez , Inquéritos e Questionários , Adulto JovemRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Community health workers (CHWs) can play vital roles in increasing coverage of basic health services. However, there is a need for a systematic categorisation of CHWs that will aid common understanding among policy makers, programme planners, and researchers. OBJECTIVE: To identify the common themes in the definitions and descriptions of CHWs that will aid delineation within this cadre and distinguish CHWs from other healthcare providers. DESIGN: A systematic review of peer-reviewed papers and grey literature. RESULTS: We identified 119 papers that provided definitions of CHWs in 25 countries across 7 regions. The review shows CHWs as paraprofessionals or lay individuals with an in-depth understanding of the community culture and language, have received standardised job-related training of a shorter duration than health professionals, and their primary goal is to provide culturally appropriate health services to the community. CHWs can be categorised into three groups by education and pre-service training. These are lay health workers (individuals with little or no formal education who undergo a few days to a few weeks of informal training), level 1 paraprofessionals (individuals with some form of secondary education and subsequent informal training), and level 2 paraprofessionals (individuals with some form of secondary education and subsequent formal training lasting a few months to more than a year). Lay health workers tend to provide basic health services as unpaid volunteers while level 1 paraprofessionals often receive an allowance and level 2 paraprofessionals tend to be salaried. CONCLUSIONS: This review provides a categorisation of CHWs that may be useful for health policy formulation, programme planning, and research.
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Agentes Comunitários de Saúde/classificação , Descrição de Cargo , Terminologia como Assunto , Voluntários/classificação , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-IdadeRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Assessing the feasibility of conducting a prospective Reproductive Age Mortality Survey (RAMOS) study in the low-income setting of Mangochi District, Malawi to obtain cotemporaneous estimates of the number, cause of and conditions associated with maternal deaths (MD) in all women of reproductive age (WRA) (n = 207 688). METHODS: MD among all deaths of WRA were identified using the ICD-10 definition. Cause of death and contributing conditions identified by a panel of experts using the classification system for deaths during pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium (ICD-MM). RESULTS: Out of 424 deaths of WRA, 151 were MD giving a Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 363 per 100,000 live births (95 % CI: 307-425). Only 86 MD had been reported via existing reporting mechanisms representing an underreporting of 43 %. The majority of MD (62.3 %) occurred in a health facility and were the result of direct obstetric causes (74.8 %) with obstetric haemorrhage as the leading cause (35.8 %), followed by pregnancy-related infections (19.4 %), hypertensive disorders (16.8 %) and pregnancy with abortive outcome (13.2 %). Malaria was the most frequently identified indirect cause (9.9 %). Contributing conditions were more frequently identified when both verbal autopsy and facility-based death review had taken place and included obstructed labour (28.5 %), anaemia (12.6 %) and positive HIV status (4.0 %). CONCLUSION: The high number of MD that occur at health facility level, cause of death and contributing conditions reflect deficiencies in the quality of care at health facility level. A RAMOS is feasible in low- and middle-income settings and provides contemporaneous estimates of MMR.
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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of a single prophylactic dose of ampicillin combined with metronidazole to prevent postcesarean section infections compared with a multiple day regimen in low-resource settings. DESIGN: An evaluator-blinded randomized, controlled, noninferiority trial. SETTING: Two rural hospitals in Tanzania. POPULATION: Of 181 enrolled eligible women with an indication for cesarean section, information on 176 was analyzed by intention-to-treat. METHODS: The women were randomly assigned to either the intervention group who received a single dose of ampicillin and metronidazole, or to the control group who received a multiple-day regimen of ampicillin/amoxicillin and metronidazole. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was maternal postcesarean infection. Secondary outcomes were severity of these infections, other maternal complications, and the duration of hospital stay. RESULTS: In the intervention group (n = 89), six women (6.7%) developed a wound infection compared with nine (10.3%) in the control group (n = 87) (difference 3.60; 95% CI -4.65 to 11.85) (p = 0.40). CONCLUSIONS: A single dose of prophylactic ampicillin and metronidazole is equally effective as a multiple-day regimen in preventing postcesarean wound infections in low-resource settings, therefore it can be considered as a good strategy in low-resource settings. The reduced quantity of prophylactic antibiotics will reduce costs without increasing the risk of maternal infection.