How to Measure the Quality of Facility-based Labor and Delivery Care in Sub-Saharan Africa
Posted onYesterday, quality measures for maternal health were published in PLoS ONE in an attempt to fill the need for better definitions and tools for measuring and improving quality in labor and delivery (L&D) care. Over the past decade, we have seen a profound shift in the use of maternal health services. Now, more than ever, women are delivering in health facilities, with an estimated 64% of women in developing countries and 51% of women in the 69 poorest countries giving birth in facilities in 2012. Studies have shown that maternal mortality can stagnate even as facility deliveries increase rapidly, most likely due to poor quality of care. It is most crucial to improve information about the quality of L&D care. In order to fill this need, we surveyed global maternal and newborn care experts to build a consensus on the dimensions of quality of care in the intrapartum and immediate postpartum period… read more
Countdown to 2015: Tracking maternal and child health intervention targets using lot quality assurance sampling in Bauchi State Nigeria
Posted on#EndDisrespect: Let’s Talk About Respectful Maternity Care
Posted onMeasuring Content of Contacts Reveals Missed Opportunities to Deliver Quality Maternal and Newborn Health Care
Posted onContent of maternal and newborn health care needs to be measured to improve the quality of contacts between families and health workers, highlights research carried out by the IDEAS project, and published in PLoS ONE. The number of families that had contact with frontline workers suggested that demand for health care was increasing compared to previous reports from the same study sites. However, the percentage of women and babies who received care with all the recommended content was considerably lower across all stages of the continuum of care…… read more