Assigning cause of maternal death: a comparison of findings by a facility-based review team, an expert panel using the new ICD-MM cause classification and a computer-based program (InterVA-4)

Objective To compare methodology used to assign cause of and factors contributing to maternal death. Design Reproductive Age Mortality Study. Setting Malawi. Population Maternal deaths among women of reproductive age. Methods We compared cause of death as assigned by a facility-based maternal death review team, an expert panel using the International Classification of Disease, 10th revision (ICD-10) cause classification for deaths during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (ICD-MM) and a computer-based probabilistic program (InterVA-4). Main outcome measures Number and cause of maternal deaths. Results The majority of maternal deaths occurred at a health facility (94/151; 62.3%). The estimated maternal mortality ratio was 363 per 100 000 live births (95% CI 307–425). There was poor agreement between cause of death assigned by a facility-based maternal death review team and an expert panel (κ = 0.37, 86 maternal deaths). The review team considered 36% of maternal deaths to be indirect and caused by non-obstetric complications (ICD-MM Group 7) whereas the expert panel considered only 17.4% to be indirect maternal deaths with 33.7% due to obstetric haemorrhage (ICD-MM Group 3). The review team incorrectly assigned a contributing condition rather than cause of death in up to 15.1% of cases. Agreement between the expert panel and InterVA-4 regarding cause of death was good (κ = 0.66, 151 maternal deaths). However, contributing conditions are not identified by InterVA-4. Conclusions Training in the use of ICD-MM is needed for healthcare providers conducting maternal death reviews to be able to correctly assign underlying cause of death and contributing factors. Such information can help to identify what improvements in quality of care are needed. Tweetable abstract For maternal deaths assigning cause of death is best done by an expert panel and helps to identify where quality of care needs to be improved

Health workers' perceptions of facilitators of and barriers to institutional delivery in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

Background: Evidence shows that the three delays, delay in 1) deciding to seek medical care, 2) reaching health facilities and 3) receiving adequate obstetric care, are still contributing to maternal deaths in low-income countries. Ethiopia is a major contributor to the worldwide death toll of mothers with a maternal mortality ratio of 676 per 100,000 live births. The Ethiopian Ministry of Health launched a community-based health-care system in 2003, the Health Extension Programme (HEP), to tackle maternal mortality. Despite strong efforts, universal access to services remains limited, particularly skilled delivery attendance. With the help of 'the three delays' framework, this study explores health-service providers' perceptions of facilitators and barriers to the utilization of institutional delivery in Tigray, a northern region of Ethiopia. Methods: Twelve in-depth interviews were carried out with eight health extension workers (HEWs) and four midwives. Each interview lasted between 90 and 120 minutes. Data were analysed through a thematic analysis approach. Results: Three themes emerged from the analysis: the struggle between tradition and newly acquired knowledge, community willingness to deal with geographical barriers, and striving to do a good job with insufficient resources. These themes represent the three steps in the path towards receiving adequate institutional delivery care at a health facility. Of the themes, 'increased community awareness', 'organization of the community' and 'hospital with specialized staff' were recognized as facilitators. On the other hand, 'delivery as a natural event', 'cultural tradition and rituals', 'inaccessible transport', 'unmet community expectation' and 'shortage of skilled human resources' were represented as barriers to institutional delivery. Conclusions: The participants in this study gave emphasis to the major barriers to institutional delivery that are closely connected with the three delays model. Despite the initiatives being implemented by the Tigray Regional Health Bureau, much is still needed to enhance the humanization approach of delivery care on a broader level of the region. A quick solution is needed to address the major issue of lack of transport accessibility. The poor capacity of the HEWs to provide delivery services, calls for reconsidering staffing patterns of remote health posts and readdressing the issue of downgraded health facilities would address unmet community needs