"Neither we are satisfied nor they"-users and provider's perspective: a qualitative study of maternity care in secondary level public health facilities, Uttar Pradesh, India.

BACKGROUND: Quality of care provided during childbirth is a critical determinant of preventing maternal mortality and morbidity. In the studies available, quality has been assessed either from the users' perspective or the providers'. The current study tries to bring both perspectives together to identify common key focus areas for quality improvement. This study aims to assess the users' (recently delivered women) and care providers' perceptions of care to understand the common challenges affecting provision of quality maternity care in public health facilities in India. METHODS: A qualitative design comprising of in-depth interviews of 24 recently delivered women from secondary care facilities and 16 health care providers in Uttar Pradesh, India. The data were analysed thematically to assess users' and providers' perspectives on the common themes. RESULTS: The common challenges experienced regarding provision of care were inadequate physical infrastructure, irregular supply of water, electricity, shortage of medicines, supplies, and gynaecologist and anaesthetist to manage complications, difficulty in maintaining privacy and lack of skill for post-delivery counselling. However, physical access, cleanliness, interpersonal behaviour, information sharing and out-of-pocket expenditure were concerns for only users. Similarly, providers raised poor management of referral cases, shortage of staff, non-functioning of blood bank, lack of incentives for work as their concerns. DISCUSSION: The study identified the common themes of care from both the perspectives, which have been foundrelevant in terms of challenges identified in many developing countries including India. The study framework identified new themes like management of emergencies in complicated cases, privacy and cost of care which both the group felt is relevant in the context of providing quality care during childbirth in low resource setting. The key challenges identified by both the groups can be prioritized, when developing quality improvement program in the health facilities. The identified components of care can match the supply with the demand for care and make the services truly responsive to user needs. CONCLUSION: The study highlights infrastructure, human resources, supplies and medicine as priority areas of quality improvement in the facility as perceived by both users and providers, nevertheless the interpersonal aspect of care primarily reported by the users must also not be ignored

Assessing the capacity of ministries of health to use research in decision-making: conceptual framework and tool

Abstract Background The capacity to demand and use research is critical for governments if they are to develop policies that are informed by evidence. Existing tools designed to assess how government officials use evidence in decision-making have significant limitations for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); they are rarely tested in LMICs and focus only on individual capacity. This paper introduces an instrument that was developed to assess Ministry of Health (MoH) capacity to demand and use research evidence for decision-making, which was tested for reliability and validity in eight LMICs (Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Lebanon, Moldova, Pakistan, South Africa, Zambia). Methods Instrument development was based on a new conceptual framework that addresses individual, organisational and systems capacities, and items were drawn from existing instruments and a literature review. After initial item development and pre-testing to address face validity and item phrasing, the instrument was reduced to 54 items for further validation and item reduction. In-country study teams interviewed a systematic sample of 203 MoH officials. Exploratory factor analysis was used in addition to standard reliability and validity measures to further assess the items. Results Thirty items divided between two factors representing organisational and individual capacity constructs were identified. South Africa and Zambia demonstrated the highest level of organisational capacity to use research, whereas Pakistan and Bangladesh were the lowest two. In contrast, individual capacity was highest in Pakistan, followed by South Africa, whereas Bangladesh and Lebanon were the lowest. Conclusion The framework and related instrument represent a new opportunity for MoHs to identify ways to understand and improve capacities to incorporate research evidence in decision-making, as well as to provide a basis for tracking change

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Publications abstracted during literature review. (DOC 136 kb

Determinants of women's satisfaction with maternal health care: a review of literature from developing countries.

BACKGROUND: Developing countries account for 99 percent of maternal deaths annually. While increasing service availability and maintaining acceptable quality standards, it is important to assess maternal satisfaction with care in order to make it more responsive and culturally acceptable, ultimately leading to enhanced utilization and improved outcomes. At a time when global efforts to reduce maternal mortality have been stepped up, maternal satisfaction and its determinants also need to be addressed by developing country governments. This review seeks to identify determinants of women's satisfaction with maternity care in developing countries. METHODS: The review followed the methodology of systematic reviews. Public health and social science databases were searched. English articles covering antenatal, intrapartum or postpartum care, for either home or institutional deliveries, reporting maternal satisfaction from developing countries (World Bank list) were included, with no year limit. Out of 154 shortlisted abstracts, 54 were included and 100 excluded. Studies were extracted onto structured formats and analyzed using the narrative synthesis approach. RESULTS: Determinants of maternal satisfaction covered all dimensions of care across structure, process and outcome. Structural elements included good physical environment, cleanliness, and availability of adequate human resources, medicines and supplies. Process determinants included interpersonal behavior, privacy, promptness, cognitive care, perceived provider competency and emotional support. Outcome related determinants were health status of the mother and newborn. Access, cost, socio-economic status and reproductive history also influenced perceived maternal satisfaction. Process of care dominated the determinants of maternal satisfaction in developing countries. Interpersonal behavior was the most widely reported determinant, with the largest body of evidence generated around provider behavior in terms of courtesy and non-abuse. Other aspects of interpersonal behavior included therapeutic communication, staff confidence and competence and encouragement to laboring women. CONCLUSIONS: Quality improvement efforts in developing countries could focus on strengthening the process of care. Special attention is needed to improve interpersonal behavior, as evidence from the review points to the importance women attach to being treated respectfully, irrespective of socio-cultural or economic context. Further research on maternal satisfaction is required on home deliveries and relative strength of various determinants in influencing maternal satisfaction