Public health approach to address maternal mortality

Contribution of women's development army to maternal and child health in Ethiopia: a systematic review of evidence

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this review was to identify, appraise and synthesise studies that reported on the contribution of women's development army (WDA) to maternal and child health development.

SETTING

Studies conducted in Ethiopia 2010 onwards and published in English were considered.

DATA SOURCES

Evidence were searched in MEDLINE, CINAHL and EBSCOhost from 25 March to 10 April 2018.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Both quantitative and qualitative studies assessing the contribution of WDA to maternal and child health were considered.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Two independent reviewers have extracted data using pre-planned data extraction tool separately for each study design. Findings were synthesised using tables and narrative summary.

OUTCOME

Maternal and child health services; maternal and child mortality.

RESULTS

Nine studies met the inclusion criteria and were used for synthesis. The results revealed that participation and membership in women's development teams (WDTs) have a positive effect on minimising maternal death and improving child immunisation service use. Skilled delivery and antenatal care service use were higher in WDTs located within a radius of 2 km from health facilities. Women's development teams were also the main sources of information for mothers to prepare themselves for birth and related complications. Moreover, well-established groups have strengthened the linkage of the health facility to the community so that delays in maternal health service use were minimised; health extension workers could effectively refer women to a health facility for birth and utilisation of skilled birth service was improved.

CONCLUSION

Voluntary health service intervention in Ethiopia has improved maternal and child health services' outcome. A decrease in maternal deaths, increase in antenatal and delivery service use and improved child immunisation service uptake are attributable to this intervention. The linkage between community members and the primary healthcare system served as an effective and efficient mechanism to share information.

Effective strategies for reducing maternal mortality in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, 2014

Background:

Maternal mortality rate is among the most important health indicators. This indicator is a function of factors that are related to pregnant women; these factors include economic status, social and family life of the pregnant woman, human resources, structure of the hospitals and health centers, and management factors. Strategic planning, with a comprehensive analysis and coverage of all causes of maternal mortality, can be helpful in improving this indicator.

Materials and Methods:

This research is a descriptive exploratory study. After needs assessment and review of the current situation through eight expert panel meetings and evaluating the organization's internal and external environment, the strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities of maternal mortality reduction were determined. Then, through mutual comparison of strengths/opportunities, strengths/threats, weaknesses/opportunities, and weaknesses/threats, WT, WO, ST, and SO strategies and suggested activities of the researchers for reducing maternal mortality were developed and dedicated to the areas of education, research, treatment, and health, as well as food and drug administration to be implemented.

Results:

In the expert panel meetings, seven opportunity and strength strategies, eight strength and threat strategies, five weakness and threat strategies, and seven weakness and opportunity strategies were determined and a strategic plan was developed.

Conclusions:

Dedication of the developed strategies to the areas of education, research, treatment, and health, as well as food and drug administration has coordinated these areas to develop Ministry of Health indicators. In particular, it emphasizes the key role of university management in improving the processes related to maternal health.

Reducing maternal morbidity and mortality in the developing world: a simple, cost-effective example

Objectives

To determine the impact of volunteer obstetricians and midwife teams on obstetric services in a rural hospital in Ethiopia.

Methods

The intervention was undertaken in Mota district hospital, a rural hospital in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, which is the only hospital for 1.2 million people. Before the placement of volunteer teams it had a rudimentary basic obstetric service, no blood transfusion service, and no operative delivery. The study prospectively analyzed delivery data before, during, and after the placement of volunteer obstetrician and midwife teams. The volunteers established emergency obstetric care, and trained and supervised local staff over a 3-year period. Measurable outcomes consisted of the number of women delivering, the number of referrals of pregnant women, the number of maternal deaths, and the number of referrals of obstetric fistula patients.

Results

With the establishment of the service the number of women attending hospital for delivery increased by 40%. In the hospital maternal mortality decreased from 7.1% to <0.5%, and morbidity, as measured by number of obstetric fistulae, decreased from 1.5% deliveries to 0.5% over the 3-year intervention period. The improvements were sustained after handing the project back to the government.

Conclusion

The placement of volunteer teams was an effective method of decreasing maternal mortality and morbidity.

Widespread non-adherence to evidence-based maternity care guidelines: a population-based cluster randomised household survey

OBJECTIVE

To assess the quality of maternity care in an Indian metropolitan city.

STUDY DESIGN

Three-stage cluster randomised cross-sectional survey.

SETTING

Sixty selected colonies of Delhi.

POPULATION

One thousand eight hundred and one subjects (of 2286 eligible) were enrolled from 118 446 houses. Women who had delivered a live viable birth in the past 6 months were selected for the study.

METHODS

In stage 1, 20 wards (of 150) were selected using a probability-proportionate-to-size systematic method. In stage 2, one colony from each income stratum (high, middle and low) was selected from each ward by simple random sampling. In stage 3, a house-to-house survey was conducted to recruit 30 women for administering a peer-reviewed and pilot-trialled questionnaire.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Caesarean section rate, induction rate and episiotomy rate.

RESULTS

National health targets such as iron supplementation advice (>96%), tetanus vaccination (>81%), and ≥3 antenatal visits (>90%) were largely achieved across health care facilities but not in home deliveries. Interventions were lower in public than private hospitals: caesarean section [23.7% (20.2-27.7) versus 53.8% (49.3-58.3)], induction [20.6% (17.5-24.25) versus 30.8% (26.8-33.2)] and episiotomy [57.8% (52.3-63.1) versus 79.4% (71.0-85.9)]. Private hospitals achieved better labour support rates [1.1% (0.5-2.2) versus 14.6% (8.5-24.1)] and pain relief [0.9% (0.4-2.0) versus 9.9 (6.5-14.8)]. Pubic hair shaving [16.2% (11.5-22.5) versus 36.4% (29.9-43.4)], enema [20.2% (15.5-26.0) versus 57.3% (49.5-64.8)], and IV fluids during labour [44.0% (36.2-52.2) versus 38.7% (29.3-49.1)] were widely prevalent in public and private hospitals.

CONCLUSION

Present practices fall short of evidence-based guidelines, with relative overuse of interventions in private hospitals and deficiency of patient-centred practices such as labour support in public hospitals.