Maternity Care Guidelines checklist. To assist physicians in implementing CPGs. (9/2239)

PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED: Implementing the recommended clinical practice guidelines for prenatal care can be difficult for busy practitioners because the guidelines are numerous and continually being revised. OBJECTIVE OF PROGRAM: To develop a checklist outlining the current recommended activities for prenatal care to assist practitioners in providing evidence-based interventions to pregnant women. MAIN COMPONENTS OF PROGRAM: We reviewed guidelines for prenatal care from the Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination (CTFPHE) and from the report of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). We searched MEDLINE for interventions commonly performed in pregnancy, but not reviewed by either task force. Interventions graded A or B are listed in bold type on the checklist. Interventions graded C by either task force or recommended by organizations not necessarily using the same rigorous criteria are listed in plain type. Recommended interventions are displayed along a time line under three headings: clinical maneuvers, investigations, and issues for discussion. Pilot testing by 12 practising physicians and 12 family practice residents showed that most respondents thought the checklist very useful. CONCLUSIONS: Providing a one-page checklist summarizing recommended clinical maneuvers, investigations, and topics for discussion should help physicians with implementing the many clinical practice guidelines for prenatal care.  (+info)

Childbirth customs in Orthodox Jewish traditions. (10/2239)

OBJECTIVE: To describe cultural beliefs of Orthodox Jewish families regarding childbirth in order to help family physicians enhance the quality and sensitivity of their care. QUALITY OF EVIDENCE: These findings were based on a review of the literature searched in MEDLINE (1966 to present), HEALTHSTAR (1975 to present), EMBASE (1988 to present), and Social Science Abstracts (1984 to present). Interviews with several members of the Orthodox Jewish community in Edmonton, Alta, and Vancouver, BC, were conducted to determine the accuracy of the information presented and the relevance of the paper to the current state of health care delivery from the recipients' point of view. MAIN MESSAGE: Customs and practices surrounding childbirth in the Orthodox Jewish tradition differ in several practical respects from expectations and practices within the Canadian health care system. The information presented was deemed relevant and accurate by those interviewed, and the subject matter was considered to be important for improving communication between patients and physicians. Improved communication and recognition of these differences can improve the quality of health care provided to these patients. CONCLUSIONS: Misunderstandings rooted in different cultural views of childbirth and the events surrounding it can adversely affect health care provided to women in the Orthodox Jewish community in Canada. A basic understanding of the cultural foundations of potential misunderstandings will help Canadian physicians provide effective health care to Orthodox Jewish women.  (+info)

Childbirth customs in Vietnamese traditions. (11/2239)

OBJECTIVE: To examine and understand how differences in the cultural backgrounds of Canadian physicians and their Vietnamese patients can affect the quality and efficacy of prenatal and postnatal treatment. QUALITY OF EVIDENCE: The information in this paper is based on a review of the literature, supplemented by interviews with members of the Vietnamese community in Edmonton, Alta. The literature was searched with MEDLINE (1966 to present), HEALTHSTAR (1975 to present), EMBASE (1988 to present), and Social Sciences Abstracts (1984 to present). Emphasis was placed on articles and other texts that dealt with Vietnamese customs surrounding childbirth, but information on health and health care customs was also considered. Interviews focused on the accuracy of information obtained from the research and the correlation of those data with personal experiences of Vietnamese community members. MAIN MESSAGE: Information in the texts used to research this paper suggests that traditional Vietnamese beliefs and practices surrounding birth are very different from the biomedical view of the Canadian medical system. The experiences and beliefs of the members of the Vietnamese community support this finding. Such cultural differences could contribute to misunderstandings between physicians and patients and could affect the quality and efficacy of health care provided. CONCLUSIONS: A sensitive and open approach to the patient's belief system and open and frank communication are necessary to ensure effective prenatal and postnatal treatment for recent Vietnamese immigrants and refugees. Education and awareness of cultural differences are necessary for physicians to provide the best and most effective health care possible.  (+info)

Effect of antenatal dexamethasone therapy on maternal plasma human chorionic gonadotrophin, oestradiol and progesterone. (12/2239)

The aim of this study was to determine whether the current regimen of dexamethasone administration to induce fetal lung maturation affected the circulating concentrations of placental hormone. A standard regimen of dexamethasone that comprised two doses of 12-mg intramuscular injections, 12 h apart was administered to 12 pregnant women to promote fetal lung maturation in anticipation of premature delivery before 34 completed weeks of gestation. Blood samples were collected before starting the dexamethasone therapy, 24 h, and 48 h after completing therapy for the measurement of the plasma concentrations of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG), oestradiol and progesterone. There was a progressive fall in the plasma concentrations of HCG following dexamethasone therapy (P = 0.049 and P = 0.034, 24-h and 48-h post therapy respectively). There was an initial fall in the plasma concentrations of oestradiol after dexamethasone therapy (z = 3.059; P = 0.002, 24-h post therapy), which recovered by 48 h (P = 0.239). There was no difference between the plasma concentrations of progesterone at the three time points. The effect of dexamethasone on HCG concentrations suggests that it has a direct inhibitory effect on placental hormone synthesis or secretion. Further studies are needed to define the mechanism of action of dexamethasone on placental HCG production.  (+info)

Evaluating a policy of reduced consultant antenatal clinic visits for low risk multiparous women. (13/2239)

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate a change in antenatal care policy to reduce antenatal clinic visits, whereby low risk multiparous women were managed by the primary care team and seen at booking and at 41 weeks' gestation at the consultant antenatal clinic. DESIGN: Comparative study of low risk multiparous women retrospectively identified through the Oxford obstetric data system and cared for by three consultants who changed their policy (group A) or three consultants who maintained their routine care (group B). SETTING: Oxfordshire Health District. SUBJECTS: 2153 low risk multiparous women (1079 group A, 1074 group B) booked for consultant care at John Radcliffe Maternity Hospital between August 1985 and July 1987. MAIN MEASURES: Comparison of pregnancy outcomes, satisfaction with care, and clinic waiting times, during one year before and after the policy change (year 1, year 2). RESULTS: The proportion of women in group A with only one or two consultant clinic visits increased from 19.9% to 57.9% between years 1 and 2 (p < 0.001). Clinic waiting times did not improve. Of five perinatal deaths in group A, one (from postmaturity) could possibly be attributed to the policy change. The proportion of women reaching 42 weeks' gestation rose from 4.7% to 9.2% (p < 0.01); the proportion fully satisfied with their care rose from 68.4% to 82.1% (p < 0.025). No such changes were seen in group B. CONCLUSIONS: The change in policy was successful in reducing hospital antenatal clinic visits. The exercise identified dilemmas around evaluating changes in antenatal care settings. IMPLICATIONS: Criteria to test policy objectives should be selected carefully and rare events assessed prospectively in order to detect problems early.  (+info)

Development of clinical guidelines in a health district: an attempt to find consensus. (14/2239)

OBJECTIVE: To formulate consensus based guidelines for antenatal care in a health district. DESIGN: Prospective formulation of draft guidelines by a working group of consultant obstetricians and general practitioners with an obstetric interest, canvassing opinions of all GPs in the district by questionnaire, and revision and final circulation of the guidelines. SETTING: One health district. SUBJECTS: All 160 GPs in the district and members of the working party. MAIN MEASURES: Questionnaire responses to specific proposals within the draft guidelines for managing anaemia, antepartum haemorrhage, and hypertension. RESULTS: 136 GPs responded (response rate 85%); responders and nonresponders did not differ in age, sex, or presence on obstetric list. Overall they favoured more conservative management than suggested in the guidelines. For example, only 38% (44/116) prescribed iron routinely and 34% (38/113) referred to hospital for haemoglobin concentration of < or = 10 g/l; 10% referred women unnecessarily for oedema unassociated with proteinuria; and 20% managed active bleeding progressing to old brown staining as an urgent admission. The guidelines were revised according to the relative weight of the views obtained. CONCLUSION: Establishing guidelines is mainly a political process. Canvassed views influenced guidelines most when internal disagreement existed within the working party. IMPLICATIONS AND ACTION: Regular revising of the guidelines is planned, which, in conjunction with repeating the questionnaire to monitor changing practice, will allow a long term district wide clinical review.  (+info)

Reducing maternal mortality in Kigoma, Tanzania. (15/2239)

An intervention programme aiming at a reduction of maternal deaths in the Regional Hospital, Kigoma, Tanzania, is analyzed. A retrospective study was carried out from 1984-86 to constitute a background for an intervention programme in 1987-91. The retrospective study revealed gross under-registration of data and clarified a number of potentially useful issues regarding avoidable maternal mortality. An intervention programme comprising 22 items was launched and the maternal mortality ratio was carefully followed in 1987-91. The intervention programme paid attention to professional responsibilities with regular audit-oriented meeting, utilization of local material resources, schedules for regular maintenance of equipment, maintenance of working skills by regular on-the-job training of staff, norms for patient management, provision of blood, norms for referral of severely ill patients, use of antibiotics, regular staff evaluation, public complaints about patient management, travel distance of all essential staff to the hospital, supply of essential drugs, the need of a small infusion production unit, the creation of culture facilities for improved quality of microbiology findings, and to efforts to stimulate local fund-raising. The results indicate that the maternal mortality ratio fell from 933 to 186 per 100,000 live births over the period 1984-91. Thus it is underscored that the problem of maternal mortality can be successfully approached by a low-cost intervention programme aiming at identifying issues of avoidability and focusing upon locally available problem solutions.  (+info)

Increasing the utilization of cost-effective health services through changes in demand. (16/2239)

Attaining efficiency in a health care system with a budget constraint involves increasing the utilization of the most cost-effective services. This can be achieved by adjustments to prices, cost curves, or demand curves. In this paper, the potential for demand curve adjustments is examined by selecting two apparently cost-effective services (prenatal care and childhood immunization against tuberculosis), and analyzing the factors explaining their utilization. Data from recent household surveys in Burkina Faso and Niger are used. A multivariate analysis of utilization employs income, price, and taste variables. Utilization is highly sensitive to the distance which must be travelled to the health facility, a price, and taste variables. Utilization is highly sensitive to the distance which must be travelled to the health facility, a price variable. Members of certain ethnic groups tend to use the services less, other things being equal. The importance of demand-side factors like ethnicity points to certain kinds of policy interventions like information, education and communication activities which could increase the utilization of cost-effective services.  (+info)