Strengthening and monitoring health system's capacity to improve availability, utilization and quality of emergency obstetric care in northern Nigeria

Outcomes of a multifaceted intervention to prevent eclampsia and eclampsia-related deaths in Nigerian referral facilities

BACKGROUND

Eclampsia causes maternal mortality in Nigeria. This study presents the effectiveness of multifaceted interventions that addressed institutional barriers in reducing the incidence and case fatality rates associated with eclampsia.

METHODS

The design was quasi-experimental and the activities implemented at intervention hospitals included a new strategic plan, retraining health providers on eclampsia management protocols, clinical reviews of delivery care and educating pregnant women and their partners. Prospective data were collected monthly on eclampsia and related indicators from study sites over 2 y. The results were analysed by univariate, bivariate and multivariable logistic regression.

RESULTS

The results show a higher eclampsia rate (5.88% vs 2.45%) and a lower use of partograph and antenatal care (ANC; 17.99% vs 23.42%) in control compared with intervention hospitals, but similar case fatality rates of <1%. Overall, adjusted analysis shows a 63% decrease in the odds of eclampsia at intervention compared with control hospitals. Factors associated with eclampsia were ANC, referral for care from other facilities and older maternal age.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that multifaceted interventions that address challenges associated with managing pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in health facilities can reduce eclampsia occurrence in referral facilities in Nigeria and potential eclampsia death in resource-poor African countries.

Effective Coverage of Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care Services in Africa: A Scoping Review

Objective

This scoping review aimed to map the evidence of effective coverage (EC) of EmONC (Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care) services and associated factors in Africa.

Methodology

The review used PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews) checklist to select, appraise, and report the findings. We searched four databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus) and grey literature published between Jan 01, 2011 - Dec 31, 2020. The search terms included "emergency", "obstetric", "newborn", "effective coverage", and "quality" with Boolean terms, AND and OR. The review was conducted using title, abstract, and full-article screenings. The results were analyzed thematically using NVivo v12 qualitative research data analysis software.

Results

Of the 1811 searched studies, 32 met the eligibility criteria for review. The majority of the studies were from East (56.3%) and Western (28.1%) Africa. Most studies were cross-sectional, had targeted health facilities, and combined two or more data collection techniques. The thematic analysis yielded three themes: EmONC service utilization, quality of EmONC service, and factors associated with the quality of EmONC services. The review showed a scarcity of evidence and variations regarding the crude coverage, quality of care, and factors affecting the quality of EmONC services in Africa.

Conclusion

The review reported that the utilization of EmONC services was below the WHO-recommended 100% in all studies, though some reported improvements over time. Disparities in EmONC services quality were paramount across studies and contexts. However, the methodological and analytical incongruity across studies brought difficulties in tracing and comparing the progress made in EmONC services utilizations.

Registration

This scoping review protocol was first registered on the Open Science Framework (OSF) on Aug 27, 2021 (https://osf.io/khcte/).

Barriers and enablers to emergency obstetric and newborn care services use in Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia: a qualitative case study

Background

Globally, 11.4 million untreated obstetric complications did not receive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) services yearly, with the highest burden in low and middle-income countries. Half of the Ethiopian women with obstetric complications did not receive EmONC services. However, essential aspects of the problem have not been assessed in depth. This study, therefore, explored the various aspects of barriers and enablers to women’s EmONC services utilization in southern Ethiopia.

Methodology

A qualitative case study research design was used in nine districts of the Wolaita Zone. A total of 37 study participants were selected using a purposive stratified sampling technique and interviewed till data saturation. Twenty-two key informant interviews were conducted among front-line EmONC service providers, managers, community leaders, and traditional birth attendants (TBAs). Individual in-depth interviews were conducted among 15 women with obstetric complications. The trustworthiness of the research was assured by establishing credibility, transferability, conformability, and dependability. NVivo 12 was used to assist with the thematic data analysis.

Result

Five themes emerged from the analysis: service users’ perception and experience (knowledge, perceived quality, reputation, respectful care, and gender); community-related factors (misconceptions, traditional practices, family and peer influence, and traditional birth attendants’ role); access and availability of services (infrastructure and transportation); healthcare financing (drugs and supplies, out-of-pocket expenses, and fee exemption); and health facility-related factors (competency, referral system, waiting time, and leadership).

Conclusion

Many women and their newborns in the study area suffered severe and life-threatening complications because of the non-utilization or delayed utilization of EmONC services. A key policy priority should be given to enhancing women’s awareness, eliminating misconceptions, improving women’s autonomy, and ensuring traditional practices’ role in EmONC service utilization. Community awareness interventions are required to enhance service uptake. Furthermore, the health systems must emphasize improving the quality of care, inequitable distribution of EmONC facilities, and essential drugs. The financial constraints need to be addressed to motivate women from low socioeconomic status. Furthermore, intersectoral collaboration is required to maintain a legal framework to control and prohibit home deliveries and empower women.

Quality of emergency obstetric and newborn care services in Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Background

Globally, nearly 295,000 women die every year during and following pregnancy and childbirth. Emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) can avert 75% of maternal mortality if all mothers get quality healthcare. Improving maternal health needs identification and addressing of barriers that limit access to quality maternal health services. Hence, this study aimed to assess the quality of EmONC service and its predictors in Wolaita Zone, southern Ethiopia.

Methodology

A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted in 14 health facilities. A facility audit was conducted on 14 health facilities, and 423 women were randomly selected to participate in observation of care and exit interview. The Open Data Kit (ODK) platform and Stata version 17 were used for data entry and analysis, respectively. Frequencies and summary statistics were used to describe the study population. Simple and multiple linear regressions were done to identify candidate and predictor variables of service quality. Coefficients with 95% confidence intervals were used to declare the significance and strength of association. Input, process, and output quality indices were created by calculating the means of standard items available or actions performed by each category and were used to describe the quality of EmONC.

Result

The mean input, process, and output EmONC services qualities were 74.2, 69.4, and 79.6%, respectively. Of the study participants, 59.2% received below 75% of the standard clinical actions (observed quality) of EmONC services. Women’s educational status (B = 5.35, 95% C.I: 0.56, 10.14), and (B = 8.38, 95% C.I: 2.92, 13.85), age (B = 3.86, 95% C.I: 0.39, 7.33), duration of stay at the facility (B = 3.58, 95% C.I: 2.66, 4.9), number of patients in the delivery room (B = − 4.14, 95% C.I: − 6.14, − 2.13), and care provider’s experience (B = 1.26, 95% C.I: 0.83, 1.69) were independent predictors of observed service quality.

Conclusion

The EmONC services quality was suboptimal in Wolaita Zone. Every three-in-five women received less than three-fourths of the standard clinical actions. The health system, care providers, and other stakeholders should emphasize improving the quality of care by availing medical infrastructure, adhering to standard procedures, enhancing human resources for health, and providing standard care regardless of women’s characteristics.

A Comprehensive Approach to Improving Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care in Kigoma, Tanzania

Efforts to increase the availability and utilization of high-quality emergency obstetric and newborn care and routine delivery care services in Kigoma were successful and subsequently contributed to significant reductions in maternal and perinatal mortality in the region.

Introduction:

To address high levels of maternal mortality in Kigoma, Tanzania, stakeholders increased women's access to high-quality comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) by decentralizing services from hospitals to health centers where EmONC was delivered mostly by associate clinicians and nurses. To ensure that women used services, implementers worked to continuously improve and sustain quality of care while creating demand.

Methods:

Program evaluation included periodic health facility assessments, pregnancy outcome monitoring, and enhanced maternal mortality detection region-wide in program- and nonprogram-supported health facilities.

Results:

Between 2013 and 2018, the average number of lifesaving interventions performed per facility increased from 2.8 to 4.7. The increase was higher in program-supported than nonprogram-supported health centers and dispensaries. The institutional delivery rate increased from 49% to 85%; the greatest increase occurred through using health centers (15% to 25%) and dispensaries (21% to 46%). The number of cesarean deliveries almost doubled, and the population cesarean delivery rate increased from 2.6% to 4.5%. Met need for emergency obstetric care increased from 44% to 61% while the direct obstetric case fatality rate declined from 1.8% to 1.4%. The institutional maternal mortality ratio across all health facilities declined from 303 to 174 deaths per 100,000 live births. The total stillbirth rate declined from 26.7 to 12.8 per 1,000 births. The predischarge neonatal mortality rate declined from 10.7 to 7.6 per 1,000 live births. Changes in case fatality rate and maternal mortality were driven by project-supported facilities. Changes in neonatal mortality varied depending on facility type and program support status.

Conclusion:

Decentralizing high-quality comprehensive EmONC delivered mostly by associate clinicians and nurses led to significant improvements in the availability and utilization of lifesaving care at birth in Kigoma. Dedicated efforts to sustain high-quality EmONC along with supplemental programmatic components contributed to the reduction of maternal and perinatal mortality.

An assessment of geographical access and factors influencing travel time to emergency obstetric care in the urban state of Lagos, Nigeria

Previous efforts to estimate the travel time to comprehensive emergency obstetric care (CEmOC) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have either been based on spatial models or self-reported travel time, both with known inaccuracies. The study objectives were to estimate more realistic travel times for pregnant women in emergency situations using Google Maps, determine system-level factors that influence travel time and use these estimates to assess CEmOC geographical accessibility and coverage in Lagos state, Nigeria. Data on demographics, obstetric history and travel to CEmOC facilities of pregnant women with an obstetric emergency, who presented between 1st November 2018 and 31st December 2019 at a public CEmOC facility were collected from hospital records. Estimated travel times were individually extracted from Google Maps for the period of the day of travel. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to test associations between travel and health system-related factors with reaching the facility >60 minutes. Mean travel times were compared and geographical coverage mapped to identify ‘hotspots’ of predominantly >60 minutes travel to facilities. For the 4005 pregnant women with traceable journeys, travel time ranges were 2–240 minutes (without referral) and 7–320 minutes (with referral). Total travel time was within the 60 and 120 minute benchmark for 80 and 96% of women, respectively. The period of the day of travel and having been referred were significantly associated with travelling >60 minutes. Many pregnant women living in the central cities and remote towns typically travelled to CEmOC facilities around them. We identified four hotspots from which pregnant women travelled >60 minutes to facilities. Mean travel time and distance to reach tertiary referral hospitals were significantly higher than the secondary facilities. Our findings suggest that actions taken to address gaps need to be contextualized. Our approach provides a useful guide for stakeholders seeking to comprehensively explore geographical inequities in CEmOC access within urban/peri-urban LMIC settings.