Improving Maternity Care in Malawi
Author Information
Author(s): Kongnyuy Eugene J, van den Broek Nynke
Primary Institution: Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK
Hypothesis
Can clinical audit improve the quality of maternity care as perceived by women in Malawi?
Conclusion
Developing standards for maternity care that are acceptable to women requires consideration of both research evidence and cultural values.
Supporting Evidence
- 100% of health providers agreed that clinical audit will improve the quality of care.
- 92.6% believed that clinical audit is a good educational tool.
- Concerns were raised about the potential for blame and punishment associated with clinical audits.
Takeaway
This study looked at how to make maternity care better for women in Malawi by setting standards and checking if health workers follow them.
Methodology
Standards for women friendly care were developed through workshops and a survey of health care providers' attitudes.
Potential Biases
Concerns that clinical audit may create a feeling of blame among providers and be used to punish those who fail to meet standards.
Limitations
The long list of criteria may not be feasible to audit all at once, and some criteria are based on cultural norms rather than evidence.
Participant Demographics
Participants included health care providers from 9 hospitals and 18 health centres in three districts of Malawi.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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