Postnatal care services in rural Zambia: a qualitative exploration of user, provider, and community perspectives on quality of care

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

Research

Nancy A. Scott¹  Rachel M. Fong¹  Jeanette L. Kaiser¹  Davidson H. Hamer²  Lawrence Mwananyanda³  Thandiwe Ngoma³  Cephas Sialubanje⁴ 

[1] Department of Global Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Global Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA;Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, 02118, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Research, Right to Care Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia;School of Public Health, Levy Mwanawasa Medical University, Lusaka, Zambia;

关键词: Postnatal care;    Quality;    Zambia;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12884-023-05350-w

 received in 2022-01-18, accepted in 2023-01-05,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPostnatal care (PNC) is an important set of services offered to the mother and her newborn baby immediately after birth for the first six weeks to prevent maternal and neonatal complications and death. This qualitative study explored user and provider perspectives on quality of PNC services in the selected health facilities within the context of the Maternity Homes Access in Zambia project in the Saving Mothers Giving Life districts in rural Zambia.MethodsBetween October 2018 and February 2019, forty focus group discussions (FGDs) (n = 160 participants) and twelve in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted in four districts in Southern and Eastern provinces. FGDs comprised women who delivered within the last year, fathers, community elders, and volunteers. IDIs comprised health workers at facility, district, and provincial levels. Data were analysed using content analysis guided by the international quality of care domains derived from the World Health Organization quality of care framework. Findings were triangulated to understand perceptions.ResultsOverall, study participants perceived PNC services to be beneficial. Nevertheless, respondents had mixed feelings on the quality of PNC services and expressed a stark difference in their perception of factors affecting service quality. Service users described challenges arising from ineffective communication about the new PNC guidelines, and non-adherence of service providers to quality standards regarding respect, preservation of dignity and emotional support. Other factors were long waiting hours, small examination rooms providing inadequate privacy, and low levels of confidentiality. In contrast, service providers attributed poor service quality to various health system-related factors including low staffing levels, dysfunctional referral services, low supply of essential medicines, supplies, vaccines and equipment for optimal routine emergency obstetric and newborn care and management of complications.ConclusionThese findings highlight important intervention opportunities to improve quality of PNC services in Zambia through better communication and raising awareness on PNC guidelines, respect, preservation of dignity and emotional support to mothers. Interventions should also focus on addressing contextual health system challenges including staffing levels, supply chain for essential medicines and commodities, shortening waiting time, and ensuring functional referral system.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 5