Access to support during childbirth?: women's preferences and experiences of support person integration in a cross-sectional facility-based survey.

BACKGROUND: Integrating support persons into maternity care, such as making them feel welcome or providing them with information, is positioned to increase support for women and improve birth outcomes. Little quantitative research has examined what support women need and how the healthcare system currently facilitates support for women. We introduce the Person-Centered Integration of Support Persons (PC-ISP) concept, based on a review of the literature and propose four PC-ISP domains-Welcoming environment, Decision-making support, Provision of information and education and Ability to ask questions and express concerns. We report on women's preferences and experiences of PC-ISP. METHODS: We developed PC-ISP measures based on the literature and applied these in a facility-based survey with 1,138 women after childbirth in six health facilities in Nairobi and Kiambu counties in Kenya from September 2019 to January 2020. RESULTS: We found an unmet need for integrating support persons during childbirth. Between 73.6 and 93.6% of women preferred integration of support persons during maternity care, but only 45.3-77.9% reported to have experienced integration. Women who reported having a male partner support person reported more PC-ISP experiences (B0.13; 95% CI 0.02, 0.23) than those without. Employed women were more likely to report having the opportunity to consult support persons on decisions (aOR1.26; 95% CI 1.07, 1.50) and report that providers asked if support persons should be informed about their condition and care (aOR1.29; 95% CI 1.07, 1.55). Women with more providers attending birth were more likely to report opportunities to consult support persons on decisions (aOR1.53; 95% CI 1.09, 2.15) and that support persons were welcome to ask questions (aOR1.84, 95% CI 1.07, 2.54). CONCLUSIONS: Greater efforts to integrate support persons for specific roles, including decision-making support, bridging communication and advocacy, are needed to meet women's needs for support in maternity care.

Can a quality improvement intervention improve person-centred maternity care in Kenya?

Few evidence-based interventions exist to improve person-centred maternity care in low-resource settings. This study aimed to understand whether a quality improvement (QI) intervention could improve person-centred maternity care (PCMC) experiences for women delivering in public health facilities in Kenya. A pre-post design was used to examine changes in PCMC scores across three intervention and matched control facilities at baseline (n = 491) and endline (n = 677). A QI intervention, using the Model for Improvement, was implemented in three public health facilities in Nairobi and Kiambu Counties in Kenya. Difference-in-difference analyses using models that included main effects of both treatment group and survey round was conducted to understand the impact of the intervention on PCMC scores. Findings suggest that intervention facilities' average total PCMC score decreased by 5.3 points post-intervention compared to baseline (95% CI: -8.8, -1.9) and relative to control facilities, holding socio-demographic and facility variables constant. Additionally, the intervention was significantly associated with a 1.8-point decrease in clinical quality index pre-post-intervention (95% CI: -2.9, -0.7), decreased odds of provider visits, and less likelihood to plan to use postpartum family planning. While improving the quality of women's experiences during childbirth is a critical component to ensure comprehensive, high-quality maternity care experiences and outcomes, further research is required to understand which intervention methods may be most appropriate to improve PCMC in resource-constrained settings.

Improving stigma and psychosocial outcomes among post-abortion Kenyan women attending private clinics: A randomized controlled trial of a person-centered mobile phone-based intervention.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate a person-centered abortion care mobile-based intervention on perceived social stigma, social support, mental health and post-abortion care experiences among Kenyan women who received abortion services at private clinics. METHODS: This randomized controlled study enrolled women who obtained an abortion from private clinics in Nairobi county, Kenya and randomized them into one of three study arms: 1) standard of care (follow-up by service provider call center); 2) post-abortion phone follow-up by a peer counselor (a woman who has had an abortion herself and is trained in person-centered abortion care); or 3) post-abortion phone follow-up by a nurse (a nurse who is trained in person-centered abortion care). All participants were followed-up at two- and four-weeks post-abortion to evaluate intervention effects on mental health, social support, and abortion-related stigma scores. A Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA test was used to assess the effect of each intervention compared to the control group. In total, 371 women participated at baseline and were each randomized to the study arms. RESULTS: Using Kruskal-Wallis tests, the nurse arm improved mental health scores from baseline to week two; however this was only marginally significant (p = 0.059). The nurse arm also lowered stigma scores from baseline to week four, and this was marginally significant (p = 0.099). No other differences were found between the study arms. This person-centered mobile phone-based intervention may improve mental health and decrease perceived stigma among Kenyan women who received abortion services in private clinics. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses trained in person-centered abortion care, in particular, may improve women's experiences post-abortion and potentially reduce feelings of shame and stigma and improve mental health in this context.

Association between newborn separation, maternal consent and health outcomes: findings from a longitudinal survey in Kenya.

OBJECTIVES: Disrespectful and poor treatment of newborns such as unnecessary separation from parents or failure to obtain parental consent for medical procedures occurs at health facilities across contexts, but little research has investigated the prevalence, risk factors or associated outcomes. This study examined these experiences and associations with healthcare satisfaction, use and breast feeding. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: 3 public hospitals, 2 private hospitals, and 1 health centre/dispensary in Nairobi and Kiambu counties in Kenya. PARTICIPANTS: Data were collected from women who delivered in health facilities between September 2019 and January 2020. The sample included 1014 women surveyed at baseline and at least one follow-up at 2-4 or 10 weeks post partum. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: (1) Outcomes related to satisfaction with care and care utilisation; (2) continuation of post-discharge newborn care practices such as breast feeding. RESULTS: 17.6% of women reported newborn separation at the facility, of whom 71.9% were separated over 10 min. 44.9% felt separation was unnecessary and 8.4% reported not knowing the reason for separation. 59.9% reported consent was not obtained for procedures on their newborn. Women separated from their newborn (>10 min) were 44% less likely to be exclusively breast feeding at 2-4 weeks (adjusted OR (aOR)=0.56, 95% CI: 0.40 to 0.76). Obtaining consent for newborn procedures corresponded with 2.7 times greater likelihood of satisfaction with care (aOR=2.71, 95% CI: 1.67 to 4.41), 27% greater likelihood of postpartum visit attendance for self or newborn (aOR=1.27, 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.55), and 33% greater likelihood of exclusive breast feeding at 10 weeks (aOR=1.33, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.62). CONCLUSIONS: Newborns, mothers and families have a right to high-quality, respectful care, including the ability to stay together, be informed and properly consent for care. The implications of these experiences on health outcomes a month or more after discharge illustrate the importance of a positive experience of postnatal care.

Perspectives on implementing a quality improvement collaborative to improve person-centered care for maternal and reproductive health in Kenya.

OBJECTIVE: To understand perspectives and experiences related to participation in a quality improvement collaborative (QIC) to improve person-centered care (PCC) for maternal health and family planning (FP) in Kenya. DESIGN AND SETTING: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with members of the QIC in four public health facilities in Kenya. PARTICIPANTS: Clinical and nonclinical public health facility staff who had participated in the QIC were purposively sampled to participate in the semi-structured interviews. INTERVENTION: A QIC was implemented across four public health facilities in Nairobi and Kiambu Counties in Kenya to improve PCC experiences for women seeking maternity or FP services. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Semi-structured interviews with participants of the QIC to understand perspectives and experiences associated with sensitization to and implementation of PCC behaviors in maternity and FP services. RESULTS: Respondents reported that sensitization to PCC principles resulted in multiple perceived benefits for staff and patients alike, including improved interactions with patients and clients, deeper awareness of patient and client preferences, and improved interpersonal skills and greater job satisfaction. Respondents also highlighted system-level challenges that impeded their ability to consistently provide high-quality PCC to women, namely staff shortages and frequent turnover, high patient volumes and lack of space in their respective health facilities. CONCLUSION: Respondents were easily able to articulate perceived benefits derived from participation in this QIC, although they were equally able to identify challenges that hindered their ability to consistently provide high-quality PCC to women seeking maternity or FP services.