Participation in the state led 'Janani Sahayogi Yojana' public private partnership program to promote facility births in Madhya Pradesh, India: views from private obstetrician partners.

BACKGROUND: In Madhya Pradesh, India, the government invited private obstetric hospitals for partnership to provide intrapartum care to poor women, paid for by the state. This statewide program, the Janani Sahayogi Yojana (JShY or maternal support scheme), ran from 2006 to 2012. The partnership was an uneasy one with many private obstetricians choosing to leave the partnership. This paper explores the motives of private obstetricians in the state for participating in the JShY, their experiences within the partnership, their interactions with the state and motives for withdrawal among those who withdrew from the scheme. This study sheds light on the dynamics of a public-private partnership for obstetric care from the perspective of private sector obstetricians. METHOD: Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted with private obstetricians and hospital administrators from eight districts of Madhya Pradesh who had participated in the JShY. A Framework approach was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Private obstetricians reported entering the JShY partnership for altruistic reasons but also as way of expanding their practices and reputations. They perceived that although their facilities provided better quality of care than state facilities, participation was risky because beneficiaries were often unbooked and seen as 'high risk' cases. The need to arrange for blood transfusions for these high risk women was perceived as particularly difficult. Cumbersome paper work and delays in receiving payments from the state also dissuaded participation. Some participants felt that there was inadequate engagement by the state, and better monitoring and supervision would have helped. The state changed the financial reimbursement arrangements due to a high proportion of Cesarean births in the early years of the partnership, as these were perversely incentivized. This change resulted in a large exodus of private obstetricians from the partnership. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the contribution of cumbersome processes, trust deficits and a lack of dialogue between public and private partners. Input from both public and private sectors into the design of a carefully thought through financial reimbursement package for private partners was highlighted as a necessary component for future success of such schemes.

"How Can the Patients Remain Safe, If We Are Not Safe and Protected from the Infections"? A Qualitative Exploration among Health-Care Workers about Challenges of Maintaining Hospital Cleanliness in a Resource Limited Tertiary Setting in Rural India.

Background: Health care-associated infections (HAIs) result in treatment delays as well as failures and financial losses not only to patients but also to the treating hospital and overall health-care delivery system. Due to hospital-acquired infections, there are problems of increase in morbidity and mortality, additional diagnostic and therapeutic interventions and ultimately antimicrobial resistance. Proper understanding among health-care workers about the ill effects of HAIs is very important to address this issue. The present study is a qualitative exploration aimed at understanding various aspects of hospital environmental hygiene and Infection prevention control program, by exploring the staff perception regarding the challenges, facilitators and barriers as well as feasible measures towards improvement in a rural tertiary teaching hospital in central India. Method: A qualitative study was conducted using 10 focus group discussions (FGDs) among five different professional groups, which included hospital administrators, doctors, nurses, environmental cleaning staff, and undergraduate medical students. The FGD guide included the following topics: (1) opinion about the status of cleanliness, (2) concepts and actual practices prevailing of hospital environmental hygiene, (3) Barriers, constraints, and problems in maintaining hospital environmental hygiene, (4) Suggestions for improvements. The data were analyzed manually using the content (thematic) analysis method. Results: Two themes were identified: Theme 1: "Prevailing practices and problems related to hospital surface/object contamination and hospital infection control". Theme 2: "Measures suggested for improving hospital cleanliness within the existing constraints". The participants emphasized the influence of resource constraints and needed inputs. They brought up the consequent prevailing practices and problems related, on one hand, to various stakeholders (service consumers, hospital personnel including the management), on the other, to specific infection prevention and control processes. They also suggested various measures for improvement. Conclusions: The study has revealed prevailing practices, problems, and suggested measures related to hospital environmental hygiene, particularly hospital cleanliness and HAI prevention and control processes. These insights and assertions are important for developing future behavioral and structural interventions in resource-limited settings. This study recommends a nationwide reliable HAI surveillance system and a robust infection prevention and control program in each health-care institution.

Understanding Healthcare Workers Self-Reported Practices, Knowledge and Attitude about Hand Hygiene in a Medical Setting in Rural India.

AIM: To describe self-reported practices and assess knowledge and attitudes regarding hand hygiene among healthcare workers in a rural Indian teaching hospital. SETTING: A rural teaching hospital and its associated medical and nursing colleges in the district of Ujjain, India. METHOD: The study population consisted of physicians, nurses, teaching staff, clinical instructors and nursing students. Self-administered questionnaires based on the World Health Organization Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Healthcare were used. RESULTS: Out of 489 healthcare workers, 259 participated in the study (response rate = 53%). The proportion of healthcare workers that reported to 'always' practice hand hygiene in the selected situations varied from 40-96% amongst categories. Reported barriers to maintaining good hand hygiene were mainly related to high workload, scarcity of resources, lack of scientific information and the perception that priority is not given to hand hygiene, either on an individual or institutional level. Previous training on the topic had a statistically significant association with self-reported practice (p = 0.001). Ninety three per cent of the respondents were willing to attend training on hand hygiene in the near future. CONCLUSION: Self-reported knowledge and adherence varied between situations, but hand hygiene practices have the potential to improve if the identified constraints could be reduced. Future training should focus on enhancing healthcare workers' knowledge and understanding regarding the importance of persistent practice in all situations.

Staff perception on biomedical or health care waste management: a qualitative study in a rural tertiary care hospital in India.

BACKGROUND: Health care or biomedical waste, if not managed properly, can be of high risk to the hospital staff, the patients, the community, public health and the environment, especially in low and middle income settings where proper disposal norms are often not followed. Our aim was to explore perceptions of staff of an Indian rural tertiary care teaching hospital on hospital waste management. METHOD: A qualitative study was conducted using 10 focus group discussions (FGDs), with different professional groups, cleaning staff, nurses, medical students, doctors and administrators. The FGD guide included the following topics: (i) role of Health Care Waste Management (HCWM) in prevention of health care associated infections, (ii) awareness of and views about HCWM-related guidelines/legislation, (iii) current HCWM practices, (iv) perception and preparedness related to improvements of the current practices, and (v) proper implementation of the available guidelines/legislation. The FGDs were recorded, transcribed verbatim, translated to English (when conducted in Hindi) and analysed using content analysis. RESULTS: Two themes were identified: Theme (A), 'Challenges in integration of HCWM in organizational practice,' with the categories (I) Awareness and views about HCWM, (II) Organizational practices regarding HCWM, and (III) Challenges in Implementation of HCWM; and Theme (B), 'Interventions to improve HCWM,' with three categories, (I) Educational and motivational interventions, (II) Organizational culture change, and (III) Policy-related interventions. CONCLUSION: A gap between knowledge and actual practice regarding HCWM was highlighted in the perception of the hospital staff. The participants suggested organizational changes, training and monitoring to address this. The information generated is relevant not merely to the microsystem studied but to other institutions in similar settings.