Equity in prenatal healthcare services globally: an umbrella review.

BACKGROUND: Timely, appropriate, and equitable access to quality healthcare during pregnancy is proven to contribute to better health outcomes of birthing individuals and infants following birth. Equity is conceptualized as the absence of differences in healthcare access and quality among population groups. Healthcare policies are guides for front-line practices, and despite merits of contemporary policies striving to foster equitable healthcare, inequities persist. The purpose of this umbrella review is to identify prenatal healthcare practices, summarize how equities/inequities are reported in relation to patient experiences or health outcomes when accessing or using services, and collate equity reporting characteristics. METHODS: For this umbrella review, six electronic databases were searched (Medline, EMBASE, APA PsychInfo, CINAHL, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, and Cochrane Library). Included studies were extracted for publication and study characteristics, equity reporting, primary outcomes (prenatal care influenced by equity/inequity) and secondary outcomes (infant health influenced by equity/inequity during pregnancy). Data was analyzed deductively using the PROGRESS-Plus equity framework and by summative content analysis for equity reporting characteristics. The included articles were assessed for quality using the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Systematic Reviews. RESULTS: The search identified 8065 articles and 236 underwent full-text screening. Of the 236, 68 systematic reviews were included with first authors representing 20 different countries. The population focus of included studies ranged across prenatal only (n = 14), perinatal (n = 25), maternal (n = 2), maternal and child (n = 19), and a general population (n = 8). Barriers to equity in prenatal care included travel and financial burden, culturally insensitive practices that deterred care engagement and continuity, and discriminatory behaviour that reduced care access and satisfaction. Facilitators to achieve equity included innovations such as community health workers, home visitation programs, conditional cash transfer programs, virtual care, and cross-cultural training, to enhance patient experiences and increase their access to, and use of health services. There was overlap across PROGRESS-Plus factors. CONCLUSIONS: This umbrella review collated inequities present in prenatal healthcare services, globally. Further, this synthesis contributes to future solution and action-oriented research and practice by assembling evidence-informed opportunities, innovations, and approaches that may foster equitable prenatal health services to all members of diverse communities.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of a Measure of Staff/Child Interaction Quality (the Classroom Assessment Scoring System) in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings and Child Outcomes.

The quality of staff/child interactions as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) programs is thought to be important for children's outcomes. The CLASS is made of three domains that assess Emotional Support, Classroom Organization and Instructional Support. It is a relatively new measure that is being used increasingly for research, quality monitoring/accountability and other applied purposes. Our objective was to evaluate the association between the CLASS and child outcomes. Searches of Medline, PsycINFO, ERIC, websites of large datasets and reference sections of all retrieved articles were conducted up to July 3, 2015. Studies that measured association between the CLASS and child outcomes for preschool-aged children who attended ECEC programs were included after screening by two independent reviewers. Searches and data extraction were conducted by two independent reviewers. Thirty-five studies were systematically reviewed of which 19 provided data for meta-analyses. Most studies had moderate to high risk of bias. Of the 14 meta-analyses we conducted, associations between Classroom Organization and Pencil Tapping and between Instructional Support and SSRS Social Skills were significant with pooled correlations of .06 and .09 respectively. All associations were in the expected direction. In the systematic review, significant correlations were reported mainly from one large dataset. Substantial heterogeneity in use of the CLASS, its dimensions, child outcomes and statistical measures was identified. Greater consistency in study methodology is urgently needed. Given the multitude of factors that impact child development it is encouraging that our analyses revealed some, although small, associations between the CLASS and children's outcomes.

Practises and controversies in the management of asymptomatic aneurysms: Results of an international survey.

BACKGROUND: Asymptomatic aneurysms that are increasingly discovered on cranial diagnostic imaging are a growing management dilemma. Large-scale studies have shown that in most instances, conservative management is appropriate for the majority of patients with aneurysms less than 7 mm in maximum diameter. It is unclear whether international practise mirrors practise in these large trials. OBJECTIVE: To determine how neurosurgeons around the world manage patients with asymptomatic aneurysms. METHODS: Electronic survey of 283 clinicians managing patients with aneurysms using a 55-item questionnaire detailing characteristics of their experience, their hospitals and their present and future practises and insights regarding the management of patients with intracerebral aneurysms. RESULTS: The 203 neurosurgeons (72%) who responded had a median of 17 years of practise with aneurysms and managed a median of 25 aneurysms annually. The majority of neurosurgeons endorsed treatment of all asymptomatic aneurysms regardless of size. Only four out of 10 neurosurgeons would manage patients with 4 mm anterior communicating artery or middle cerebral artery aneurysms non-surgically, whereas fewer than 2% would conservatively manage asymptomatic patients with 10 or 16 mm aneurysms. Neurosurgeons were split as to the recommended techniques for asymptomatic aneurysms of 10 or 16 mm with about half of them electing clipping and half coiling for ACoA and nearly three quarters favouring clipping for the MCA aneurysm. Although international differences exist between Europe, North America and the rest of the world, most state that their choice of treatment related to decisions around what option would provide the best neurological outcome and prevention of long-term bleeding. CONCLUSION: Despite large trials supporting the management of small asymptomatic aneurysms, most neurosurgeons internationally chooses to treat them with surgery or endovascular means. Since clinicians use a number of factors beyond the maximum diameter when considering treatment options, future trials should consider these factors in their design.