Quality indicators to evaluate childbirth care with a respectful approach in obstetric services

Abstract

Introduction: the evaluation of childbirth care prioritizes indicators related to infant and maternal morbidity and mortality statistics without defining indicators that express the quality of good practices of respectful childbirth.

Objective: to design quality indicators to evaluate respectful childbirth care from the effectiveness of maternal care provided in the hospital obstetric services of the Ciro Redondo García General Teaching Hospital in the Artemisa province.

Methods: instrumental study for the design and evaluation of quality indicators in respectful childbirth care. A bibliographic review and documentary analysis were carried out and the participatory consensus of a focus group was applied to determine the structure and content of the proposal. It was evaluated using a guide applied by a group of experts whose conclusions were discussed with the group of researchers and the relevant authorities for its implementation in the study unit.

Results: a general indicator was developed with nine sub-indicators and by preparing its technical sheet all the elements of the objective, baseline, goals, calculation formula, data sources, evaluation criteria, among others, were exposed. The evaluation of the experts showed a high quality/usefulness of the indicator.

Conclusions: Its use will allow the study institution and obstetric service professionals to validate the interventions monitored through indicators to holistically identify gaps in care and, consequently, areas for improvement.