Meghan A Bohren

Biographic Data

ID247023
NAMEMeghan A Bohren
GIVEN NAMESMeghan A
FAMILY NAMEBohren
SIGNATUREBOHREN M A
AFFILIATIONSThe University of Melbourne
ORCID0000-0002-4179-4682
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS47
TOTAL CITATIONS0
AUTHOR COUNT47
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2014
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2026
H-INDEX0

  • Well-being of health workers providing maternal and newborn care

    Open AccessAlya Hazfiarini, Martha Vazquez Corona et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2026

    Health workers providing maternal and newborn care can experience burnout and emotional distress, which harms their well-being and, consequently, their ability to deliver respectful care. The World Health Organization (WHO) Compendium on respectful maternal and newborn care identifies health workers’ well-being as a critical area for intervention, but no specific definition or domains of well-being exist for this group. We conducted a qualitative…

  • Financial and regulatory interventions to reduce unnecessary caesarean sections

    Open AccessRana Islamiah Zahroh, Alya Hazfiarini et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2026

    Caesarean section (CS) is a life-saving procedure and a critical component of comprehensive obstetric care, yet CS rates are rising globally beyond levels justified by clinical indications. Growing evidence suggests that health system supply-side factors, such as provider payment models that financially reward CS over vaginal birth and the absence or weak enforcement of clinical guidelines, are contributing to this trend. Despite increasing conce…

  • Perceptions and experiences of the prevention, testing, and treatment of anaemia in pregnant women

    Open AccessEbony Verbunt, Martha Vazquez Corona et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2025

    Anaemia during pregnancy is a serious public health problem, inequitably burdening women in low-and middle-income countries. Despite numerous strategies and programs, anaemia prevalence rates have stagnated. We aimed to explore women’s, health workers’, and other key stakeholders’ perceptions of anaemia in pregnant women, or their experiences with its prevention, testing, or treatment. We conducted a qualitative evidence synthesis. We searched ME…

  • Rising caesarean section rates and factors affecting women’s decision-making about mode of birth in Indonesia

    Open AccessRana Islamiah Zahroh, Alya Hazfiarini et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2024

    INTRODUCTION: Caesarean section (CS) rates in Indonesia are increasing rapidly. Understanding women's preferences about mode of birth is important to help contextualise these rising rates and can help develop interventions to optimise CS. This study aimed to explore Indonesian women's preferences and decision-making about mode of birth, and how their preferences may change throughout pregnancy and birth. METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal quali…

  • Factors affecting the implementation and sustainability of an Australian community-based doula service

    Open AccessSarah Khaw, Caroline Homer et al.ARTICLESSM - Qualitative Research in…2024

    Community-based doula support for women and gender-diverse birthing people has a range of benefits in improving maternal outcomes and experiences. However, there is limited research on how doula services operate in Australia. Birth for Humankind is an Australian community-based volunteer doula service, which provides free doula support for women and gender diverse birthing people experiencing social discrimination and financial disadvantage. The …

  • Stories of social and emotional resilience among pregnant Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan migrant women during Covid-19 lockdowns in Victoria, Australia

    Open AccessFathima S M Buhary, Meghan A Bohren et al.ARTICLESSM - Qualitative Research in…2024

    The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted family and community support systems that typically nurture pregnancy and birth experiences of migrant Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan women in Australia. Very little is known about how COVID-19 lockdown measures impacted Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan pregnant women living in Australia during the pandemic. Using an intersectional and resilience thinking approach, we explored the social and emotional resilience of Banglades…

  • Engaging women to set the research agenda for assisted vaginal birth

    Open AccessMaria Regina Torloni, Lucia F Campos et al.ARTICLEHealth Expectations2024

    INTRODUCTION: Public and patient involvement can provide crucial insights to optimise research by enhancing relevance and appropriateness of studies. The World Health Organization (WHO) engaged in an inclusive process to ensure that both technical experts and women had a voice in defining the research gaps and needs to increase or reintroduce the use of assisted vaginal birth (AVB) in settings where this intervention is needed but unavailable or …

  • Participatory Health Research With Women From Refugee, Asylum-Seeker, and Migrant Backgrounds Living in High-Income Countries

    Open AccessMartha Vazquez Corona, Alya Hazfiarini et al.ARTICLEInternational Journal of…2024

    Participatory Health Research (PHR) has the potential to result in more equitable health interventions and impactful research outcomes, and is an increasingly used paradigm in migrant health research. In the context of intersecting systems of social disadvantage imposed on migrant and refugee women, PHR could offer an opportunity for researchers to challenge unequal power dynamics in academic research by co-creating knowledge to improve these wom…

  • An investigation into the acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, feasibility, and fidelity of implementation strategies for birth companionship in Tehran

    Open AccessMarjan Mirzania, Elham Shakibazadeh et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2024

    Despite some issues raised by the participants, the acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, feasibility, and fidelity of the implementation strategies for birth companions to mitigate the mistreatment of women during childbirth were well received. Future research should explore the sustainability of this program. The findings of this study can be used to support the implementation of birth companions in countries with comparable circumstances

  • If we take the engine out, how will the car go?’

    Open AccessHelen Henderson, Helio Afranio Soares Xavier et al.ARTICLECulture Health & Sexuality2024

    Vasectomy is a safe, highly effective and affordable method of permanent contraception, and one of the few currently available contraceptive methods for men. Despite this, vasectomy uptake remains overall low, making up just 2% of the global contraceptive method mix. To better understand access to vasectomy in a country with negligible uptake, we conducted participatory and operational research in the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (Timor-Les…

  • Navigation of self-conflict and role of self-acceptance within LGBTQ+ young people in contemporary Mongolia

    Open AccessDorjjantsan Ganbaatar, Cathy Vaughan et al.ARTICLEChildren and Youth Services Review2024References: 33

    LGBTQ+ Mongolian youth experience substantial self-conflict in discriminatory social settings. • Media, religion, and sex negativity contributed to feelings of fear and isolation among LGBTQ+ youth. • LGBTQ+ acceptance from family or friends had substantial impacts on generating positive emotions

  • Safeguarding youth sexual and reproductive health and rights in the context of increasing climate-related disasters in the Pacific

    Open AccessNabreesa Murphy, Peter Azzopardi et al.ARTICLEInternational Journal of Disaster…2023

    Pacific youth (15–24 years) experience multiple challenges to realising their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Climate-related disasters compound pre-existing social and health inequities, including for youth SRHR. Meaningful youth engagement is crucial to understand their risks and inform inclusive disaster responses. This scoping review aimed to explore if and how both youth SRHR and youth engagement are identified in disaster …

  • Comparing observed occurrence of mistreatment during childbirth with women’s self-report

    Open AccessHedieh Mehrtash, Meghan A Bohren et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2023

    BACKGROUND: There has been substantial progress in developing approaches to measure mistreatment of women during childbirth. However, less is known about the differences in measurement approaches. In this study, we compare measures of mistreatment obtained from the same women using labour observations and community-based surveys in Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria. METHODS: Experiences of mistreatment during childbirth are person-centred quality measure…

  • Changing climates, compounding challenges

    Open AccessNabreesa Murphy, Tamani Rarama et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2023

    Pacific youth are at the forefront of the climate crisis, which has important implications for their health and rights. Youth in Fiji currently bear a disproportionate burden of poor experiences and outcomes related to their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). There is limited information about how the increasing climate impacts may affect their SRHR, and what the implications may be for climate action and disaster risk reduction. W…

  • Body mapping as a participatory method to explore health provider beliefs and understanding about sexual and reproductive health and rights in Timor-Leste

    Open AccessHelen Henderson, Alexandrina Marques Da Silva et al.ARTICLESSM - Qualitative Research in…2023

    Understanding the attitudes, knowledge, and practice of a health provider towards sexual and reproductive health (SRH) can provide valuable insight about how a primary health care system is functioning, and if it is meeting the SRH needs of its population. We conducted collaborative, participatory, and operational research to explore access to male methods of family planning in The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (Timor-Leste), from a health p…

  • Feasibility and readiness to implement Robson classification to monitor caesarean sections in public hospitals in Myanmar

    Open AccessKyaw Lwin Show, Thae Maung Maung et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2023

    Recent years have demonstrated an increase in caesarean section (CS) in most countries worldwide with considerable concern for the potential consequences. In 2015, WHO proposed the use of Robson classification as a global standard for assessing, monitoring and comparing CS rates. Currently, there is no standardized method to assess CS in Myanmar. The aim of this study was to explore health provider’s perceptions about the feasibility, acceptabili…

  • ‘It depends on who is asking and why they will use it’

    Open AccessHelen Henderson, Helio Afranio Soares Xavier et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2023

    The uptake of male condoms remains markedly low in The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (Timor-Leste), an island nation in South-East Asia. To understand why, we conducted participatory and operational research about beliefs, understanding and access to male condoms from both a community and healthcare provider perspective. We held 14 participatory group discussions (PGDs) with 175 community participants (84 men, 91 women; aged 18–72) across se…

  • Using social capital to address youth sexual and reproductive health and rights in disaster preparedness and response

    Open AccessNabreesa Murphy, Peter Azzopardi et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2023

    In the Pacific region, youth sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are strongly influenced by sociocultural and structural factors, which limit access to SRHR information and services for youth. As climate-related disasters intensify in the Pacific, existing challenges to youth SRHR may increase the risk of worse SRHR experiences and outcomes for youth before, during and after disasters. Community-based models of SRHR service provision…

  • From global recommendations to (in)action

    Open AccessMeghan A Bohren, Alya Hazfiarini et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2023

    Women greatly value and benefit from the presence of someone they trust to support them throughout labour and childbirth (‘labour companion of choice’). Labour companionship improves maternal and perinatal outcomes, including enhancing physiological labour and birth experiences. Despite clear benefits, implementation is slow. We conducted a scoping review to assess coverage and models of labour companionship, including quantitative studies report…

  • Implementing the Quali-DEC project in Argentina, Burkina Faso, Thailand and Viet Nam

    Open AccessAmanda Cleeve, Kristi Sidney Annerstedt et al.ARTICLEGlobal Health Action2023

    The project ‘Quality Decision-making by women and providers’ (QUALI-DEC) combines four non-clinical interventions to promote informed decision-making surrounding mode of birth, improve women’s birth experiences, and reduce caesarean sections among low-risk women. QUALI-DEC is currently being implemented in 32 healthcare facilities across Argentina, Burkina Faso, Thailand, and Viet Nam. In this paper, we detail implementation processes and the pla…

  • Educational interventions targeting pregnant women to optimise the use of caesarean section

    Open AccessRana Islamiah Zahroh, Katy Sutcliffe et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2023

    We identified four key essential intervention components which can lead to successful interventions targeting women to reduce CS. These four components are 1) group-based delivery, 2) provision of IEC materials, 3) partner or family member involvement, and 4) opportunity for women to interact with health providers. Maternal health services and hospitals aiming to better prepare women for vaginal birth and reduce CS can consider including the iden…

  • Adolescent experiences of mistreatment during childbirth in health facilities

    Open AccessTheresa Azonima Irinyenikan, Adeniyi Kolade Aderoba et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2022

    INTRODUCTION: Pregnancy and childbearing among adolescents-especially younger adolescents-is associated with health complications and lost opportunities for education and personal development. In addition to established challenges adolescents and young women face in sexual and reproductive healthcare, evidence suggests that they also face mistreatment during childbirth. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of the WHO study 'How women are treated…

  • Labour companionship and women’s experiences of mistreatment during childbirth

    Open AccessMamadou Diouldé Baldé, Khalidha Nasiri et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2022

    BACKGROUND: Evidence has shown the benefits of labour companions during childbirth. Few studies have documented the relationship between the absence of labour companions and mistreatment of women during childbirth in low-income and middle-income countries using a standardised tool. METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of the WHO multi-country study on how women are treated during childbirth, where a cross-sectional community survey was cond…

  • Development of measures for assessing mistreatment of women during facility-based childbirth based on labour observations

    Open AccessBlair O Berger, Donna M Strobino et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2022

    INTRODUCTION: Mistreatment of women during childbirth is increasingly recognised as a significant issue globally. Research and programmatic efforts targeting this phenomenon have been limited by a lack of validated measurement tools. This study aimed to develop a set of concise, valid and reliable multidimensional measures for mistreatment using labour observations applicable across multiple settings. METHODS: Data from continuous labour observat…

  • Crowdfunding for health research

    Open AccessEneyi E Kpokiri, Clarisse Sri-Pathmanathan et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2022

    BACKGROUND: Many low-income and middle-income country (LMIC) researchers have disadvantages when applying for research grants. Crowdfunding may help LMIC researchers to fund their research. Crowdfunding organises large groups of people to make small contributions to support a research study. This manuscript synthesises global qualitative evidence and describes a Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) crowdfunding p…