Conducting an audit to improve the facilitation of emergency maternal and newborn referral in northern Ghana

Datos Bibliográficos

ID15540484
AutoresJohn Koku Awoonor‐Williams (0000-0002-1094-8212, Ghana Health Service), Patricia Bailey (Family Health International 360, autor de correspondencia), Francis Yeji (Navrongo Health Research Centre), Emmanuel Ayire Adongo (0000-0003-3790-8146, Ghana Health Service), Peter Baffoe, Afua Williams (Navrongo Health Research Centre), Sarah Mercer (0000-0002-3004-2012, Columbia University)
Año2015
Volumen10
Número9
Páginas1118-1133
Fecha de publicación2015-04-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaGlobal Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1744-1692 • E-ISSN: 1744-1706
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17441692.2015.1027247
PMID25833654
OpenAlexW2155390445
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas9

Ghana Health Service conducted an audit to strengthen the referral system for pregnant or recently pregnant women and newborns in northern Ghana. The audit took place in 16 facilities with two 3-month cycles of data collection in 2011. Midwife-led teams tracked 446 referred women until they received definitive treatment. Between the two audit cycles, teams identified and implemented interventions to address gaps in referral services. During this time period, we observed important increases in facilitating referral mechanisms, including a decrease in the dependence on taxis in favour of national or facility ambulances/vehicles; an increase in health workers escorting referrals to the appropriate receiving facility; greater use of referral slips and calling ahead to alert receiving facilities and higher feedback rates. As referral systems require attention from multiple levels of engagement, on the provider end we found that regional managers increasingly resolved staffing shortages; district management addressed the costliness and lack of transport and increased midwives' ability to communicate with pregnant women and drivers; and that facility staff increasingly adhered to guidelines and facilitating mechanisms. By conducting an audit of maternal and newborn referrals, the Ghana Health Service identified areas for improvement that service providers and management at multiple levels addressed, demonstrating a platform for problem solving that could be a model elsewhere

Audit · Business · Environmental health · Family medicine · Health facility · Health services · Medical emergency · Population · Psychological intervention · Referral · Service (business · Service delivery framework · Service provider · Staffing · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Emergency and Acute Care Studies · Global Maternal and Child Health · Medicine · Nursing