Dataset Information

Protocol for a systematic review on inequalities in postnatal care services utilization in low- and middle-income countries.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Each year, 287,000 women die from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth, and 3.8 million newborns die before reaching 28 days of life. The near totality (99%) of maternal and neonatal deaths occurs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Utilization of essential obstetric care services including postnatal care (PNC) largely contributes to the reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. There is a strong need to evaluate the evidence on the unmet needs in utilization of PNC services to inform health policy planning. Our objective is to assess systematically the socioeconomic, geographic and demographic inequalities in the use of PNC interventions in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods/design

The current protocol adopts a strategy informed by the guidelines of The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews. Our systematic review will identify studies in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese - provided inclusion of an English abstract - from 1960 onwards, by searching MEDLINE (PubMed interface), EMBASE (OVID interface), Cochrane Central (OVID interface) and the gray literature. Study selection criteria include research setting, study design, reported outcomes and determinants of interest. Our primary outcome is the utilization of PNC services, and determinants of concern are: 1) socioeconomic status (for example, income, education); 2) geographic determinants (for example, distance to a health center, rural versus urban residence); and 3) demographic determinants (for example, ethnicity, immigration status). Screening, data abstraction, and scientific quality assessment will be conducted independently by two reviewers using standardized forms. Where feasible, study results will be combined through meta-analyses to obtain a pooled measure of association between utilization of PNC services and key determinants. Results will be stratified by countries' income levels (World Bank classification).

Discussion

Our review will inform policy-making with the aim of decreasing inequalities in utilization of PNC services. This research will provide evidence on unmet needs for PNC services in LMICs, knowledge gaps and recommendations to health policy planners. Our research will help promote universal coverage of quality PNC services as an integral part of the continuum of maternal and child health care. This protocol was registered with the Prospero database (registration number: CRD42013004661).

SUBMITTER: Langlois EV

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3717005 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Protocol for a systematic review on inequalities in postnatal care services utilization in low- and middle-income countries.

Langlois Etienne V EV Miszkurka Malgorzata M Ziegler Daniela D Karp Igor I Zunzunegui Maria Victoria MV

Systematic reviews 20130706

<h4>Background</h4>Each year, 287,000 women die from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth, and 3.8 million newborns die before reaching 28 days of life. The near totality (99%) of maternal and neonatal deaths occurs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Utilization of essential obstetric care services including postnatal care (PNC) largely contributes to the reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. There is a strong need to evaluate the evidence on the unmet ...[more]

PMID: 23830501

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Project description:IntroductionThere is substantial evidence that maternal health services across the continuum of care are effective in reducing morbidities and mortalities associated with pregnancy and childbirth. There is also consensus regarding the need to invest in the delivery of these services towards the global goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage in low/middle-income countries (LMICs). However, there is limited evidence on the costs of providing these services. This protocol describes the methods and analytical framework to be used in conducting a systematic review of costs of providing maternal health services in LMICs.MethodsAfrican Journal Online, CINAHL Plus, EconLit, Embase, Global Health Archive, Popline, PubMed and Scopus as well as grey literature databases will be searched for relevant articles which report primary cost data for maternal health service in LMICs published from January 2000 to June 2019. This search will be conducted without implementing any language restrictions. Two reviewers will independently search, screen and select articles that meet the inclusion criteria, with disagreements resolved by discussions with a third reviewer. Quality assessment of included articles will be conducted based on cost-focused criteria included in globally recommended checklists for economic evaluations. For comparability, where feasible, cost will be converted to international dollar equivalents using purchasing power parity conversion factors. Costs associated with providing each maternal health services will be systematically compared, using a subgroup analysis. Sensitivity analysis will also be conducted. Where heterogeneity is observed, a narrative synthesis will be used. Population contextual and intervention design characteristics that help achieve cost savings and improve efficiency of maternal health service provision in LMICs will be identified.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not required for this review. The plan for dissemination is to publish review findings in a peer-reviewed journal and present findings at high-level conferences that engage the most pertinent stakeholders.Prospero registration numberCRD42018114124.

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Dataset Information

Protocol for a systematic review on inequalities in postnatal care services utilization in low- and middle-income countries.

Background

Methods/design

Discussion

Publications

Protocol for a systematic review on inequalities in postnatal care services utilization in low- and middle-income countries.

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