Dataset Information

Caesarean section provision and readiness in Tanzania: analysis of cross-sectional surveys of women and health facilities over time.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To describe trends in caesarean sections and facilities performing caesareans over time in Tanzania and examine the readiness of such facilities in terms of infrastructure, equipment and staffing.

Design

Nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional surveys of women and health facilities.

Setting

Tanzania.

Participants

Women of reproductive age and health facility staff.

Main outcome measures

Population-based caesarean rate, absolute annual number of caesareans, percentage of facilities reporting to perform caesareans and three readiness indicators for safe caesarean care: availability of consistent electricity, 24?hour schedule for caesarean and anaesthesia providers, and availability of all general anaesthesia equipment.

Results

The caesarean rate in Tanzania increased threefold from 2% in 1996 to 6% in 2015-16, while the total number of births increased by 60%. As a result, the absolute number of caesareans increased almost fivefold to 120?000 caesareans per year. The main mechanism sustaining the increase in caesareans was the doubling of median caesarean volume among public hospitals, from 17 caesareans per month in 2006 to 35 in 2014-15. The number of facilities performing caesareans increased only modestly over the same period. Less than half (43%) of caesareans in Tanzania in 2014-15 were performed in facilities meeting the three readiness indicators. Consistent electricity was widely available, and 24?hour schedules for caesarean and (less systematically) anaesthesia providers were observed in most facilities; however, the availability of all general anaesthesia equipment was the least commonly reported indicator, present in only 44% of all facilities (34% of public hospitals).

Conclusions

Given the rising trend in numbers of caesareans, urgent improvements in the availability of general anaesthesia equipment and trained anaesthesia staff should be made to ensure the safety of caesareans. Initial efforts should focus on improving anaesthesia provision in public and faith-based organisation hospitals, which together perform more than 90% of all caesareans in Tanzania.

SUBMITTER: Cavallaro FL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6173245 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Caesarean section provision and readiness in Tanzania: analysis of cross-sectional surveys of women and health facilities over time.

Cavallaro Francesca L FL Pembe Andrea B AB Campbell Oona O Hanson Claudia C Tripathi Vandana V Wong Kerry Lm KL Radovich Emma E Benova Lenka L

BMJ open 20181004 9

<h4>Objectives</h4>To describe trends in caesarean sections and facilities performing caesareans over time in Tanzania and examine the readiness of such facilities in terms of infrastructure, equipment and staffing.<h4>Design</h4>Nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional surveys of women and health facilities.<h4>Setting</h4>Tanzania.<h4>Participants</h4>Women of reproductive age and health facility staff.<h4>Main outcome measures</h4>Population-based caesarean rate, absolute annual nu ...[more]

PMID: 30287614

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Project description:BackgroundThe inequity in emergency obstetric care access in Tanzania is unsatisfactory. Despite an existing national obstetric referral system, many birthing women bypass referring facilities and go directly to higher-level care centres. We wanted to compare Caesarean section (CS) rates among women formally referred to a tertiary care centre versus self-referred women, and to assess the effect of referral status on adverse outcomes after CS.MethodsWe used data from 21,011 deliveries, drawn from the birth registry of a tertiary hospital in northeastern Tanzania, during 2000-07. Referral status was categorized as self-referred if the woman had bypassed or not accessed referral, or formally-referred if referred by a health worker. Because CS indications were insufficiently registered, we applied the Ten-Group Classification System to determine the CS rate by obstetric group and referral status. Associations between referral status and adverse outcomes after CS delivery were analysed using multiple regression models. Outcome measures were CS, maternal death, obstetric haemorrhage ? 750 mL, postpartum stay > 9 days, neonatal death, Apgar score < 7 at 5 min and neonatal ward transfer.ResultsReferral status contributed substantially to the CS rate, which was 55.0% in formally-referred and 26.9% in self-referred birthing women. In both groups, term nulliparous singleton cephalic pregnancies and women with previous scar(s) constituted two thirds of CS deliveries. Low Apgar score (adjusted OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.09-1.86) and neonatal ward transfer (adjusted OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.04-1.35) were significantly associated with formal referral. Early neonatal death rates after CS were 1.6% in babies of formally-referred versus 1.2% in babies of self-referred birthing women, a non-significant difference after adjusting for confounding factors (adjusted OR 1.37, 95% CI 0.87-2.16). Absolute neonatal death rates were > 2% after CS in breech, multiple gestation and preterm deliveries in both referral groups.ConclusionsWomen referred for delivery had higher CS rates and poorer neonatal outcomes, suggesting that the formal referral system successfully identifies high-risk birth, although low volume suggests underutilization. High absolute rates of post-CS adverse outcomes among breech, multiple gestation and preterm deliveries suggest the need to target self-referred birthing women for earlier professional intrapartum care.

Project description:BackgroundCritical illness is a state of ill health with vital organ dysfunction, a high risk of imminent death if care is not provided and potential for reversibility. The burden of critical illness is high, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Critical care can be provided as Essential Emergency and Critical Care (EECC)- the effective, low-cost, basic care that all critically ill patients should receive in all parts of all hospitals in the world- and advanced critical care- complex, resource-intensive care usually provided in an intensive care unit. The required resources may be available in the hospital and yet not be ready in the wards for immediate use for critically ill patients. The ward readiness of these resources, although harder to evaluate, is likely more important than their availability in the hospital. This study aimed to assess the ward readiness for EECC and the hospital availability of resources for EECC and for advanced critical care in hospitals in Tanzania.MethodsAn in-depth, cross-sectional study was conducted in five purposively selected hospitals by visiting all wards to collect data on all the required 66 EECC and 161 advanced critical care resources. We defined hospital-availability as a resource present in the hospital and ward-readiness as a resource available, functioning, and present in the right place, time and amounts for critically ill patient care in the wards. Data were analyzed to calculate availability and readiness scores as proportions of the resources that were available at hospital level, and ready at ward level respectively.ResultsAvailability of EECC resources in hospitals was 84% and readiness in the wards was 56%. District hospitals had lower readiness scores (less than 50%) than regional and tertiary hospitals. Equipment readiness was highest (65%) while that of guidelines lowest (3%). Availability of advanced critical care resources was 31%.ConclusionHospitals in Tanzania lack readiness for the provision of EECC- the low-cost, life-saving care for critically ill patients. The resources for EECC were available in hospitals, but were not ready for the immediate needs of critically ill patients in the wards. To provide effective EECC to all patients, improvements are needed around the essential, low-cost resources in hospital wards that are essential for decreasing preventable deaths.

Project description:BackgroundCaesarean section (CS) is not recommended for PMTCT in Malawi HIV Guidelines, contrary to most high-income countries where CS is indicated if viral suppression is sub-optimal pre-delivery. We describe patterns of CS in HIV-infected and uninfected women in Malawi and explored if insight into the use of Elective CS (ECS) for PMTCT could be obtained.MethodsWe used routinely collected data from individual medical records from 17 large health facilities in the central and southern regions of Malawi, from January 2010 to December 2013. We included data from maternity registers from all HIV-positive women, and randomly selected around every fourth woman with negative or unknown HIV status. We used multivariable logistic regressions and cluster-based robust standard errors to examine independent associations of patient- and facility characteristics with CS and ECS.ResultsWe included 62,033 women in the analysis. The weighted percentage of women who had a spontaneous vaginal delivery was 80.0% (CI 95% 79.5-80.4%); 2.4% (95% CI 2.3-2.6%) had a vacuum extraction; 2.3% (95% CI 2.2-2.5%) had a vaginal breech delivery; 14.0% (95% CI 13.6-14.4%) had a CS while for 1.3% (95% CI 1.2-1.4%) the mode of delivery was not recorded. Prevalence of CS without recorded medical or obstetric indication (ECS) was 5.1%, (n = 3152). Presence of maternal and infant complications and older age were independently associated with CS delivery. HIV-positive women were less likely to have ECS than HIV negative women (aOR 0.65; 95%-CI 0.57-0.74). Among HIV-positive women, those on antiretrovirals (ARV's) for ≥4 weeks prior to delivery were less likely to have ECS than HIV-positive women who had not received ARVs during pregnancy (aOR 0.81; 95% CI 0.68-0.96).ConclusionsThe pattern of CS's in Malawi is largely determined by maternal and infant complications. Positive HIV status was negatively associated with CS delivery, possibly because health care workers were concerned about the risk of occupational HIV transmission and the known increased risk of post-operative complications. Our results leave open the possibility that CS is practiced to prevent MTCT given that ECS was more common among women at high risk of MTCT due to no or short exposure to ARV's.

Project description:BackgroundMany low-income countries continue to have high fertility levels and unmet need for family planning (FP) despite progress in increasing access to modern contraceptive methods and in reducing the total fertility rate (TFR). Health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and South Asia (SA) are thought to be unable to adequately deal with the burden of high unmet FP demands due to their weaker health systems. As a result, determining the readiness of health facilities that offer FP services is critical for identifying weaknesses and opportunities for continued development of FP health systems in those regions. Service Provision Assessment (SPA) tools-which break down health systems into measurable, trackable components-are one useful way to assess service readiness and the ability of health institutions to deliver FP services.MethodsUsing data from nationally representative SPA surveys, we conducted a study that aimed to: (1) evaluate healthcare facilities' readiness to provide FP services; and (2) identify the factors that affect FP service readiness. Using a cross-sectional survey design, we used data from SPA surveys conducted in 10 low-resource SA and SSA countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nepal, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We analyzed data from public and private health facilities in Afghanistan (84), Bangladesh (1,303), Kenya (567), Malawi (810), Namibia (357), Nepal (899), Rwanda (382), Senegal (334), Tanzania (933), and the DRC (1,061) for a total of 6,730 facilities. We used 17 items/indicators recommended by the Service Availability and Readiness Assessment to measure a health facility's readiness to provide FP services across four domains.ResultsOnly 3.6% to 34.1% of the health facilities were reporting at least 75% (12-13 of 17) of the relevant items for FP service provision. Most of the health facilities in the countries under investigation suffered from lack of readiness, meaning that they did not fulfill at least 75% of the standards (12-13 items of 17 items on the availability of trained staff and guidelines, equipment, and commodities components). The factors associated with higher readiness scores varied among the 10 countries analyzed. Regression models showed that increases in the number of FP healthcare providers available at a health facility and infection control measures for FP exams were factors linked to increased readiness scores in all 10 countries. The low readiness of health facilities to provide FP services in the countries studied showed that the health systems in these low-resource settings faced significant problems with providing FP services. Differences in country-specific variability in the characteristics linked with better preparedness ratings could be attributed to data collected across different years in different nations or to country-specific healthcare financing policies.ConclusionsTo increase a health facility's readiness to offer FP services, country-specific factors must be addressed, in addition to common factors found in all 10 countries. Further research is required to determine the causes of country-level differences in FP tracer item availability to develop targeted and effective country-specific strategies to improve the quality of FP services in the SA and SSA regions and address unmet need for FP.

Project description:The provision of quality obstetric care in health facilities is central to reducing maternal mortality, but simply increasing childbirth in facilities not enough, with evidence that many facilities in sub-Saharan Africa do not fulfil even basic requirements for safe childbirth care. There is ongoing debate on whether to recommend a policy of birth in hospitals, where staffing and capacity may be better, over lower level facilities, which are closer to women's homes and more accessible. Little is known about the quality of childbirth care in Liberia, where facility births have increased in recent decades, but maternal mortality remains among the highest in the world. We will analyse quality in terms of readiness for emergency care and referral, staffing, and volume of births. We assessed the readiness of the Liberian health system to provide safe care during childbirth use using three data sources: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Service Availability and Readiness Assessments (SARA), and the Health Management Information System (HMIS). We estimated trends in the percentage of births by location and population caesarean-section coverage from 3 DHS surveys (2007, 2013 and 2019-20). We examined readiness for safe childbirth care among all Liberian health facilities by analysing reported emergency obstetric and neonatal care signal functions (EmONC) and staffing from SARA 2018, and linking with volume of births reported in HMIS 2019. The percentage of births in facilities increased from 37 to 80% between 2004 and 2017, while the caesarean section rate increased from 3.3 to 5.0%. 18% of facilities could carry out basic EmONC signal functions, and 8% could provide blood transfusion and caesarean section. Overall, 63% of facility births were in places without full basic emergency readiness. 60% of facilities could not make emergency referrals, and 54% had fewer than one birth every two days. The increase in proportions of facility births over time occurred because women gave birth in lower-level facilities. However, most facilities are very low volume, and cannot provide safe EmONC, even at the basic level. This presents the health system with a serious challenge for assuring safe, good-quality childbirth services.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Caesarean section is considered a relatively preferable and safe method of delivery as compared to normal delivery. Since the last decade, its prevalence has increased in both developed and developing countries. In the context of developing countries viz., South Asia (the highest populated region) and South-East Asia (the third-highest populated region), where a significant proportion of home deliveries were reported,however, the preference for, caesarean delivery and its associated factors are not well understood. OBJECTIVE:To study the caesarean delivery in the South and South-East Asian countries and to determine the factors associated with the preference for caesarean delivery. METHODOLOGY:Demographic and Health Survey Data on from ever-married women of nine developing countries of South and South-East Asia viz., Vietnam, India, Maldives, Timor-Leste, Nepal, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Cambodia have been considered. Both bivariate and binary logistic regression models were used to estimate the propensity of a woman undergoing for caesarean delivery and to assess the influence of maternal socioeconomic characteristics towards the preference for caesarean delivery. RESULTS:Obtained results have shown an inclination of caesarean delivery among urban than rural women and are quite conspicuous, but is found to be underestimated mostly among rural women. Caesarean delivery in general is mostly predisposed among women whose baby sizes are either very large or smaller than average, have a higher level of education and place of delivery is private medical institutions. The logistic regression also revealed the influence of maternal socioeconomic characteristics towards the preference for caesarean delivery. Based on nine South and South-East Asian countries an overall C-section prevalence of 13%, but based on institutional births its increase to 19%. The forest plot demonstrated that a significant inclination of C-section among urban than rural regions. In Meta-Analysis, very high and significant heterogeneity among countries is observed, but confirms that in terms of prevalence of C-section all of the countries follow independent pattern. CONCLUSION:Study of seven urban and four rural regions of nine South and South- East Asian countries showed, a significant inclination towards the caesarean delivery above the more recent outdated WHO recommended an optimal range of 10-15%and are associated maternal socioeconomic characteristics. In order to control unwanted caesarean delivery, the government needs to develop better healthcare infrastructure and along with more antenatal care related schemes to reduce the risks associated with increased caesarean delivery.

Dataset Information

Caesarean section provision and readiness in Tanzania: analysis of cross-sectional surveys of women and health facilities over time.

Objectives

Design

Setting

Participants

Main outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Caesarean section provision and readiness in Tanzania: analysis of cross-sectional surveys of women and health facilities over time.

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