Dataset Information

Development of a Phone Survey Tool to Measure Respectful Maternity Care During Pregnancy and Childbirth in India: Study Protocol.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Respectful maternity care (RMC) is a key barometer of the underlying quality of care women receive during pregnancy and childbirth. Efforts to measure RMC have largely been qualitative, although validated quantitative tools are emerging. Available tools have been limited to the measurement of RMC during childbirth and confined to observational and face-to-face survey modes. Phone surveys are less invasive, low cost, and rapid alternatives to traditional face-to-face methods, yet little is known about their validity and reliability.

Objective

The primary objective of this study was to develop validated face-to-face and phone survey tools for measuring RMC during pregnancy and childbirth for use in India and other low resource settings. The secondary objective was to optimize strategies for improving the delivery of phone surveys for use in measuring RMC.

Methods

To develop face-to-face and phone surveys for measuring RMC, we describe procedures for assessing content, criterion, and construct validity as well as reliability analyses. To optimize the delivery of phone surveys, we outline plans for substudies, which aim to assess the effect of survey modality, and content on survey response, completion, and attrition rates.

Results

Data collection will be carried out in 4 districts of Madhya Pradesh, India, from July 2018 to March 2019.

Conclusions

To our knowledge, this is the first RMC phone survey tool developed for India, which may provide an opportunity for the rapid, routine collection of data essential for improving the quality of care during pregnancy and childbirth. Elsewhere, phone survey tools are emerging; however, efforts to develop these surveys are often not inclusive of rigorous pretesting activities essential for ensuring quality data, including cognitive, reliability, and validity testing. In the absence of these activities, emerging data could overestimate or underestimate the burden of disease and health care practices under assessment. In the context of RMC, poor quality data could have adverse consequences including the naming and shaming of providers. By outlining a blueprint of the minimum activities required to generate reliable and valid survey tools, we hope to improve efforts to develop and deploy face-to-face and phone surveys in the health sector.

International registered report identifier (irrid)

DERR1-10.2196/12173.

SUBMITTER: LeFevre AE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6658236 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Development of a Phone Survey Tool to Measure Respectful Maternity Care During Pregnancy and Childbirth in India: Study Protocol.

LeFevre Amnesty E AE Scott Kerry K Mohan Diwakar D Shah Neha N Bhatnagar Aarushi A Labrique Alain A Dhar Diva D Chamberlain Sara S Ved Rajani R

JMIR research protocols 20190425 4

<h4>Background</h4>Respectful maternity care (RMC) is a key barometer of the underlying quality of care women receive during pregnancy and childbirth. Efforts to measure RMC have largely been qualitative, although validated quantitative tools are emerging. Available tools have been limited to the measurement of RMC during childbirth and confined to observational and face-to-face survey modes. Phone surveys are less invasive, low cost, and rapid alternatives to traditional face-to-face methods, y ...[more]

PMID: 31021329

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Project description:BackgroundAttainment of healthcare in respectful and dignified manner is a fundamental right for every woman regardless of the individual status. However, social exclusion, poor psychosocial support, and demeaning care during childbirth at health facilities are common worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. We concurrently examined how women with varying socio-demographic characteristics are treated during childbirth, the effect of women's empowerment on mistreatment, and health services factors that contribute to mistreatment in secondary-level public health facilities in Pakistan.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted during August-November 2016 among 783 women who gave birth in six secondary-care public health facilities across four contiguous districts of southern Sindh. Women were recruited in health facilities and later interviewed at home within 42 days of postpartum using a WHO's framework-guided 43-item structured questionnaire. Means, standard deviation, and average were used to describe characteristics of the participants. Multivariable linear regression was applied using Stata 15.1.ResultsWomen experiencing at least one violation of their right to care by hospital staff during intrapartum care included: ineffective communication (100%); lack of supportive care (99.7%); loss of autonomy (97.5%); failure of meeting professional clinical standards (84.4%); lack of resources (76.3%); verbal abuse (15.2%); physical abuse (14.8%); and discrimination (3.2%). Risk factors of all three dimensions showed significant association with mistreatment: socio-demographic: primigravida and poorer were more mistreated; health services: lesser-education on birth preparedness and postnatal care leads to higher mistreatment; and in terms of women's empowerment: women who were emotionally and physically abused by family, and those with lack of social support and lesser involvement in joint household decision making with husbands are more likely to be mistreated as compared to their counterparts. The magnitude of relationship between all significant risk factors and mistreatment, in the form of β coefficients, ranged from 0.2 to 5.5 with p-values less than 0.05.ConclusionThere are glaring inequalities in terms of the way women are treated during childbirth in public health facilities. Measures of socio-demographic, health services, and women's empowerment showed a significant independent association with mistreatment during childbirth. At the health system level, there is a need for urgent solutions for more inclusive care to ensure that all women are treated with compassion and dignity, complemented by psychosocial support for those who are emotionally disturbed and lack social support.

Project description:Quantitative survey findings are important in measuring health-related phenomena, including on sensitive topics such as respectful maternity care (RMC). But how well do survey results truly capture respondent experiences and opinions? Quantitative tool development and piloting often involve translating questions from other settings and assessing the mechanics of implementation, which fails to deeply explore how respondents understand survey questions and response options. To address this gap, we conducted cognitive interviews on survey questions (n = 88) adapted from validated RMC instruments used in Ethiopia, Kenya and elsewhere in India. Cognitive interviews with rural women (n = 21) in Madhya Pradesh, India involved asking the respondent the survey question, recording her response, then interviewing her about what the question and response options meant to her. We analysed the interviews to revise the tool and identify question failures, which we grouped into six areas: issues with sequencing, length and sensitivity; problematic response options; inappropriate vocabulary; temporal and spatial confusion; accessing different cognitive domains; and failure to resonate with the respondent's worldview and reality. Although women tended to provide initial answers to the survey questions, cognitive interviews revealed widespread mismatch between respondent interpretation and question intent. Likert scale response options were generally incomprehensible and questions involving hypothetical scenarios could be interpreted in unexpected ways. Many key terms and concepts from the international RMC literature did not translate well and showed low resonance with respondents, including consent and being involved in decisions about one's care. This study highlights the threat to data quality and the validity of findings when translating quantitative surveys between languages and cultures and showcases the value of cognitive interviews in identifying question failures. While survey tool revision can address many of these issues, further critical discussion is needed on the use of standardized questions to assess the same domains across contexts.

Dataset Information

Development of a Phone Survey Tool to Measure Respectful Maternity Care During Pregnancy and Childbirth in India: Study Protocol.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

International registered report identifier (irrid)

Publications

Development of a Phone Survey Tool to Measure Respectful Maternity Care During Pregnancy and Childbirth in India: Study Protocol.

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