Dataset Information

Reducing unnecessary caesarean sections: scoping review of financial and regulatory interventions.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Caesarean sections (CS) are increasing worldwide. Financial incentives and related regulatory and legislative factors are important determinants of CS rates. This scoping review examines the evidence base of financial, regulatory and legislative interventions intended to reduce CS rates. METHODS:We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and two trials registers in June 2019. Both experimental and observational intervention studies were eligible for inclusion. Primary outcome measures were: CS, spontaneous vaginal and instrumental birth rates. We assessed quality of evidence using Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) method. RESULTS:We identified 9057 articles and assessed 65 full-texts. We included 16 observational studies. Most of the studies were conducted in high-income countries. Three studies assessed payment methods for health workers: equalising physician fees for vaginal and caesarean delivery reduced CS rates in one study; however, little or no difference in CS rates was found in the remaining two studies. Nine studies assessed payment methods for health organisations: There was no difference in CS rates between diagnosis-related group (DRG) payment system compared to fee-for-service system in one study. However, DRG system was associated with lower odds for CS in another study. There was little or no difference in CS rates following implementation of global budget payment (GBP) system in two studies. Vaginal birth after caesarean section (VBAC) increased after implementation of a case-based payment system in one study. Caesarean section increased while VBAC rates decreased following implementation of a cap-based payment system in another study. Financial incentive for providers to promote vaginal delivery combined with free vaginal delivery policy was found to reduce CS rates in one study. Studied regulatory and legislative interventions (comprising legislatively imposed practice guidelines for physicians in one study and multi-faceted strategy which included policies to control CS on maternal request in another study) were found to reduce CS rates. The GRADE quality of evidence varied from very low to low. CONCLUSIONS:Available evidence on the effects of financial and regulatory strategies intended to reduce unnecessary CS is inconclusive given inconsistency in effects and low quality of the available evidence. More rigorous studies are needed.

SUBMITTER: Opiyo N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7457477 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Reducing unnecessary caesarean sections: scoping review of financial and regulatory interventions.

Opiyo Newton N Young Claire C Requejo Jennifer Harris JH Erdman Joanna J Bales Sarah S Betrán Ana Pilar AP

Reproductive health 20200831 1

<h4>Background</h4>Caesarean sections (CS) are increasing worldwide. Financial incentives and related regulatory and legislative factors are important determinants of CS rates. This scoping review examines the evidence base of financial, regulatory and legislative interventions intended to reduce CS rates.<h4>Methods</h4>We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and two trials registers in June 2019. Both experimental and observational intervention studies were eligible for inclusion. Primary outcome ...[more]

PMID: 32867791

Similar Datasets

Project description:OBJECTIVE:To establish the views and experiences of healthcare professionals in relation to interventions targeted at them to reduce unnecessary caesareans. DESIGN:Qualitative evidence synthesis. SETTING:Studies undertaken in high-income, middle-income and low-income settings. DATA SOURCES:Seven databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, Embase, Global Index Medicus, POPLINE and African Journals Online). Studies published between 1985 and June 2017, with no language or geographical restrictions. We hand-searched reference lists and key citations using Google Scholar. STUDY SELECTION:Qualitative or mixed-method studies reporting health professionals' views. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS:Two authors independently assessed study quality prior to extraction of primary data and authors' interpretations. The data were compared and contrasted, then grouped into summary of findings (SoFs) statements, themes and a line of argument synthesis. All SoFs were Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research (GRADE-CERQual) assessed. RESULTS:17 papers were included, involving 483 health professionals from 17 countries (nine high-income, six middle-income and two low-income). Fourteen SoFs were identified, resulting in three core themes: philosophy of birth (four SoFs); (2) social and cultural context (five SoFs); and (3) negotiation within system (five SoFs). The resulting line of argument suggests three key mechanisms of effect for change or resistance to change: prior beliefs about birth; willingness or not to engage with change, especially where this entailed potential loss of income or status (including medicolegal barriers); and capacity or not to influence local community and healthcare service norms and values relating to caesarean provision. CONCLUSION:For maternity care health professionals, there is a synergistic relationship between their underpinning philosophy of birth, the social and cultural context they are working within and the extent to which they were prepared to negotiate within health system resources to reduce caesarean rates. These findings identify potential mechanisms of effect that could improve the design and efficacy of change programmes to reduce unnecessary caesareans. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER:CRD42017059455.

Project description:BackgroundThe increasing trend of Caesarean section (CS) in childbirth has become a global public health challenge. Previous studies have proposed financial intervention strategies for reducing CS rates by limiting caesarean delivery on maternal request (CDMR). This study synthesizes such strategies while evaluating their effectiveness.MethodsThe sources of data for this study are Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, and CINAHL. The publication period included in this study is from January 1991 to November 2018. The financial intervention strategies are divide into two categories: healthcare provider interventions and patient interventions. Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies - of Interventions (ROBINS-I) was employed to assess the risk of bias of included studies. The outcome of each study was evaluated with Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) through the GRADEpro Guideline Development Tool software.ResultsNine studies were included in this systematic review: five with high certainty evidence (HCE), three with moderate certainty evidence (MCE), and one with low certainty evidence (LCE). Of the nine studies, seven are centered on the effect of provider-side interventions. Three of the HCE studies found that the diagnosis-related group payment system, risk-adjusted capitation, and equalizing fee for both facilities and physicians were effective intervention strategies. One HCE and one MCE study showed that only equalizing facility fees between vaginal and CS deliveries in healthcare service settings had no significant effect on reducing the CS rate. The MCE study showed that case payment had a negative effect on reducing the CS rates. One LCE study revealed that the effect of a global budget system was uncertain, and one HCE and one MCE study focused on combining both provider and patient-side interventions. However, equalizing fees for vaginal and CS deliveries and a co-payment policy for CDMRs failed to reduce the CS rate.ConclusionsThe effectiveness of risk-adjusted payment methods appears promising and should be the subject of further research. Financial interventions should consider stakeholders' characteristics, especially the personal interests of doctors. Finally, high-quality randomized control trials and comparative studies on different financial intervention methods are needed to confirm or refute previous studies' outcomes.

Project description:When medically indicated, caesarean section can prevent deaths and other serious complications in mothers and babies. Lack of access to caesarean section may result in increased maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. However, rising caesarean section rates globally suggest overuse in healthy women and babies, with consequent iatrogenic damage for women and babies, and adverse impacts on the sustainability of maternity care provision. To date, interventions to ensure that caesarean section is appropriately used have not reversed the upward trend in rates. Qualitative evidence has the potential to explain why and how interventions may or may not work in specific contexts. We aimed to establish stakeholders' views on the barriers and facilitators to non-clinical interventions targeted at organizations, facilities and systems, to reduce unnecessary caesarean section.We undertook a systematic qualitative evidence synthesis using a five-stage modified, meta-ethnography approach. We searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, EMBASE and grey literature databases (Global Index Medicus, POPLINE, AJOL) using pre-defined terms. Inclusion criteria were qualitative and mixed-method studies, investigating any non-clinical intervention to reduce caesarean section, in any setting and language, published after 1984. Study quality was assessed prior to data extraction. Interpretive thematic synthesis was undertaken using a barriers and facilitators lens. Confidence in the resulting Summaries of Findings was assessed using GRADE-CERQual.8,219 studies were identified. 25 studies were included, from 17 countries, published between 1993-2016, encompassing the views of over 1,565 stakeholders. Nineteen Summary of Findings statements were derived. They mapped onto three distinct themes: Health system, organizational and structural factors (6 SoFs); Human and cultural factors (7 SoFs); and Mechanisms of effect to achieve change factors (6 SoFs). The synthesis showed how inter- and intra-system power differentials, and stakeholder commitment, exert strong mechanisms of effect on caesarean section rates, independent of the theoretical efficacy of specific interventions to reduce them.Non-clinical interventions to reduce caesarean section are strongly mediated by organisational power differentials and stakeholder commitment. Barriers may be greatest where implementation plans contradict system and cultural norms.PROSPERO: CRD42017059456.

Project description:ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to examine how published studies of inpatient to outpatient mental healthcare transition processes have approached measuring unnecessary psychiatric readmissions.DesignScoping review using Levac et al's enhancement to Arksey and O'Malley's framework for conducting scoping reviews.Data sourcesMedline (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane and ISI Web of Science article databases were searched from 1 January 2009 through 28 February 2019.Eligibility criteria for selecting studiesWe included studies that (1) are about care transition processes associated with unnecessary psychiatric readmissions and (2) specify use of at least one readmission time interval (ie, the time period since previous discharge from inpatient care, within which a hospitalisation can be considered a readmission).Data extraction and synthesisWe assessed review findings through tabular and content analyses of the data extracted from included articles.ResultsOur database search yielded 3478 unique articles, 67 of which were included in our scoping review. The included articles varied widely in their reported readmission time intervals used. They provided limited details regarding which readmissions they considered unnecessary and which risks they accounted for in their measurement. There were no perceptible trends in associations between the variation in these findings and the included studies' characteristics (eg, target population, type of care transition intervention).ConclusionsThe limited specification with which studies report their approach to unnecessary psychiatric readmissions measurement is a noteworthy gap identified by this scoping review, and one that can hinder both the replicability of conducted studies and adaptations of study methods by future investigations. Recommendations stemming from this review include (1) establishing a framework for reporting the measurement approach, (2) devising enhanced guidelines regarding which approaches to use in which circumstances and (3) examining how sensitive research findings are to the choice of the approach.

Project description:IntroductionCare transition for patients being discharged from inpatient mental healthcare to outpatient settings is a growing focus for healthcare delivery systems. Many studies of this inpatient to outpatient transition use the rate of postdischarge readmissions as a patient-level outcome measure to assess the quality of transition. However, it is unclear how studies define the measure, and whether there is a shared understanding by the field regarding which definition is appropriate for which circumstances. This scoping review thus aims to examine how published studies have approached measuring unnecessary psychiatric readmissions.Methods and analysisThe scoping review will be structured according to Levac et al's enhancement to Arksey and O'Malley's framework for conducting scoping reviews. The protocol is registered through the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/5nxuc/). We will search literature databases for studies that (1) are about care transition processes associated with unnecessary psychiatric readmissions and (2) specify use of at least one readmission time interval (ie, time period since previous discharge from inpatient care, within which a hospitalisation can be considered a readmission). Screening and review of articles will be carried out by two reviewers, first independently then involving a third reviewer as needed for consensus. We will assess review findings through both tabular and thematic analyses, noting prevalent trends in study characteristics and emergent themes across our reviewed studies.Ethics and disseminationThis work comes at a time of heightened interest by many mental healthcare systems in high-quality practices that structure their care processes towards effective inpatient to outpatient transitions. Findings will support the systems' careful examination of alternative potential transitional interventions, helping to ensure that their often limited quality enhancement resources are put to optimal use. We will focus on disseminating our findings to the healthcare community through strong communication infrastructures and connections with health system stakeholders that our multidisciplinary study consultants will foster throughout this study.

Project description:BackgroundThere is continued debate about the role of women and communities in influencing rising rates of caesarean section (CS). In settings where CS rates exceed recommended levels, mothers and babies are exposed to potential harms that may outweigh the potential benefits. There is therefore a need to understand how educational interventions targeted at women and communities to reduce unnecessary CS are perceived and used. This qualitative evidence synthesis aimed to explore what women and communities say about the barriers and facilitators to intervention effectiveness for these important groups.MethodSeven electronic databases were searched using predefined search terms. Studies reporting qualitative data pertaining to interventions, published between 1985 and March 2017, with no language restriction were sought. Study quality was independently assessed by two authors before qualitative evidence synthesis was undertaken using an interpretive, meta-ethnography approach. Resulting Statements of Findings were assessed using GRADE-CERQual, and summarised thematically.ResultsTwelve studies were included. They were published between 2001 and 2016. Eleven were from high-income countries. Twelve Summaries of Findings encompassed the data, and were graded (moderate or high) on CerQual. The Statements of Findings are reported under three final themes: 1) Mutability of women's and communities' beliefs about birth; 2) Multiplicity of individual information needs about birth; 3) Interactions with health professionals and influence of healthcare system on actual birth method. Women and communities value educational interventions that include opportunities for dialogue, are individualised (including acknowledgement of previous birth experiences), and are consistent with available clinical care and the advice of the health professional they come into contact with.ConclusionWomen's values and preferences for birth, and for information format and content, vary across populations, and evolves in individual women over time. Interactions with health professionals and health system factors can partly be responsible for changes in views. Educational interventions should take into account these dynamic interactions, as well as the women's need for emotional support and dialogue with professionals alongside information about birth. Further research is required to test these findings and the utility of their practical application, particularly in medium and low income settings.Systematic review registration numberPROSPERO 2017 CRD42017059453 .

Dataset Information

Reducing unnecessary caesarean sections: scoping review of financial and regulatory interventions.

Publications

Reducing unnecessary caesarean sections: scoping review of financial and regulatory interventions.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets