Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Objective
Despite growing consensus about the clinical value of preconception care (PCC), gaps and disparities remain in its delivery. This study aimed to examine the factors influencing behavior of health care providers around PCC in outpatient clinical settings in the United States.Methods
Twenty health care providers who serve people of reproductive age were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Data was coded based on a modified Theoretical Domains Framework and analyzed using deductive content analysis.Results
We interviewed eight family medicine physicians, four obstetricians/gynecologists, seven nurse practitioners, and one nurse midwife. Overall, we found a wide variety in practices and attitudes towards PCC. Barriers and challenges to delivering PCC were shared across sites. We identified six themes that influenced provider behavior around PCC: (1) lack of knowledge of PCC guidelines, (2) perception of lack of preconception patient contact, (3) pessimism around patient "compliance," (4) opinion about scope of practice, (5) clinical site structure, and (6) reliance on the patient/provider relationship.Conclusions for practice
Overall, our findings call for improved provider understanding of PCC and creative incorporation into current health care culture and practice. Given that PCC-specific visits are perceived by some as outside the norm of clinical offerings, providers may need to incorporate PCC into other encounters, as many in this study reported doing. We amplify the call for providers to understand how structural inequities may influence patient behavior and the value of standardized screening, within and beyond PCC, as well as examination of implicit and explicit provider bias.
SUBMITTER: Nacev EC
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9295340 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Nacev Erin C EC Greene Madelyne Z MZ Taboada Mireya P MP Ehrenthal Deborah B DB
Maternal and child health journal 20220418 7
<h4>Objective</h4>Despite growing consensus about the clinical value of preconception care (PCC), gaps and disparities remain in its delivery. This study aimed to examine the factors influencing behavior of health care providers around PCC in outpatient clinical settings in the United States.<h4>Methods</h4>Twenty health care providers who serve people of reproductive age were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Data was coded based on a modified Theoretical Domains Framework and analy ...[more]