Provision and experience of care among women with hypertension in pregnancy: a multi-center qualitative study in Ghana
Plain language summary High blood pressure (hypertension) in pregnancy can have severe complications for both mother and fetus including loss of life. The outcome of pregnancy for women who develop hypertension during pregnancy can be improved by ensuring optimal quality of care. In this study, we e...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Reproductive Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-023-01593-0 |
| _version_ | 1797859881578921984 |
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| author | Kwame Adu-Bonsaffoh Evelyn Tamma Adanna Nwameme Phyllis Dako-Gyeke Emmanuel Srofenyoh Evelyn K. Ansah Diederick E. Grobbee Arie Franx Joyce L. Browne |
| author_facet | Kwame Adu-Bonsaffoh Evelyn Tamma Adanna Nwameme Phyllis Dako-Gyeke Emmanuel Srofenyoh Evelyn K. Ansah Diederick E. Grobbee Arie Franx Joyce L. Browne |
| author_sort | Kwame Adu-Bonsaffoh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plain language summary High blood pressure (hypertension) in pregnancy can have severe complications for both mother and fetus including loss of life. The outcome of pregnancy for women who develop hypertension during pregnancy can be improved by ensuring optimal quality of care. In this study, we explored the opinions and experiences of women whose pregnancies were affected by hypertension concerning the care they received during their recent admission at different hospitals in Ghana and the challenges they faced. In four major referral hospitals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, we interviewed the women and had focus group discussions. Women who were pregnant for 26 weeks up to 34 weeks and had hypertension in pregnancy were invited for inclusion in the study. We conducted in-depth interviews with fifty women and three focus group discussions with 22 women. Most women who participated in the study were between 20 and 30 years old, Akans (ethnicity), married/cohabiting, self-employed and secondary school graduates. The women reported both positive and negative experiences of care during their admission at the hospitals. Examples of positive experiences were receiving good quality of care, satisfaction with care, and adequate counselling from the health workers. Examples of negative experiences were poor communication between the providers and affected women, inappropriate attitudes by the healthcare providers, and disrespectful treatment such as verbal and physical abuse. The major factors in the health system that influenced women’s experiences of care were lack of logistics, substandard professionalism, inefficient national health insurance system and long delays at health facilities prior to receiving treatment. The individual women’s factors that affected the quality of care included financial constraints, psychosocial stress and inadequate knowledge about hypertension during pregnancy. In conclusion, we determined that women with hypertension in pregnancy experience both positive and negative aspects of care and these may be due to challenges associated with the healthcare system, health providers and women themselves. There is the need to ensure optimal quality and respectful maternity care considering the nature of hypertension in pregnancy. These women require dedicated hospital staff with significant experience to improve the quality of care provided to women with hypertension in pregnancy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T21:37:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-50af688dc3224d3abcb1edec98142781 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1742-4755 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T21:37:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Reproductive Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-50af688dc3224d3abcb1edec981427812023-03-26T11:12:27ZengBMCReproductive Health1742-47552023-03-0120111410.1186/s12978-023-01593-0Provision and experience of care among women with hypertension in pregnancy: a multi-center qualitative study in GhanaKwame Adu-Bonsaffoh0Evelyn Tamma1Adanna Nwameme2Phyllis Dako-Gyeke3Emmanuel Srofenyoh4Evelyn K. Ansah5Diederick E. Grobbee6Arie Franx7Joyce L. Browne8Julius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht UniversityHoly Care Specialist HospitalDepartment of Social and Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health, University of GhanaDepartment of Social and Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health, University of GhanaJulius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht UniversityInstitute for Health Research, University of Health and Allied SciencesJulius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht UniversityDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Medical Center UtrechtJulius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht UniversityPlain language summary High blood pressure (hypertension) in pregnancy can have severe complications for both mother and fetus including loss of life. The outcome of pregnancy for women who develop hypertension during pregnancy can be improved by ensuring optimal quality of care. In this study, we explored the opinions and experiences of women whose pregnancies were affected by hypertension concerning the care they received during their recent admission at different hospitals in Ghana and the challenges they faced. In four major referral hospitals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, we interviewed the women and had focus group discussions. Women who were pregnant for 26 weeks up to 34 weeks and had hypertension in pregnancy were invited for inclusion in the study. We conducted in-depth interviews with fifty women and three focus group discussions with 22 women. Most women who participated in the study were between 20 and 30 years old, Akans (ethnicity), married/cohabiting, self-employed and secondary school graduates. The women reported both positive and negative experiences of care during their admission at the hospitals. Examples of positive experiences were receiving good quality of care, satisfaction with care, and adequate counselling from the health workers. Examples of negative experiences were poor communication between the providers and affected women, inappropriate attitudes by the healthcare providers, and disrespectful treatment such as verbal and physical abuse. The major factors in the health system that influenced women’s experiences of care were lack of logistics, substandard professionalism, inefficient national health insurance system and long delays at health facilities prior to receiving treatment. The individual women’s factors that affected the quality of care included financial constraints, psychosocial stress and inadequate knowledge about hypertension during pregnancy. In conclusion, we determined that women with hypertension in pregnancy experience both positive and negative aspects of care and these may be due to challenges associated with the healthcare system, health providers and women themselves. There is the need to ensure optimal quality and respectful maternity care considering the nature of hypertension in pregnancy. These women require dedicated hospital staff with significant experience to improve the quality of care provided to women with hypertension in pregnancy.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-023-01593-0Hypertension in pregnancyQuality of careExperience of careMaternal hypertension |
| spellingShingle | Kwame Adu-Bonsaffoh Evelyn Tamma Adanna Nwameme Phyllis Dako-Gyeke Emmanuel Srofenyoh Evelyn K. Ansah Diederick E. Grobbee Arie Franx Joyce L. Browne Provision and experience of care among women with hypertension in pregnancy: a multi-center qualitative study in Ghana Reproductive Health Hypertension in pregnancy Quality of care Experience of care Maternal hypertension |
| title | Provision and experience of care among women with hypertension in pregnancy: a multi-center qualitative study in Ghana |
| title_full | Provision and experience of care among women with hypertension in pregnancy: a multi-center qualitative study in Ghana |
| title_fullStr | Provision and experience of care among women with hypertension in pregnancy: a multi-center qualitative study in Ghana |
| title_full_unstemmed | Provision and experience of care among women with hypertension in pregnancy: a multi-center qualitative study in Ghana |
| title_short | Provision and experience of care among women with hypertension in pregnancy: a multi-center qualitative study in Ghana |
| title_sort | provision and experience of care among women with hypertension in pregnancy a multi center qualitative study in ghana |
| topic | Hypertension in pregnancy Quality of care Experience of care Maternal hypertension |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-023-01593-0 |
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