Improvements in Obstetric and Newborn Health Information Documentation following the Implementation of the Safer Births Bundle of Care at 30 Facilities in Tanzania

This paper examines changes in the completeness of documentation in clinical practice before and during the implementation of the Safer Births Bundle of Care (SBBC) project. This observational study enrolled parturient women with a gestation age of at least 28 weeks at the onset of labour. Data coll...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Benjamin Anathory Kamala, Hege Ersdal, Robert Moshiro, Estomih Mduma, Ulrika Baker, Godfrey Guga, Jan Terje Kvaløy, Dunstan R. Bishanga, Felix Bundala, Boniphace Marwa, Thomas Rutachunzibwa, Japhet Simeo, Honoratha Faustine Rutatinisibwa, Yudas Ndungile, Damas Kayera, Florence Salvatory Kalabamu, Paschal Mdoe
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-01-01
Series:Healthcare
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/12/3/319
Description
Summary:This paper examines changes in the completeness of documentation in clinical practice before and during the implementation of the Safer Births Bundle of Care (SBBC) project. This observational study enrolled parturient women with a gestation age of at least 28 weeks at the onset of labour. Data collectors extracted information from facility registers and then a central data manager summarised and reported weekly statistics. Variables of clinical significance for CQI were selected, and the proportion of non-documentation was analysed over time. A Pearson chi-square test was used to test for significant differences in non-documentation between the periods. Between 1 March 2021 and 31 July 2022, a total of 138,442 deliveries were recorded. Overall, 75% of all patient cases had at least one missing variable among the selected variables across both periods. A lack of variable documentation occurred more frequently at the district hospital level (81% of patient cases) and health centres (74%) than at regional referral hospitals (56%) (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Non-documentation decreased significantly from 79% to 70% after the introduction of the SBBC (<i>p</i> < 0.001). A tendency towards negative correlations was noted for most variables. We noted an increased attention to data quality and use which may have a positive impact on the completeness of documentation. However, halfway through the project’s implementation, the completeness of documentation was still low. Our findings support the recommendation to establish short-spaced feedback loops of locally collected data using one data platform.
ISSN:2227-9032