Patient-centered early pregnancy care: a systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies on the perspectives of women and their partners

AbstractBACKGROUNDEarly pregnancy complications, defined as miscarriage, recurrent miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy, affect the physical and psychological well-being of intended parents. Research in this field so far has focused mainly on improving accuracy of diagnostic tests and safety and effectiveness of therapeutic management. An overview of aspects of care valued by women and/or their partners is missing.OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALEThis systematic review aims to provide an overview of aspects of care valued by women and/or their partners faced with early pregnancy complications and to identify potential targets for improvement in early pregnancy healthcare.SEARCH METHODSWe searched five electronic databases for empirical quantitative or qualitative studies on patients ’ perspectives of early pregnancy care in July 2017. We first identified aspects of early pregnancy care valued by women and/or their partners based on qualitative and quantitative data and organized these aspects of care according to the eight dimensions of patient-centered care. Second, we extra cted the assessment of service quality from women and/or their partners on each of these aspects of care based on quantitative data. Third, we combined the findings on patients’ values with the findings of service quality assessment to identify potential targets for improvement in five groups acco rding to how likely these targets are to require improvement.OUTCOMESThe search yielded 6240 publications, of which 27...

Source: Human Reproduction Update - October 11, 2017 Category: OBGYN Source Type: research