Differential access to continuity of midwifery care in Queensland, Australia.

ConclusionsDespite strong evidence that continuity of midwifery care offers optimal care for women and their babies, there was significant variation in implementation and scale-up of these models across hospital jurisdictions.What is known about the topic?Access to continuity of midwifery care for pregnant women within the public health system varies widely; however, access variation among different hospital classification groups in Australian states and territories has not been systematically mapped.What does this paper add?This paper identified differential access to continuity of midwifery care among hospital classifications grouped for clinical services capability and birth volume in one state, Queensland. It shows that higher clinical services capability and birth volume did not equate with higher access to continuity of midwifery care in metropolitan areas.What are the implications for practitionersScaling up continuity of midwifery care among all hospital classification groups in Queensland remains an important public health strategy to address equitable service access. PMID: 32854818 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Australian Health Review - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research