Improving the quality of maternal and neonatal care: the role of standard based participatory assessments.

Background: Gaps in quality of care are seriously affecting maternal and neonatal health globally but reports of successful quality improvement cycles implemented at large scale are scanty. We report the results of a nation-wide program to improve quality of maternal and neonatal hospital care in a lower-middle income country focusing on the role played by standard-based participatory assessments.

Methods: Improvements in the quality of maternal and neonatal care following an action-oriented participatory assessment of 19 areas covering the whole continuum from admission to discharge were measured after an average period of 10 months in four busy referral maternity hospitals in Uzbekistan.

Acceptability and feasibility of the use of 400 μg of sublingual misoprostol after mifepristone for medical abortion up to 63 days since the last menstrual period: evidence from Uzbekistan.

Objective: To examine the efficacy, acceptability and feasibility of early medical abortion, with the option of home administration of misoprostol, in Uzbekistan.

Methods: A total of 450 women were enrolled at national, municipal and private facilities in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Women who presented for termination of pregnancy with gestations up to 63 days were recruited to participate in the study.