Integrating support persons into maternity care and associations with quality of care: a postpartum survey of mothers and support persons in Kenya.

Background: Despite research that has shown that the presence of support persons during maternity care is associated with more respectful care, support persons are frequently excluded due to facility practices or negative attitudes of providers. Little quantitative research has examined how integrating support persons in maternity care has implications for the quality of care received by women, a potential pathway for improving maternal and neonatal health outcomes. This study aimed to investigate how integrating support persons in maternity care is associated with multiple dimensions of the quality of maternity care.

Can a quality improvement intervention improve person-centred maternity care in Kenya?

Few evidence-based interventions exist to improve person-centred maternity care in low-resource settings. This study aimed to understand whether a quality improvement (QI) intervention could improve person-centred maternity care (PCMC) experiences for women delivering in public health facilities in Kenya. A pre-post design was used to examine changes in PCMC scores across three intervention and matched control facilities at baseline ( = 491) and endline ( = 677).

Improving stigma and psychosocial outcomes among post-abortion Kenyan women attending private clinics: A randomized controlled trial of a person-centered mobile phone-based intervention.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate a person-centered abortion care mobile-based intervention on perceived social stigma, social support, mental health and post-abortion care experiences among Kenyan women who received abortion services at private clinics.

Methods: This randomized controlled study enrolled women who obtained an abortion from private clinics in Nairobi county, Kenya and randomized them into one of three study arms: 1) standard of care (follow-up by service provider call center); 2) post-abortion phone follow-up by a peer counselor (a woman who has had an abortion herself and is trained in person-centered abortion care); or 3) post-abortion phone follow-up by a nurse (a nurse who is trained in person-centered abortion care). All participants were followed-up at two- and four-weeks post-abortion to evaluate intervention effects on mental health, social support, and abortion-related stigma scores.

Association between newborn separation, maternal consent and health outcomes: findings from a longitudinal survey in Kenya.

Objectives: Disrespectful and poor treatment of newborns such as unnecessary separation from parents or failure to obtain parental consent for medical procedures occurs at health facilities across contexts, but little research has investigated the prevalence, risk factors or associated outcomes. This study examined these experiences and associations with healthcare satisfaction, use and breast feeding.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Perspectives on implementing a quality improvement collaborative to improve person-centered care for maternal and reproductive health in Kenya.

Objective: To understand perspectives and experiences related to participation in a quality improvement collaborative (QIC) to improve person-centered care (PCC) for maternal health and family planning (FP) in Kenya.

Design And Setting: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with members of the QIC in four public health facilities in Kenya.

Participants: Clinical and nonclinical public health facility staff who had participated in the QIC were purposively sampled to participate in the semi-structured interviews.