Reliability of a preventability model in maternal death and morbidity.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to measure the reliability of a model that defines preventability in maternal morbidity and death.


METHODS
One hundred cases of serious morbidity and death among peripartum women were reviewed by 2 independent groups of medical experts to identify potentially preventable provider or system events that may have led to the progression of illness.


RESULTS
Seventy-seven percent of the cases had concordant findings in both groups regarding the identification of any preventable events. Interrater agreement, which was measured by Cohen's Kappa, was 0.49, which suggests moderate to good reliability. Cases with multiple comorbidities, poor documentation, or preventable patient factors tended to have higher levels of disagreement.


CONCLUSIONS
There was high agreement between the 2 groups regarding the identification of preventable events that impact maternal morbidity and death. The reliability of this model for the assessment of preventability is an important step for improvement in obstetric and medical care.
Geller
Stacie E
SE
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. sgeller@uic.edu
Adams
Marci G
MG
Kominiarek
Michelle A
MA
Hibbard
Judith U
JU
Endres
Loraine K
LK
Cox
Suzanne M
SM
Kilpatrick
Sarah J
SJ
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008428:Maternal Mortality; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results