title: Assessment of quality of midwifery care in labour and delivery wards of selected Kordestan Medical Science University hospitals.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Quality improvement of reproductive health care has been announced as one of five global strategies to accelerate progress toward reproductive health goals. The World Health Organization emphasises the evaluation of structure, procedure and outcome of health services to improve quality of care. This study aims to assess the quality of provided care in labour and delivery units in two selected Kordestan Medical Science University hospitals.
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive study methodology was utilised to assess the quality of care provided to 96 women with normal pregnancies. Two checklists were used to observe procedures of care and structure together with a questionnaire utilised to assess satisfaction ratings of patients. Data were analysed by SPSS 11.5.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Midwifery care was provided in different stages of labour, with the following mean percentages of compatibility with desirable situation: first stage of labour (71.4 per cent), second stage of labour (63.03 per cent), third stage of labour (80.63 per cent) and first 2 hours after labour (70.50 per cent). The lowest scores were related to the domains of "emotional support", "hand wash" and "assessment of vital signs".
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The paper develops instructions for care provision or promotion of partograph use for continuous monitoring and evaluation of quality of care by managers. Increasing midwifery personnel and providing facilities for accompanied people to improve quality of emotional care can lead to quality improvement, and finally the women's health and satisfaction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti Medical Science University, Tehran, Iran. msimbar@sbmu.ac.ir
authors.forename: Masoumeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simbar
authors.forename: Farideh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ghafari
authors.forename: Shahnaz Tork
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Zahrani
authors.forename: Hamid Alavi
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Majd
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008880:Midwifery / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D009775:Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011247:Pregnancy; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards