Audits of adolescent prenatal care rendered in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the adequacy of recorded prenatal care provided to adolescents in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.


METHODS
A quantitative descriptive design, using checklists to audit 80 prenatal records, based on the assumption that care recorded reflects care rendered.


METHODS
Four clinics and two hospitals providing public prenatal and birth services in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.


METHODS
80 Adolescents' prenatal records were audited.


RESULTS
Recorded prenatal care was checked according to the expected prenatal activities: history taking, health education and counselling, physical examinations, routine laboratory tests, client evaluations and planning for birth.


CONCLUSIONS
documentation in the prenatal records was incomplete, especially on aspects of health promotion and social history.


CONCLUSIONS
Inadequacies in prenatal records could denote poor prenatal care rendered to adolescents, limiting the potential benefits pregnant adolescents and their infants could derive from these services in Bulawayo. In-service education should be offered to the midwives to enhance their knowledge and skills on health assessment, history taking, physical examinations and accurate documentation of all aspects of prenatal care.
Chaibva
Cynthia N
CN
Department of Health Sciences, University of South Africa, Zimbabwe Open University, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Ehlers
Valerie J
VJ
Roos
Janetta H
JH
D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008485:Medical Audit / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008880:Midwifery / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D015030:Zimbabwe