title: [Utilization of tacit knowledge by maternal healthcare providers: a systematic mapping of the literature].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The search for efficient answers to strengthen maternal health care has included various sources of evidence for decision making. In this article, we present a systematic mapping of the scientific literature on the use of tacit knowledge in relation to maternal healthcare.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic mapping was conducted of scientific articles published in Spanish and English between 1971 and 2014 following the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 793 articles, 30 met the inclusion criteria; 60% were from high-income countries and 66.7% were focused on health professionals. We identified a predominance of qualitative methodologies (62%). Four categories regarding the use of tacit knowledge were generated: proposals to improve the organization of the maternal care system (30%) and to improve the care provided to women during the continuum of pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum (26.7%), determination of health workers' perception and skill levels (26.7%) and the interactions between tacit and explicit knowledge in clinical decision making (16.7%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This mapping shows that tacit knowledge is an emerging, innovative and versatile research approach used primarily in high-income countries and that includes interesting possibilities for its use as evidence to improve maternal healthcare, particularly in middle- and low-income countries, where it needs to be strengthened.
authors.affiliation: Grup de Recerca en Desigualtats en Salut - Employment Conditions Network (GREDS-EMCONET), Departament de Ciències Polítiques i Socials, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, España; Johns Hopkins University - Universitat Pompeu Fabra Public Policy Center, Barcelona, España. Electronic address: ecalder81@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Calderón Espinosa
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Gestión del Conocimiento, Centro de Investigación en Sistemas de Salud, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca (Morelos), México.
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Becerril Montekio
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Gestión del Conocimiento, Centro de Investigación en Sistemas de Salud, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca (Morelos), México.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alcalde Rabanal
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Gestión del Conocimiento, Centro de Investigación en Sistemas de Salud, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca (Morelos), México.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: García Bello
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D011247:Pregnancy; D058996:Quality Improvement; D011787:Quality of Health Care
keywords: Conocimiento tácito; Health personnel; Maternal health; Maternal health services; Personal de salud; Salud materna; Servicios de salud materna; Tacit knowledge