Client Factors Affect Provider Adherence to Clinical Guidelines during First Antenatal Care.
BACKGROUND
The first antenatal clinic (ANC) visit helps to distinguish pregnant women who require standard care, from those with specific problems and so require special attention. There are protocols to guide care providers to provide optimal care to women during ANC. Our objectives were to determine the level of provider adherence to first antenatal visit guidelines in the Safe Motherhood Protocol (SMP), and assess patient factors that determine complete provider adherence.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study is part of a cohort study that recruited women who delivered in eleven health facilities and who had utilized antenatal care services during their pregnancy in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. A record review of the first antenatal visit of participants was carried out to assess the level of adherence to the SMP, using a thirteen-point checklist. Information on their socio-demographic characteristics and previous pregnancy history was collected using a questionnaire. Percentages of adherence levels and baseline characteristics were estimated and cluster-adjusted odds ratios (OR) calculated to identify determinants.


RESULTS
A total of 948 women who had delivered in eleven public facilities were recruited with a mean age (SD) of 28.2 (5.4) years. Overall, complete adherence to guidelines pertained to only 48.1% of pregnant women. Providers were significantly more likely to completely adhere to guidelines when caring for multiparous women [OR = 5.43 (1.69-17.44), p<0.01] but less likely to do so when attending to women with history of previous pregnancy complications [OR = 0.50 (0.33-0.75), p<0.01].


CONCLUSIONS
Complete provider adherence to first antenatal visit guidelines is low across different facility types in the Greater Accra region of Ghana and is determined by parity and history of previous pregnancy complication. Providers should be trained and supported to adhere to the guidelines during provision of care to all pregnant women.
Julius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands.|School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
Mary
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0320-0396
M
Amoakoh-Coleman
School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
Irene Akua
IA
Agyepong
Julius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Nicolaas P A
NP
Zuithoff
Julius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Gbenga A
GA
Kayode
Julius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Diederick E
DE
Grobbee
Julius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands.|Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Kerstin
K
Klipstein-Grobusch
Research and Development Division, Ghana Health Service, Accra, Ghana.
Evelyn K
EK
Ansah
D000328:Adult; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010361:Patients; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care