Antenatal care policy in high-income countries with a universal health system: a scoping review
| Autor: | Christine McCourt, Andreia Soares Goncalves, Isabel Ferreira, Márcia Pestana-Santos, Ana Paula Prata |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
medicine.medical_specialty
media_common.quotation_subject Context (language use) Antenatal care System a RA0421 Pregnancy Maternity and Midwifery medicine Humans Quality (business) Child media_common Developed Countries Infant Newborn Parturition Obstetrics and Gynecology Prenatal Care High-income countries Grey literature Health policy Policy Neonatal outcomes Family medicine Female Pregnant Women Business RG Best evidence High income countries |
| ISSN: | 1877-5756 |
| Popis: | The availability, effectiveness, and access to antenatal care are directly linked with good maternal and neonatal outcomes, making antenatal care an important determinant in health. But to be effective, care must always be appropriate, not excessive, not insufficient. Perinatal outcomes vary within and between countries, raising questions about practices, the use of best evidence in clinical decisions and the existence of clear and updated guidance. Through a scoping review methodology, this study aimed to map the available antenatal care policies for lowrisk pregnant women in high-income countries with a universal health system, financed by the government through tax payments. Following searches on the main databases and grey literature, the authors identified and analysed ten antenatal care policies using a previously piloted datachart: Australia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Some policies were over 10 years old, some recommendations did not present a rationale or context, others were outdated, or were simply different approaches in the absence of strong evidence. Whilst some recommendations were ubiquitous, others differed either in the recommendation provided, the timing, or the frequency. Similarly, we found wide variation in the methods/strategy used to support the recommendations provided. These results confirm that best evidence is not always assimilated into policies and clinical guidance. Further research crossing these differences with perinatal outcomes and evaluation of cost could be valuable to optimise guidance on antenatal care. Similarly, some aspects of care need further rigorous studies to obtain evidence of higher quality to inform recommendations. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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