Principal Investigator: Rebecca Luckett MD MPH

Study Objectives

Objective 1: Improve the quality of decision making around caesarean section

1. Specific Aim: Monitor maternal and birth outcomes leveraging the on-going Tsepamo Botswana Birth surveillance study (HRDC # 00750).[i] Tsepamo prospectively collects data anonymously on all births at the 16 largest obstetric centers in Botswana. Addition of measures of maternal outcomes to the Tsepamo dataset provides a powerful tool that allows us to evaluate the impact of quality improvement interventions. Data collection is ongoing in real-time, and data can be analyzed when needed to evaluate the impact of proposed QI interventions.

Study Design: This is a quality improvement study that is designed to monitor quality improvement interventions designed to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes. Clinical care and behavioural interventions will be designed in collaboration with the Obstetrics and Gynaecology (OBGYN) Department QI team and implemented with support of unit matrons.

Study population and size: The population included in the study will be all women who give birth at > 24 weeks gestation, and results in the registration of either the mother or one or more infants/stillbirths, as collected in the ongoing Tsepamo Birth Outcomes Surveillance Study. The study anticipates approximately 12,000 delivery records to be included in this study.

Study duration: 24 Months

Study Results: Study is on-going and no data analyses have been done yet