Table 1.

Empirical studies and research questions

Study	Perspective from which care examined	Research questions
1. A confidential enquiry into maternal mortality and severe morbidity	Healthcare providers	What factors affect the quality of care provided in obstetric emergencies in rural areas? How do these factors exert an influence over quality of care? How can routine assessments of quality of care be elicited from the perspectives of healthcare providers?
2. An extended verbal autopsy to investigate maternal deaths	Final caregivers	What are the medical and non-medical circumstances and events that contribute to access to care in obstetric emergencies in rural areas? How do these factors influence access to care in obstetric emergencies? How can medical and social causes and contributory factors be investigated using a routine health surveillance method that utilises the perspectives of final caregivers?
3. A community-based review of maternal mortality and severe morbidity	Women of reproductive age and community members (families, village officials, TBAs and midwives)	What are the individual, familial, social, cultural, health systems and healthcare factors that determine access to, and quality of, care in obstetric emergencies in rural areas? How do these factors influence access to, and quality of, care in obstetric emergencies? How can investigations of quality of, and access to, care in obstetric emergencies be meaningfully elicited from the perspectives of women of reproductive age and community members?