Table 2.
Characteristics of included studies (n = 9)
| Study details | Intervention | Intervention context | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Study ID | Author (year) | Data collection methods | Participants | Guideline implementation Strategy (intervention types presented in methods section) | Country | Setting |
| (1.) | Ameh et al. (2012) [35] | Questionnaire, focus group discussion (FGD), interviews | Midwives, doctors, midwifery and medical students (222 health care providers) | Educational intervention (intervention types a and b) using Cochrane reviews and UK RCOG Green Top guidelines through training for life saving skills in emergency obstetric care | Somalia (Somaliland) | Hospital and Community Clinics (all 5 regions of Somaliland) |
| (2.) | Belizan et al. (2011) [15] | FGD | Doctors, midwives, nurses (48 participants) | Audit and feedback (intervention type f) (Perinatal Problem Identification Programme (PPIP) an audit tool for the improvement of the quality of perinatal care in the public health care sector) |
South Africa | Hospital (public health care sector) |
| (3.) | Dumont et al. (2009) [24] | Questionnaire, FGD, interviews, participant observation | Doctors (gynaecologist/obstetricians; other), midwives, paramedics (number of participants not stated) | Audit: maternal death reviews: “a qualitative, in-depth investigation of the causes and circumstances surrounding maternal deaths occurring at health facilities.” [36] (intervention type f) |
Senegal | Hospital (5: 1 teaching/tertiary level; 1 district and 3 regional; number of maternity beds, range 33—120) |
| (4.) | Maaloe et al. (2012) [37] | Interviews | Assistant medical officer, nurse midwives (8 participants) | Audit (criterion-based) (intervention type f) |
Tanzania | Hospital (2 rural mission hospitals with 200 beds each) |
| (5.) | Nyamtema et al. (2010) [38] | Questionnaire, Interviews | Members of maternal and perinatal audit committees and administrators (29 participants)) | Audit (criterion-based): care compared against the national management guidelines for obstetric emergencies (intervention type f) | Tanzania | Hospital (4 major public hospitals and 4 major private hospitals in Dar es Salaam) |
| (6.) | Richard et al. (2008) [39] | Interviews | Doctors (gynaecologist/obstetricians; other), midwives (35 participants) | Audit (facility-based case reviews) [36] (intervention type f) | Burkina Faso | Hospital (26 bed obstetric unit in a district hospital in Ouagadougou) |
| (7.) | Smith et al. (2004) [40] | FGD, interviews | Labour ward staff (14 participants)) | Educational intervention (better births initiative—targets practices where there is good evidence from systematic reviews of benefits or harm) [41] (intervention types a and b) |
South Africa | Hospital (10 government maternity units in Gauteng) |
| (8.) | Van Hamersveld et al. (2012) [42] | Interviews, participant observation (of audit sessions) | Doctors (obstetrician; paediatricians; other), midwives (23 participants) | Audit (type of audit not specifically stated—includes critical incident audit/maternal death reviews) [36] (intervention type f) |
Tanzania | Hospital (1 district hospital with approximately 5000 deliveries annually in Morogoro region) |
| (9.) | Hutchinson et al. (2010) [43] | Interviews | Doctors (obstetricians), midwives, nurse, social worker (8 participants) and Ministry of Health policy makers (2 participants) | Audit (near miss case reviews) [36] (intervention type f) |
Benin | Hospital (5: 2 national university hospitals; 1 regional facility; 1 district hospital and 1 Catholic hospital. All located in different regions in southern Benin) |