PACIENČIŲ POŽIŪRIS Į AKUŠERINIŲ PASLAUGŲ KOKYBĘ TRETINIO LYGIO AKUŠERINES PASLAUGAS TEIKIANČIAME STACIONARE

Abstract

The growing recognition of patients’ roles as key evaluators of service quality in
the healthcare quality improvement process – as well as periodic media coverage of adverse birth
experiences, such as postpartum depression, that place burdens on mothers and society in general
– encourages a broader examination of the aspects that form the quality of midwifery services. The
relevance of this topic is also determined by the emphasis on the role of the obstetric service sector in
the Lithuanian Health Programme, which provides long-term directions for improving the quality of
services provided to mothers. Quality assurance of maternity services is also one of the main scopes of
the World Health Organization’s activity. The aim of this study is to evaluate the attitudes of patients
towards the quality of obstetric services provided. A quantitative survey was conducted at a tertiary
level obstetric facility unit involving 309 women who had given birth. Respondents participated in
the study by submitting a service quality evaluation questionnaire, and the total internal reliability of
the questionnaire was 0.966. The research revealed that, although the quality of maternity services in
the institution where the research was conducted was assessed as high, the need for women to actively
participate in their health care process is not ensured sufficiently and communicative aspects of the
provision of services can be improved. Women who undergo vaginal delivery and have episiotomies,
as well as women who are not guaranteed early contact with the newborn immediately after giving
birth, require special attention on behalf of the medical staff. This is first ensured by realizing the need
for effective communication between the patient and healthcare specialists in order to improve the
quality of the services provided. Assessing rapid changes in the healthcare service quality field and
the constant emergence of new factors defining quality of services, it becomes obvious that standard
quality assessment questionnaires for obstetric situations must be constantly reviewed, and quality
assessment must be carried out periodically using questionnaires focused specifically on obstetrical
practice.