Development of Quality Measures in Perinatal Care - Priority for Developing Countries

The 'Every Newborn Action Plan' envisions to end preventable newborn deaths and stillbirths by 2035. One important objective to realize this vision is improvement in quality of maternal and neonatal healthcare. Monitoring the performance of the healthcare systems and conducting quality improvement activities need reliable systems for data collection, analysis and interpretation. Measures chosen to monitor quality are about problems accounting for a significant health burden, for which effective interventions are available, there is evidence of variable or substandard care, and for which improvement can be undertaken by stakeholders. Data can be collected about safety, effectiveness, efficiency, equity, patient-centeredness and timeliness of care. These data can be collected by direct observation, from existing records, and by interview of the involved stakeholders. Healthcare facilities and governments need to identify core sets of quality of care indicators, regularly measure and track their performance and carry out informed quality assurance and quality improvement efforts.