National Analysis of Risk Assessment Content in Prenatal Records Across Canada

Area of Science:

• Maternal and Child Health
• Public Health Policy
• Healthcare Informatics

Background:

• Canadian provinces and territories utilize unique prenatal record forms for maternity care.
• Lack of national oversight hinders understanding of comparative content, particularly for adverse perinatal outcome risk assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To catalog and compare the risk factors captured on prenatal record forms across Canada.
• To identify variations in risk assessment content and their potential impact on healthcare quality.

Main Methods:

• Systematic cataloging and comparison of risk assessment sections within Canadian provincial/territorial prenatal record forms.
• Identification and categorization of 100 distinct prenatal risk factors (medical, lifestyle, psychosocial, personal).

Main Results:

• Nine out of 12 reviewed records contained risk sections, averaging 35 risk items each.
• Medical factors constituted the majority (73%) of identified risk factors.
• Significant variation in clinical definitions for risk factors was observed across forms.

Conclusions:

• Substantial differences in prenatal risk assessment content across Canadian provinces may lead to disparities in healthcare quality.
• Developing standardized national guidelines for prenatal risk assessment is a valuable objective to enhance consistency and quality of care.