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General practitioners' compliance with guidelines for antenatal care
1Norwegian Institute for Hospital Research, Trondheim.
Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care
|June 1, 1994
Summary
General practitioners showed lower compliance with antenatal care guidelines for subjective procedures. Male doctors and those in single practices had increased odds of low compliance, impacting care quality.
Area of Science:
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- General Practice
- Healthcare Quality
Background:
- Established Norwegian guidelines for antenatal care in 1984.
- Assessing adherence to clinical guidelines is crucial for maternal healthcare quality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate general practitioners' (GPs) compliance with 1984 Norwegian antenatal care guidelines.
- To identify physician characteristics associated with lower compliance rates.
Main Methods:
- Study population included women and their GPs in Oppland county (1988-89).
- Compliance assessed via nine procedures from a perinatal audit; a compliance score was calculated.
- Logistic regression analyzed the association between GP characteristics and low compliance scores.
Main Results:
- GPs exhibited lower compliance with guidelines requiring clinical judgment recording.
- Male GPs and those in single practices had significantly higher odds of low compliance.
- No association found between compliance score and fetal outcomes or detection of obstetric disorders.
Conclusions:
- Gender and practice type influence GP adherence to antenatal care guidelines.
- Findings align with previous reports on gender-specific differences in medical practice.
- Further research is recommended to explore these disparities and their implications.