Care pathways in obstetrics: the effectiveness in reducing the incidence of episiotomy in childbirth.

Abstract

AIM:

To develop a care pathway for childbirth.

BACKGROUND:

Care pathways are emerging as an effective tool to improve clinical and organizational performance.

METHODS:

A pre- and postimplementation analysis model was used to evaluate the effect of introducing a care pathway for childbirth. Key outcome indicators and costs were reviewed to compare the traditional care processes with those of the care pathway. The study involved 380 women.

RESULTS:

There was a significant reduction in episiotomy rate (from 14.90% to 8.6%, P = 0.02) in patients being cared for using a care pathway approach; however, there were no differences in caesarean section and in perineal wound rates. The average costs per patient on the care pathway were euro 1278.42 ( pound 873.64) compared with euro 1,146.87 ( pound 783.74) preimplementation. The study also demon- strated an increase in patient satisfaction for women cared for using the care pathway approach.

CONCLUSIONS:

The care pathway proved to be a valid methodological approach to childbirth, allowing healthcare workers to efficiently share the care of the women, guaranteeing safe and effective care.

• Authors: Sara Marchisio, Karen Ferraccioli, Antonietta Barbieri, Alfredo Porcelli, Massimiliano Panella
• Journal: Journal of nursing management (J Nurs Manag) Vol. 14 Issue 7 Pg. 538-43 (Oct 2006) ISSN: 0966-0429 [Print] England
• PMID: 17004964 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Comparative Study, Journal Article)

Topics

• Adult
• Critical Pathways
• Delivery, Obstetric (economics, standards)
• Episiotomy (statistics & numerical data)
• Female
• Health Care Costs
• Humans
• Logistic Models
• Outcome Assessment, Health Care
• Patient Satisfaction
• Pregnancy
• Quality Indicators, Health Care
• Statistics, Nonparametric
• United Kingdom