SynthesisBMC pregnancy and childbirth2014
Barriers to and incentives for achieving partograph use in obstetric practice in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effect of partograph use on outcomes for women in spontaneous labour at term and their babies.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- A realist review of the partograph: when and how does it work for labour monitoring?BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2017Pooled it
- Effectiveness of the Modified WHO Labour Care Guide to Detect Prolonged and Obstructed Labour Among Women Admitted at Eight Publicly Funded, Midwife-Led Community Health Facilities in Rural Mbarara District, Southwestern Uganda: An Ambispective Cohort Study.International journal of women's health · 2025Trial
- Effects of the WHO Labour Care Guide on cesarean section in India: a pragmatic, stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized pilot trial.Nature medicine · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Developing a Co-Designed Strategy to Improve Labor Monitoring and Management in India Using the World Health Organization Labour Care Guide: A Mixed-Methods Formative Study.Birth (Berkeley, Calif.) · 2026Article
- Midwives practices and mothers' experiences during intrapartum midwifery care: a qualitative study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Review
- Synthesis of evidence for managing hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in low middle-income countries: a scoping review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Effectiveness of the modified WHO labour care guide to detect prolonged and obstructed labour among women admitted at publicly funded facilities in rural Mbarara district, Southwestern Uganda: an ambispective cohort study.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2024Article
- The Impact of the Use of e-Partogram on Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes: A Scoping Review.Cureus · 2024Article
- Incorporation, adaptation and rejection of obstetric practices during the implementation of the "Adequate Childbirth Program" in Brazilian private hospitals: a qualitative study.Reproductive health · 2024Article
- Article
- Review of maternal death audits in refugee camps in UNHCR East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes Region, 2017-2019.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2023Article
- Advancement in Partograph: WHO's Labor Care Guide.Cureus · 2022Review
- Article
- Impact evaluation of a maternal and neonatal health training intervention in private Ugandan facilities.Health policy and planning · 2021Article
- Increasing adherence to plotting e-partograph: a quality improvement project in a rural maternity hospital in India.BMJ open quality · 2021Article
- An Algorithm (LaD) for Monitoring Childbirth in Settings Where Tracking All Parameters in the World Health Organization Partograph Is Not Feasible: Design and Expert Validation.JMIR medical informatics · 2021Article
- Usability, acceptability, and feasibility of the World Health Organization Labour Care Guide: A mixed-methods, multicountry evaluation.Birth (Berkeley, Calif.) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe partograph is a graphic display of the progress of labour, recommended by the World Health Organization, but often underused in practice in low- and middle-income countries. We were interested in going beyond demonstration of potential efficacy - on which the existing literature concentrates - through a systematic review to identify barriers to and incentives for achieving partograph use.
methodsWe searched Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Maternity and Infant Care, POPLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus, from 1st January 1994 to 30th September 2013, using the term 'partogra*' to include 'partograph', 'partogram', or 'partogramme'. The selection criteria were for primary or secondary research describing barriers to and incentives for partograph use in low- and middle-income countries, in English, reported in peer-reviewed publications since 1994. Thematic analysis of text on partograph use was applied to a commonly used framework for change in clinical practice, with levels describing the innovation, the individual professional, the woman, and social, organisational, economic and political contexts.
resultsReported barriers to and incentives for partograph use related to the partograph itself, professional skills and practice, clinical leadership and quality assurance, and the organisational environment within the wider provision of obstetric care. Neither the evidence base for its effectiveness, nor its credibility, was reported as a barrier to use.
conclusionIdentifying and addressing local barriers and incentives in low- and middle-income countries, based on those in published research, could inform strategies to improve partograph use. Emerging technologies could be used to address some barriers. The thresholds for essential maternity care at which the partograph adds value should be further evaluated.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.