Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39898693›Full record

ArticleGlobal health action2025

Using maternal sepsis patient journeys to map and prioritise barriers to quality maternal healthcare in Malawi: a multidisciplinary stakeholder consultation workshop.

Yamikani Chimwaza, Dalisto Ndaferankhande, Leonard Mndala, Chifundo Ndamala, Emily Lifa, Mercy Machilika, Esther Mwagomba, Bernard Dossie, Meliya Kwelepeta, Bertha Maseko and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Global health action, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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.

2 · The registry

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.

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3 · Its place in the literature

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Yamikani ChimwazaMaternal and Fetal Health Group, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.ORCID 0000-0003-1563-341X
Dalisto NdaferankhandeMaternal and Fetal Health Group, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.ORCID 0009-0006-0366-3776
Leonard MndalaMaternal and Fetal Health Group, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.ORCID 0000-0003-0488-6972
Chifundo NdamalaMaternal and Fetal Health Group, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.ORCID 0000-0002-9710-226X
Emily LifaMaternal and Fetal Health Group, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.
Mercy MachilikaMaternal and Fetal Health Group, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.
Esther MwagombaMaternal and Fetal Health Group, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.
Bernard DossieMaternal and Fetal Health Group, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.
Meliya KwelepetaMaternal and Fetal Health Group, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.
Bertha MasekoMaternal and Fetal Health Group, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.
David LissauerMaternal and Fetal Health Group, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.ORCID 0000-0002-7878-2327
Maria Lisa OdlandMaternal and Fetal Health Group, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.ORCID 0000-0003-4340-7145

Funding

Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust 206545/Z/17/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMalawi has made progress in improving access to maternity care services, shifting the focus to quality of care as an essential determinant of maternal health outcomes. However, no effective mechanisms exist to use patients' experiences of care at health facilities to inform and improve the quality of maternal healthcare.

objectiveTo use maternal sepsis patient journeys in a workshop with maternal health stakeholders to identify and prioritise barriers in care and recommend interventions to improve maternal healthcare quality in Malawi.

methodsIn February 2024, in Blantyre, Malawi, using a modified nominal group technique, 28 stakeholders reviewed the patient journeys of three women hospitalised at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, who had sepsis after childbirth. Patient journeys narrate events experienced within a healthcare system in the patient's words. In a multiframework approach (Four Delays, Respectful Maternity Care, and WHO Quality of Care), stakeholders identified and prioritised barriers to care and recommended interventions to improve the quality of maternal healthcare. Content analysis of the workshop data linked barriers with stakeholders' suggested interventions.

resultsNineteen barriers identified included various delays in receiving care, mistreatment by healthcare providers, and suboptimal quality of care. Stakeholders found patient journeys valuable and insightful for identifying gaps in the quality of care and promoting sepsis awareness among healthcare workers and the public.

conclusionsPatient journeys are a novel tool for capturing the experience of care in Malawi. They have the potential to guide strategic improvements in maternal healthcare quality and ultimately reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.

Indexed as

Health Services AccessibilityMaternal Health ServicesQuality of Health CareSepsisAdultFemaleHumansMalawiPregnancyQuality ImprovementStakeholder ParticipationbarriersdelaysMalawimaternal healthcarematernal sepsisPatient journeypregnant and postpartum womenprioritisationquality of care

Identifiers

PMID39898693
PMCPMC11792116

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