ArticleReproductive health2025
Toward consensus: a Delphi study on the core principles and indicators of respectful maternity care.
Article in Reproductive health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 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
2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Women's reported experience of respectful maternity care measures worldwide: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Overcoming barriers and harnessing facilitators: Respectful maternity care in least-developed countries - a systematic review.Women's health (London, England)Pooled it
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe core principles and key indicators of Respectful Maternity Care (RMC), particularly in low-income settings, are under-researched. Validated core principles and indicators are crucial for measuring RMC, especially in contexts where workforce shortages, infrastructure gaps, and sociocultural factors impact the care. Thus, this study aimed to identify and validate the core principles and indicators of RMC in resource-limited settings.
methodsA three-round Delphi study was conducted. Maternity care professionals (midwives, educators, researchers, and obstetricians) based in Ethiopia (n = 33) were recruited via email through professional networks. Original peer-reviewed research published in English-language journals between 2010 and 2024 was reviewed and used to generate 75 initial indicators, which were securely uploaded to Qualtrics
resultsIn the first round, 75 indicators were assessed. The Item-level Content Validity Indexes ranged from 0.66 to 1.00 for importance and relevance, and 0.90 to 1.00 for clarity. The Scale-level Content Validity Index was 0.94 for importance and relevance and 0.98 for clarity. Three indicators were eliminated in round one; 12 were merged, and three remained unchanged. Two new indicators were added to the items. Thirteen core principles of RMC were proposed, and ten were accepted. Sixty indicators aligned with the ten core principles of RMC were finalised for round two. After round two, 11 indicators were removed, leading to a final list of 49 indicators. The third round generated no further revisions to the questionnaire.
conclusionThe ten core principles and forty-nine indicators validated in this study provide a robust blueprint for the consistent implementation and monitoring of RMC. This validated framework also provides a timely, evidence-based response to the WHO's call for the most valid and responsive RMC indicators in clinical settings. Future research should assess the core principles and indicators' validity and reliability across diverse contexts.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.