Reproductive health outcomes: Insights from experts and verbal autopsies.
Rose Mmusi-Phetoe, Gloria Thupayagale-Tshweneagae, Oluwaseyi A Akpor
PMID 31588762WHAT IT FOUND
Bereaved families and reproductive health experts identified disempowering policies, inadequate family planning, disrespectful care, and fragmented HIV services as factors in poor maternal and neonatal outcomes.
Key findings
01Participants described lack of empowerment as a factor in poor reproductive health outcomes.
02Participants reported inaccessible services, inadequate contraception, unmet need, and poor provider attitudes.
03Participants said HIV and AIDS services were separated from reproductive health care, and this left reproductive health services in crisis.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was small and purposive: 6 experts and 12 bereaved family members. Experts were all in Gauteng, and next of kin were all in rural KwaZulu-Natal, so views may not represent other settings. The study reports participants' views and themes, not measured maternal or neonatal outcomes. Claims about provider behaviour, monitoring, and access were not verified against records or observed care. The verbal autopsy participants were relatives of deceased women or neonates, so their accounts may reflect grief and memory.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that nurse behaviour caused maternal or neonatal deaths. It reports themes from 6 experts and 12 bereaved family members, not measured outcomes or tested interventions.