Development of an approach for measurement and monitoring of the continuum of care for maternal health in the South African health system
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Date
2021
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Western Cape
Abstract
The continuum of care is a public health framework for improving maternal health outcomes by providing comprehensive health services, at different levels of the health system and across the lifecycle. The framework emphasizes the importance of interventions to address the social determinants of health as well, alongside healthcare services. Although the framework is useful for visualizing service organization, it has not been adequately integrated into policy and practice in South Africa. In addition, there is currently no comprehensive approach to monitor and evaluate service provision along the continuum of care. The current approach is fragmented across programs and sectors and focuses on only a handful of indicators. This research explores an approach for measurement and monitoring of a comprehensive continuum of care for maternal health in South Africa, with implications for application in other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Description
Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
Keywords
Maternal health, South African health system, Continuum of care, Measurement and monitoring, Low- and middle-income countries