Strengthening the use of partograph in high caseload public health facilities in India through an integrated quality improvement approach

Background: The effective implementation of evidence-based practices including the use of partograph to improve maternal and newborn outcomes is critical on account of increased institutional delivery. However, despite clear guidelines, partograph use in India is not widely practiced. Materials and Methods: Quality improvement (QI) efforts along with training and mentoring were operationalized in a total of 141 facilities across 26 high priority districts of India. Assessments were conducted across baseline, intervention period, and end line. These included reviewing the availability of partograph and staff competency in filling them at baseline and end line, as well as reviewing monthly data for use and completeness of filling. The monthly data were tabulated quarter wise to study trends. Competency scores were tabulated to show the difference across assessments. Results: An overall upward trend from 29% to 61% was seen in the practice of partograph use. Simultaneously, completeness in filling up the partograph increased from 32% to 81%. Staff competency in filling partograph improved considerably: proportion of staff scoring low decreased over the intervention period from 63% to 2.5% (P