Are physicians creating a barrier to pre-conception care access? A qualitative study exploring patients' experiences and perspectives around pre-conception care.
BMC Womens Health
; 23(1): 651, 2023 12 07.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38062409
BACKGROUND: The pre-conception period is an unmissable opportunity to introduce preventive measures before pregnancy to improve maternal and fetal outcomes. Despite the global pre-conception initiatives and the 2030 Saudi national vision to promote maternal, fetal health and safety, various barriers still exist. This study focuses on exploring pre-conception care extensively from the patients' perspectives and their experience in accessing this type of care in the primary care setting. METHODS: A qualitative study using interpretive thematic analysis was used to explore patients' perspectives, and experiences in accessing pre-conception care in the city of Riyadh from January 2019 to January 2020. A semi-structured interview guide and field notes were used to collect data. A step wise interpretive and iterative process was used for data analysis and thematic extraction. Theme saturation was achieved by the eleventh interview. RESULTS: The participants' perspectives were influenced by their cultural beliefs, understanding of pre-conception, and their prevised barriers to approaching physicians. Three main themes emerged: A) Acceptance of pre-conception care; was heavily influenced by how they understood and defined per-conception care. B) Pre-conception health seeking behavior; demonstrated a clear disconnect between the patient and the physician. C) Expectation from health services; to raise awareness about pre-conception care and push physicians to initiate the conversation with their patients. CONCLUSIONS: An appreciable gap in the patient-physician relationship was revealed as a source of inconsistency in accessing pre-conception care. Physicians are encouraged to take the first step in demonstrating to their patients both the importance of pre-conception care and their intent to offer respectful, empathetic, and culturally appropriate care.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Médicos
Límite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
Idioma:
En
Revista:
BMC Womens Health
Asunto de la revista:
SAUDE DA MULHER
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Arabia Saudita
Pais de publicación:
Reino Unido