Correlates of Receiving Guideline-Concordant Postpartum Health Services in the Community Health Center Setting.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Introduction: New clinical guidelines recommend comprehensive and timely postpartum services across 3 months after birth. Research is needed to characterize correlates of receiving guideline-concordant, quality postpartum care in federally qualified health centers serving marginalized populations. Methods: We abstracted electronic health record data from patients who received prenatal health care at three health centers in North Carolina to characterize quality postpartum care practices and to identify correlates of receiving quality care. We used multivariable log-binomial regression to estimate associations between patient, provider, and health center characteristics and two quality postpartum care outcomes: (1) timely care, defined as an initial assessment within the first 3 weeks and at least one additional visit within the first 3 months postpartum; and (2) comprehensive care, defined as receipt of services addressing family planning, infant feeding, chronic health, mood, and physical recovery across the first 3 months. Results: In a cohort of 253 patients, 60.5% received comprehensive postpartum care and 30.8% received timely care. Several prenatal factors (adequate care use, an engaged patient-provider relationship) and postpartum factors (early appointment scheduling, exclusive breastfeeding, and use of enabling services) were associated with timely postpartum care. The most important correlate of comprehensive services was having more than one postpartum visit during the first 3 months postpartum. Discussion: Identifying best practices for quality postpartum care in the health center setting can inform strategies to reduce health inequities. Future research should engage community stakeholders to define patient-centered measures of quality postpartum care and to identify community-centered ways of delivering this care.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Wouk, K; Kinlaw, AC; Farahi, N; Pfeifer, H; Yeatts, B; Paw, MK; Robinson, WR
Published Date
- 2022
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 3 / 1
Start / End Page
- 180 - 193
PubMed ID
- 35262055
Pubmed Central ID
- PMC8896220
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 2688-4844
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1089/whr.2021.0084
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States