Assignment Task:
Jose D.
The objective of improving adequate and early prenatal care among women is among the main goals of Healthy People 2030. Prenatal care, especially in the initial stage, is important to track and identify other health-related issues that could affect the mother and her fetus. It enables clients to be attended to whenever they need health assistance with specific requirements being met. Also, prenatal checkup involves critically important interventions aimed at education of healthy pregnancy behavior and other necessary changes. In order for mothers and their infants to gain better pregnancy results, it is mandatory to attend to all their prenatal needs.
Among the most efficient approaches to improve accessibility of prenatal services is through telemedicine and mobile clinics. Telehealth can enable the provision of consultation and follow-up appointments in the form of virtual visitation, which may help women in rural or other regions with poor access to health facilities. Research has shown that telemedicine can enhance prenatal care and the baby mother's health by eliminating such factors as distance and cost of the services (The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Releases Primer on Implementing Telehealth for Obstetrician- Gynecologists, 2020). Again, mobile clinics are being used to move around different communities to improve the access of different needy individuals. These clinics offer several services such as prenatal care, including tests and vaccinations, and educative activities. Through these clinics, some of which are mobile, poor women are also empowered because they do not have to go through the rigorous processes of transacting business with formal healthcare centers. This powers more women to access care that is necessary and timely, hence enhancing the general health of women.
Another approach that has been considered is the culturally competent care delivery system. Cultural competence refers to the ability of a care provider to appreciate and meet a patient's cultural, linguistic, and social backgrounds. Culturally appropriate care remains an important factor for birthing women coming from minority groups to influence and enhance the utilization of prenatal services. Communication with the patients, as well as building rapport, should be enhanced through training in cultural competence among the healthcare providers (Okolo et al., 2024). This comprises the provision of language services, cultures, and issues related to different cultures within the society.
Decreasing the number of maternal deaths is one of the major goals for reducing health inequalities because maternal mortality ratios remain high globally. This definition is an illustration of severe healthcare inequalities; maternal mortality is the death of a woman during pregnancy or within 42 days after childbirth due to causes related to pregnancy. Black women and indigenous women have a higher mortality rate than white women. Such differences can be attributed to poor healthcare services, socioeconomic factors, and chronic diseases. These are important areas that need to be considered in order to enhance maternal health for all population groups.
It is crucial to effectively address pregnancy-related complications by utilizing corresponding evidence-based protocols to help decrease maternal mortality. Some of the conceived complications, like preeclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, and sepsis, are known to have poor prognoses if not well managed. From the findings of the latest research and clinical guidelines, such protocols will allow for minimizing the variability in the care provided to the women. For example, the utilization of checklists in the case of severe maternal complications has been evidenced to increase the positive results as well as the systematic reduction of mortality.
Hospitals and healthcare systems should prioritize the adoption of these protocols and invest in continuous training for healthcare providers (World Health Organization: WHO, (2024). In this way, they guarantee that the delivered care meets the key standards and corresponds to the current evidence base. This kind of continuous training empowers the providers with the skills and knowledge that would enable them to address intricate issues competently. Moreover, competency assurance through recurrent training hence promotes a culture of professionalism and innovation among the health workforces. The above approach eventually results in value addition for the patients and enhanced standards of health care delivery.
References:
Okolo, N. C. A., Ijeh, N. S., Arowoogun, N. J. O., Adeniyi, N. a. O., & Omotayo, N. O. (2024). HEALTHCARE MANAGERS' ROLE IN ADDRESSING HEALTH DISPARITIES: A REVIEW OF STRATEGIES. International Journal of Applied Research in Social Sciences, 6(4), 518-531.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists releases a primer on implementing Telehealth for Obstetrician-Gynecologists. (2020, January 23). ACOG.
World Health Organization: WHO. (2024, April 26). Maternal mortality.