Does Group Prenatal Care Affect Satisfaction And Prenatal Care Utilization in Iranian Pregnant Women?

The need to provide high quality prenatal care services, which take account of women''s views and specifi cally address their need for information, support and communication, has been advocated and group prenatal care, had been sug gested as one of the ways to achieve this objective. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of group versus in dividual prenatal care on satisfaction and prenatal care use. This was a cluster-randomized controlled trial with the health center as the randomization unit that conducted in 2007. Satisfaction was measured through a standardized questionnaire, and the Kotelchuck Adequacy of Prenatal Care Utili zation Index was used to measure prenatal care utilization. We recruited 678 women (group prenatal care, (N= 344) and individal prenatal care, (N=334) in the study. Women in group prenatal care model were more satisfied than women in individual prenatal care model in all areas evalu ated, including information, communication, co-ordination and quality of care. Group care women were significantly more likely to have adequate prenatal care than individual care women were (OR=1.35 95% CI=1.26-1.44). Group prenatal care was associated with a significant improvement in client satisfaction and prenatal care utili zation. This model of care has implications for the planning and provision of prenatal services within public health sys tem, which is moving toward a better quality health care, and increasing use of services