Applying Donabedian Quality-of-care Framework in Assessing the Structure of Preconception Care in Urban Health Centers, Mashhad, 2012

Background and Pregnancy is a potentail window in a woman’s life where she can solve or mitigate her problems with doctors 's help. On the other hand, the structure of each healthcare system is set based on the specific services it provids. The type of healthcare structure can also influence the behavior of health care providers and quality of care provided. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the structure of preconception care in urban health centers, in Mashhad, Iran, 2012. This cross-sectional study was performed in 2012 among 22 health centers in Mashhad which were selected through multi-stage sampling. The Donabedian model was applied to collect the data. It included three sections on facilities, human resources, and orgnization. Data was analyzed in SPSS V. 16. The mean scores for the structures of the health care centers, facilities, human resources, and organization were 117.09±11.71, 67.45±10.22, 25.68±2.95, and 20.04±2.86, respectively. According to the results, enhancing human and organizational infrastructures in health centers could be of great help in providing beneficial healthcare.