Evaluating the Effects of Management Patterns’ Structures on Prenatal Care in Kohgiloyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, Iran

Pregnancy and childbirth are the main causes of death, illness and disability in women of childbearing age in most developing countries. International Agency for the Study of Mothers' Mortality estimates that there has been progress in reducing maternal mortality all over the world, but the pace of these improvements seems to be inadequate and slow to reach the Millennium Development Goals for reducing maternal mortality rates.

The present study was a descriptive-analytic research carried out on administrators of provincial health networks, experts in family health centers, health care providers and midwives of health centers in the city of Yasuj in 2018. The participants of the study included 400 people (70% females, and 30% males). Most (51.5%) of participants had 25 to 35 years of age. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data, whose validity and reliability were evaluated and approved. In order to collect data, prepared questionnaires (including questions related to constructs and variables) were distributed randomly among 420 people both in-person and electronically. In-person questionnaires were filled out completely by the participants and the electronic questionnaires were randomly sent to the interviewees. 20 questionnaires were removed from the study due to incomplete information. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS and PLS Smart softwares. Mean and standard deviation were used in order to describe quantitative variables and frequency and percentage were used for qualitative variables. PLS software was used for data analysis through path analysis, structural equation modeling, calculating path coefficients and T values (p< 0.05).

This study assessed the effect of structures of care package contents, care human resources, care financial resources, care facilities and eqiupments, care provision management, the IT information monitoring system on management of prenatal care. Results indicated that ,apart from the human resources management structure, all structures had a significant effect on the management of prenatal care. Care management and human resource management and services management structures had the most and least effect on prenatal care management, respectively.

Authorities of Kohgiluyeh and Boiyorahmad Province should focus on structures having more impact on the management of prenatal care. Also, results indicated that the health care services management should be given more attention among the remaining structures.