Countries face challenges in maternal and newborn care (MNC) regarding costs, workforce and sustainability. Organising integrated care is increasingly seen as a way to address these challenges. The evidence on the optimal organisation of integrated MNC in order to improve outcomes is limited.
(1) To study associations between organisational elements of integrated care and maternal and neonatal health outcomes, experiences of women and professionals, healthcare costs and care processes and (2) to examine how the different dimensions of integrated care, as defined by the Rainbow Model of Integrated Care, are reflected in the literature addressing these organisational elements.
We included 288 papers and identified 23 organisational elements, grouped into 6 categories: personal continuity of care; interventions to improve interdisciplinary collaboration and coordination; care by a midwife; alternative payment models (non-fee-for-service); place of birth outside the obstetric unit and woman-centred care. Personal continuity, care by a midwife and births outside obstetric units were most consistently associated with improved maternal and newborn outcomes, positive experiences for women and professionals and potential cost savings, particularly where well-coordinated multidisciplinary care was established. Positive professional experiences of collaboration depended on clear roles, mutual trust and respectful interdisciplinary behaviour. Evidence on collaboration interventions and alternative payment models was inconclusive. Most studies emphasised clinical and professional aspects rather than organisational integration, with implementation barriers linked to prevailing biomedical system orientations.
Although the literature provides substantial evidence of organisational elements that contribute to improved outcomes, a significant gap remains in understanding how to overcome the barriers in sustainable implementation of these elements within healthcare systems. Interpreted through a systems and transition science lens, these findings suggest that strengthening integrated maternity care requires system-level changes aligning with WHO policy directions towards midwifery models of person-centred care.
The Quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Evaluation Study with Addition of the Nonavalent Vaccine Study (QUEST-ADVANCE) aims to provide insight into the long-term immunogenicity and effectiveness of one, two and three HPV vaccine doses. Here, we describe the protocol for QUEST-ADVANCE.
QUEST-ADVANCE is an observational cohort study including males and females who are unvaccinated or vaccinated with the quadrivalent or nonavalent HPV vaccine in British Columbia, Canada. Female participants who are unvaccinated or vaccinated with 1–3 doses of the quadrivalent or nonavalent HPV vaccine at 9–14 years of age will be recruited approximately 5 or 12 years postvaccination eligibility. Male participants who are unvaccinated or vaccinated with 1 or 2 doses of the nonavalent HPV vaccine at 9–14 years of age will be recruited at approximately 5 years postvaccination eligibility. The study involves a maximum of four visits over a period of 4–5 years for female participants, and two visits over a 12-month period for male participants. At each visit, self-collected swabs (cervico-vaginal or penile) and questionnaire data will be collected. In each study group, a subset of participants will be invited to participate in a substudy evaluating the long-term humoral immunogenicity of the HPV vaccine. Additional blood samples will be collected from participants who are part of the immunogenicity substudy. The total required sample size is 7180 individuals. The primary objectives are (1) to examine vaccine effectiveness in males and females against prevalent genital HPV infections for one, two and three doses of the HPV vaccine compared with unvaccinated participants and (2) to evaluate if there is non-inferior immunogenicity as indicated by type-specific antibody response of one dose of the HPV vaccine in 20–27-year-old females vaccinated at 9–14 years of age compared with historical data of three doses of the HPV vaccine females vaccinated at 16–26 years of age up to 12 years postvaccination.
QUEST-ADVANCE was approved by the Research Ethics Board of the University of British Columbia/Children’s and Women’s Health Centre of British Columbia (H20-02111). Individual electronic informed consent or assent will be obtained from each participant before any study-specific procedures are undertaken. Results will be published in an international peer-reviewed journal and on the study website.