ORCID
- Kent, Bridie: 0000-0001-9550-1913
Abstract
IntroductionThere is a growing body of evidence to indicate that both primary and subsequent caesarean sections are associated with increased maternal and perinatal morbidity. Efforts to reduce the number of clinically unnecessary caesarean sections are urgently required. Our objective is to systematically review published evidence on the effectiveness of maternity service organisational interventions, such as models of maternity care, that aim to reduce caesarean section rates.Methods and analysisDatabases will be searched, including the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, MEDLINE, Maternity and Infant Care, EMBASE and SCOPUS. Search terms related to caesarean section and organisational intervention will be used. Research published before 1980 will be excluded and only randomised controlled trials, cluster-randomised controlled trials, quasi-randomised controlled trials, controlled before and after studies and interrupted time series studies will be included. Data extraction and quality assessments will be undertaken by two authors.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval is not required for this systematic review. The results of this study will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publication and presentation at professional conferences.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42016039458.
DOI
10.1136/bmjopen-2017-021120
Publication Date
2018-07-01
Publication Title
BMJ Open
Volume
8
Issue
7
ISSN
2044-6055
Organisational Unit
School of Nursing and Midwifery
First Page
e021120
Last Page
e021120
Recommended Citation
Hutchinson, A. M., Nagle, C., Kent, B., Bick, D., & Lindberg, R. (2018) 'Organisational interventions designed to reduce caesarean section rates: a systematic review protocol', BMJ Open, 8(7), pp. e021120-e021120. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-021120
