A Prospective Quality Improvement Initiative to Address the Barriers to Postpartum Tubal Ligation Among Multiparous Women

Abstract

Background: Unmet need for postpartum tubal ligation (PPTL) is still high in low-middle income countries. The commonly observed barriers are issues with the consent forms, non-availability of operation theater, lack of knowledge, patient desire for more children, partner opposition and social non-acceptance. Considering the unmet need and the barriers, this quality improvement (QI) initiative was conducted to increase the frequency of PPTL among multiparous women by 50% from baseline.Materials and methods: This QI was conducted at a tertiary care teaching hospital over a period of 18 months. The study consisted of three phases. Baseline observations during the pre-intervention phase over six months, intervention phase consisting of three Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles over 12 months and post-intervention surveillance phase over a period of three months. In the first PDSA cycle, hospital and provider barriers were focused on. The patient barrier was addressed in the second cycle. The barrier at the level of partner and family members was addressed in the third cycle.Results: The baseline prevalence of PPTL in the studied population over a period of six months was 30.2%. After the first PDSA cycle, the prevalence of PPTL performed increased from 30.2% to 49.5%. The prevalence increased to 68.8% after the second cycle. A further increase to 74.4% was observed after the third intervention. There was a satisfactory continuation rate of 72% at the end of the post-intervention followup phase conducted over four months.Conclusion: This QI initiative proved effective and sustainable over time. There was continuous motivation among the service providers to educate and counsel women for PPTL. Ultimately, we were able to address the low prevalence of PPTL through minor modifications in our hospital strategies.