Shortcomings of Maternity Care in Serbia

Arsenijevic, Jelena; Pavlova, Milena; Groot, Wim

doi:10.1111/birt.12096

Cited by 19 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The same inclusion and relevance criteria were applied. Two articles (Arsenijevic et al, 2014;Stepurko et al, 2013) coauthored by researchers in the team, were indicated as 'golden hits' prior to the review.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Only two qualitative studies were found to be of high quality (Arsenijevic et al, 2014;Janevic et al, 2011), while the rest was mostly of a medium level of quality. Four qualitative studies scored poorly on the checklist due to insufficient information (Straus et al, 2013;Homan et al, 2010;Parkhurst et al, 2005a, b).…”

Section: General Description Of the Selected Articles And Quality Assmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It should be noted however that evidence on this issue is controversial. While for example in Serbia the maternal wards are spread all over the country and available even in small villages (Arsenijevic et al, 2014), in Kosovo the maternal care provision is irregular, vehicle ownership in rural areas is rare and transportation facilities between rural and urban areas are lacking (Straus et al, 2013;Homan et al, 2010). However, that maternal wards are well distributed throughout the entire territory of Serbia does not ensure that all services offered are adequate and of good quality.…”

Section: Availability Of Maternal Carementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Serbian women face time-related problems regarding referrals, which they have to show in order to be admitted in maternity wards, but referrals expire after a while and are often outdated due to the unpredictability of childbirth (Arsenijevic et al, 2014). Women in some CEE countries (e.g.…”

Section: Availability Of Maternal Carementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Women in some CEE countries (e.g. Serbia and Russia) need to wait for a free bed or necessary medical procedures (Arsenijevic et al, 2014;Larivaara, 2012). However, Roma women in Balkan countries frequently have to wait longer than others due to their ethnicity (Janevic et al, 2011).…”

Section: Availability Of Maternal Carementioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Barriers to accessing adequate maternal care in Central and Eastern European countries: A systematic literature review

Miteniece

Pavlova

Rechel

et al. 2017

Social Science & Medicine

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a b s t r a c tMaternal health outcomes in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) compare unfavorable with those in Western Europe, despite macro-indicators that suggest well-designed maternal care systems. However, macro-indicators at the system level only capture capacity, funding and utilization of care and not the actual allocation of financial and human resources, the quality of care and access to it. It is these latter which are problematic in the CEE region. In this study service-related indicators of access to maternal care in CEE are examined. These include availability, appropriateness, affordability, approachability and acceptability of maternal care.This study uses a qualitative systematic literature review, analyzing information of peer-reviewed articles published since 2004. Other inclusion criteria included language, setting and publication purpose. The included articles were analyzed using a framework analysis technique and quality was assessed using standardized evaluation checklists.Results indicate improvements in maternal care. However, availability of care is limited by outdated equipment and training curricula, and the lack of professionals and pharmaceuticals. Geographical distance to healthcare institutions, inappropriate communication of providers and waiting times are the main approachability barriers. Some mothers are unaware of the importance of care or are discouraged to utilize healthcare services because of cultural aspects. Finally, a major barrier in accessing maternal care in the CEE is the inability to pay for it.Our findings indicate that major gaps in evidence exist and that more representative and better quality data should be collected. Governments in CEE countries need to establish a reliable system for measuring and monitoring a suitable set of indicators, as well as deal with the general social and economic problem of informality. Medical curricula in the CEE region need to be overhauled and there should be a focus on improving the allocation of medical staff and institutions as well as protecting vulnerable population groups to ensure universal access to care.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: General Description Of the Selected Articles And Quality Assmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Availability Of Maternal Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Availability Of Maternal Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Availability Of Maternal Carementioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Barriers to accessing adequate maternal care in Central and Eastern European countries: A systematic literature review

Miteniece

Pavlova

Rechel

et al. 2017

Social Science & Medicine

Self Cite

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Baby (Not So) Friendly: Implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in Serbia

Pantović

2022

Global Maternal and Child Health

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The WHO and UNICEF launched The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) in 1991 with the goal of promoting breastfeeding. Four years later, this initiative was adopted in Serbia (then Yugoslavia). Although Serbia has officially been a part of the BFHI for over 26 years, less than 13% of children are currently exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life. Drawing on interviews, observations and document review, this chapter offers ethnographic insight into why the BFHI in Serbia has met with little success. I argue that the principles and practices of the initiative to promote breastfeeding have been both thinly learned and thinly applied by healthcare workers and therefore have had little positive impact on women’s empowerment to breastfeed or the rates of breastfeeding in the country. I show how the global Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative implemented in Serbia in the early 1990s and the national level policies which renewed it in 2018 were severely constrained by social, political and economic conditions that hindered the uptake of the program by frontline health workers – namely the devastating effects of the civil war and international sanctions in the 1990s, and the deleterious effects of IMF policies on the Serbian healthcare system since the 2000s. The pressure of time due to high workloads, and understaffed hospitals, in combination with unsustainable national funds for implementation may contribute to the reality of the thin implementation of BFHI.

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Women’s Experiences of Childbirth in Serbian Public Healthcare Institutions: a Qualitative Study

Stanković

2017

Int.J. Behav. Med.

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Shortcomings of Maternity Care in Serbia

Abstract: Actions should be taken to improve bedside manners of medical staff. In addition, the government should consider the involvement of private practitioners paid by the national insurance fund to create competition and decrease the need for informal payments and "connections."

Cited by 19 publications

References 18 publications

Barriers to accessing adequate maternal care in Central and Eastern European countries: A systematic literature review

Barriers to accessing adequate maternal care in Central and Eastern European countries: A systematic literature review

Baby (Not So) Friendly: Implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in Serbia

Women’s Experiences of Childbirth in Serbian Public Healthcare Institutions: a Qualitative Study

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