Documentation Practices within a Quality Assurance Framework: Midwives’ Experiences in the Greater Accra Region

Abstract

Midwifery Documentation (MD) is the means by which all care and services rendered to women of the reproductive age, especially during antenatal and postnatal periods are made known to others through either handwritten or electronic means. MD is a major way through which midwifery knowledge is built for the advancement of the profession. This mandatory practice, however, has not received the attention it deserves all over the world due to so many reasons. The theory of Quality Assurance by Avedis Donabedian was used to guide this study to explore midwives’ experiences with Midwifery Documentation Practice (MDP) in the Greater Accra Region (GAR) of Ghana. The study employed a qualitative exploratory descriptive design. Thirteen (13) practicing midwives were purposively sampled from the GAR, precisely a district hospital in the Tema metropolitan area. Data was obtained through one-one interview by means of a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed using thematic content analysis. Five (5) major themes emerged from the data which included; the structures for Midwifery Documentation Practices (MDP), steps involved in MDP, outcome as a result of MDP, challenges with Midwifery Documentation (MD) and attitude towards electronic documentation. The last two themes emerged in addition to the ones in the Donabedian quality assurance theory. The findings of this study established that midwives experience many challenges with MD. This finding again disclosed that the negative effects of MDP could be avoided and MDP improved if the identified challenges are worked on by the authorities involved in maternal health issues. These findings have implications for midwifery practice and future research in midwifery.