Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have been granted SEK 5.6 million from the Swedish Research Council for a research project to improve person-centered care, patient safety, teamwork and communication in maternity care.
The Swedish Research Council has granted Malin Edqvist , university midwife at Karolinska University Hospital and researcher at the Department of Medicine, Solna at Karolinska Institutet SEK 5.6 million for the research project: TeamBirth, an intervention to strengthen patient safety and person-centred care in obstetric care.
Co-applicant researchers are Monica Nyström , associate professor at the Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics (LIME), KI, Olof Stephansson , professor at the Department of Medicine, Solna, KI and Karin Ängeby , researcher from Karlstad University and Region Värmland.
About the study: TeamBirth
an intervention to strengthen patient safety and person-centred care in obstetric care
Despite various efforts to improve safety and quality of care during labour and birth, adverse events still occur, causing suffering not only for the individual and the family, but also resulting in significant costs for society. Of the reported adverse events, 60-70% are estimated to be avoidable, with the majority being related to deficiencies in communication and teamwork. Additionally, person-centered care is considered to be a prerequisite for safe care. Despite this, data from the national pregnancy survey shows that only 50% of women felt involved in their care and decisions to their desired extent during childbirth.
Today, there is a lack of interventions aimed at improving patient safety during childbirth that incorporate person-centered care. TeamBirth is a care process developed in the United States to improve patient safety and person-centered care. It consists of brief team meetings with the birthing woman and partner and her care team. The process is documented on a shared planning board placed in the birthing room, visible to everyone. This whiteboard is structured and includes the woman's preferences, status, plan, and birth progress.
The project will evaluate the effectiveness of TeamBirth at nine labour wards in Sweden regarding patient safety and person-centered care. The research design includes time series analysis to investigate patient safety outcomes, questionnaires to women to explore whether TeamBirth contributes to individualized care, informed choices, shared decision-making, and perceived support from staff. Additionally, the project will evaluate patient safety culture and teamwork over time at the participating study sites.
Since TeamBirth is considered a complex intervention, a process evaluation will be conducted using qualitative data and questionnaires to evaluate how implementation and contextual factors influence the use of the intervention.
The project will provide valuable insights into patient safety and person-centered care during childbirth, as well as factors affecting implementation. In the long term, the project aims to contribute to improved care and health outcomes for childbearing women and newborns.
