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- Antenatal care policies for low-risk pregnant women in high-income countries with a universal health system: a scoping review protocolPublication . Gonçalves, Andreia Soares; Ferreira, Isabel Maria; Pestana-Santos, Márcia; Prata, Ana Paula; McCourt, ChristineObjective: The aim of this scoping review is to map the available evidence on the nature, extent, and range of antenatal care policies for low-risk pregnant women in high-income countries with a health system founded on the Beveridge Model. Introduction: Low-risk women in high-income countries have good evolutionary perinatal outcomes but high intervention rates in pregnancy and childbirth, which ultimately leads to high morbidity. This has implications at all levels including families, the health care system, and society. This review aims to inform future policy and identify the viability of the adoption of alternative models to the Portuguese context that can reduce unnecessary interventions. Inclusion criteria: Studies, protocols, guidelines, and policies that provide guidance on antenatal care for low-risk pregnant women in high-income countries with a health system founded on the Beveridge Model (universal health care) will be considered. Documents from 2005 to present will be included, and no language restrictions will be imposed. Methods: An initial search will be conducted in databases including MEDLINE (via PubMed) and CINAHL (via EBSCOhost), followed by a manual search of the reference lists from the documents accepted for inclusion, and a hand search of gray literature. For the countries whose policies are not available through the earlier steps, key persons from health ministries and academia will be contacted. Search results will be exported and data extracted using charting forms. Data will be synthesized using narrative description.
- Antenatal care policy in high-income countries with a universal health system: A scoping reviewPublication . Goncalves, Andreia Soares; Ferreira, Isabel Maria; Pestana-Santos, Márcia; McCourt, Christine; Prata, Ana PaulaThe availability, effectiveness, and access to antenatal care are directly linked with good maternal and neonatal outcomes, making antenatal care an important determinant in health. But to be effective, care must always be appropriate, not excessive, not insufficient. Perinatal outcomes vary within and between countries, raising questions about practices, the use of best evidence in clinical decisions and the existence of clear and updated guidance. Through a scoping review methodology, this study aimed to map the available antenatal care policies for lowrisk pregnant women in high-income countries with a universal health system, financed by the government through tax payments. Following searches on the main databases and grey literature, the authors identified and analysed ten antenatal care policies using a previously piloted datachart: Australia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Some policies were over 10 years old, some recommendations did not present a rationale or context, others were outdated, or were simply different approaches in the absence of strong evidence. Whilst some recommendations were ubiquitous, others differed either in the recommendation provided, the timing, or the frequency. Similarly, we found wide variation in the methods/strategy used to support the recommendations provided. These results confirm that best evidence is not always assimilated into policies and clinical guidance. Further research crossing these differences with perinatal outcomes and evaluation of cost could be valuable to optimise guidance on antenatal care. Similarly, some aspects of care need further rigorous studies to obtain evidence of higher quality to inform recommendations.