NCT02938936

Waiting Time. Wasting Time

Waiting Time. Wasting Time: A Randomized Control Trial to Investigate the Health Impacts of Improving the Quality of Antenatal Care in Mozambique

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 597 (actual)
• Sponsor: Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) · Academic / Other
• Sex: Female
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Our study's principle purpose is to determine whether decreasing waiting time before being seen for antenatal care increases demand for and use of antenatal care services in Mozambique.

Detailed description

This protocol describes a pilot study that will test the impact of a scheduling intervention intended to reduce waiting times for antenatal care. The study will include one intervention health clinic and one control clinic in Maputo, Mozambique. In the intervention facility women attending antenatal care will be informed that if they return at their scheduled date and time they will be seen within one hour by clinic staff rather than having to wait for an indefinite amount of time before being seen for care. Appointment cards will be clipped into ANC cards, which collect routine health data and are kept by women at the end of their ANC visit. Health facility staff will be trained to identify women who return at their scheduled time and to manage patient flow such that scheduled women are received quickly. After the start date of the intervention, all women attending ANC at the health facility will be provided a scheduled return date and time window. Baseline and endline exit interview surveys will be conducted in both intervention and control facilities to compare changes in waiting time, number of ANC visits, and provider satisfaction over the course the study period between clinics.

Conditions

• Pregnancy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Pre-natal visit scheduling	This intervention will include a scheduled date and time for prenatal care follow-up visits. Women in the intervention group seeking care for their first ANC appointment will be offered several appointment slots on their return date by the nurse providing their first ANC visit. Women will be able select among the time options and will be provided an appointment card with their scheduled date and time. Staff will limit the number of scheduled women per hour by maintaining an appointment book. Clinic staff will be trained to differentiate between women returning for a scheduled visit from first prenatal visits, emergencies, and unscheduled return visits. First visits and emergencies will be seen during the first 2 hours after clinic opening and unscheduled women will be seen during a one-hour time slot midday. When women return on their date, they will be seen within one hour of their appointment time by clinic staff.

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-10-01
• Primary completion: 2017-07-01
• Completion: 2017-07-01
• First posted: 2016-10-19
• Last updated: 2018-05-02