ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Health Serv.
Sec. Implementation Science
Volume 5 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frhs.2025.1593083
This article is part of the Research TopicPatient Safety in Low Resource SettingsView all 4 articles
Exploring Barriers and Drivers to a modified WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist implementation in three West African Countries: a qualitative study using the updated Consolidated Framework for implementation Research (CFIR)
Provisionally accepted- 1National Institute of Public Health (INSP), Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- 2Centre for Reproductive Health Research of Côte d’Ivoire (CRESARCI), Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- 3African Institute of Public Health, Ouagadougou, Kadiogo, Burkina Faso
- 4Research Institute for Health Sciences (IRSS), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
- 5Centre for Reproductive Health Research of Guinea (CERREGUI), Conakry, Guinea
- 6Department of Biomedical and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- 7Department of Public Health, African Center of Excellence for the Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases (CEA-PCMT), Gamal Abdel Nasser University, Conakry, Guinea, Conakry, Guinea
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Sub-Saharan Africa faces the highest maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity rates globally. The World Health Organization Safe Childbirth Checklist (WHO SCC) was developed to address this issue by promoting evidence-based practices during childbirth. This study explored the barriers and drivers to implementing a modified WHO SCC (mSCC) in Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, and Guinea.A qualitative multiple case study design was conducted from May to June 2023, involving individual interviews with diverse stakeholders (n=110) across four regional hospitals in each country. The mSCC was implemented in these hospitals along with training and coaching. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis, guided by the updated CFIR framework. Nvivo 14 was used for coding.The study identified 17 drivers and 7 barriers. Key drivers included the mSCC's clarity, simplicity and alignment with national guidelines, training, coaching, and stakeholders' engagement. in these 3 countries. Barriers were mainly related to resource constraints (medicines, supplies, staffing, and space), increased workload, and lack of incentives. Specific barriers for Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire were the lack of incentives and the positioning of the Kakemono in confined space only in Cote d'Ivoire. Despite these challenges, the mSCC was generally well-received, with strong support from leadership and implementation facilitators contributing to its integration into routine care.This study highlighted the importance of addressing resource limitations, optimizing workload, and providing incentives to ensure successful mSCC implementation. Findings underscored the need for context-specific strategies and strong leadership support when introducing similar interventions in resource-constrained settings.
Keywords: quality of care, Safe Childbirth Checklist, implementation science, barriers, drivers, West Africa
Received: 13 Mar 2025; Accepted: 28 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kourouma, YAMEOGO, Daouda, Sall, Agbré Yacé, Baldé, Tiembre, Delamou and Kouanda. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Raïssa Kadidiatou Kourouma, National Institute of Public Health (INSP), Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
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