Leveraging Qualitative Insights for Dashboard Development to Address Perinatal Health Inequalities in Maternity, Neonatal and Perinatal Services.

INTRODUCTION

Perinatal health inequalities, referring to disparities in maternal and neonatal outcomes among different ethnic groups, persist despite numerous calls to action. A quality improvement initiative, such as the perinatal health inequality dashboard, could serve as a tool to provide real-time data, highlight trends and patterns, and capture and analyse disparities in maternal and neonatal outcomes across various population groups.

AIM

To explore the development process of the perinatal health inequality dashboard and conduct a preliminary evaluation of the barriers and facilitators in effectively presenting data and highlighting disparities in maternal and neonatal outcomes on the dashboard in the Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland (LLR) region in the United Kingdom.

METHOD

A qualitative study was conducted at the University Hospital of Leicester (UHL) involving the dashboard development team and end users, who are clinicians specializing in obstetrics, neonatal care, and perinatal mental health from the Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland (LLR) region. Ten clinicians were interviewed using a semi-structured approach over a 3-month period. The data were analysed using thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke's method.

RESULTS

The study findings are presented in two sections: the dashboard development process and dashboard evaluation. Key themes in the development process include data sourcing, integration, and accuracy in neonatal care. Evaluation themes focus on the potential impact of the dashboard, a user-friendly interface, balancing qualitative and quantitative data, sustainability through continuous oversight, and system integration and interoperability. These findings offer critical insights for the ongoing refinement and effective deployment of the dashboard.

CONCLUSION

The dashboard has the potential to improve health outcomes based on clinicians' insights. However, continuous refinement and modification of its functionality are necessary to address the challenges associated with its use.