Document Type

Abstract

Publication Date

1-2020

Academic Year

2019-2020

Abstract

Introduction: There has been a recent trend of women experiencing delays in management for high-risk pregnancies in Kigali, Rwanda. Physicians at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) have observed a high incidence of women receiving obstetric care that were not screened appropriately. This points to an inconsistent screening method for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) prior to delivery and lack of streamlined care. The objective of this study is to assess the need for more robust screening of maternal NCDs.

Methods: This study, between June 2018-19, is a needs-assessment for the screening of NCDs among pregnant women (n=255) at CHUK. It consists of a retrospective chart review and qualitative interviews.

Results: Results thus far indicate that among a sample of pregnant women (n=255) at CHUK, 90.6% received an NCD diagnosis during their care. Almost ¼ (22.7%) of women had an NCD diagnosis during a previous pregnancy. At the time of admission, the average systolic BP was 155.1 (SD = 22.0) and the average diastolic BP was 100.6 (SD = 14.8). A majority of women presented to the district hospital with chief complaints related to preeclampsia or blood pressure.

Conclusion: Although analysis is ongoing, these results show that a significant proportion of women with previous high-risk pregnancies experienced delays in care. This leads to negative health outcomes in future pregnancies. Preliminary results indicate a trend of inappropriate management of anticipated possible risk from previously known diagnoses and the need for a streamlined process of referral for maternal NCD cases at CHUK.

Language

English

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