Development and Validation of a Routine Respectful Maternity Care Measurement Tool

Summary

Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania developed a study to co-create a measurement tool that can be used by health facility managers to detect and improve the experience of care. A literature review was conducted to estimate the magnitude of mistreatment and to find any previously developed measurement tool. An initial tool was then developed based on existing tools. Multiple stakeholders including regional and facility leaders, managers, researchers and frontline implementers/end-users and post-partum women were engaged in the tool development process through individual review and group discussions. The end product is a simple and user-friendly, 25-itemquestionnaire consisting of the nine domains of Respectful Maternity Care. The questionnaire has been pilot tested and validated among post-delivery women in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.