Group Antenatal Care Modelling

Designing a contextually adapted group antenatal care model.
Management Sciences for Health
Kenya, Uganda, Guatemala
2016 - 2019

Together with Management Sciences for Health (MSH), we have co-designed contextually adapted group antenatal care model and curriculum (ANC) for communities in Uganda, Kenya, and Guatemala.

Conventionally, antenatal care (ANC) has been provided on a one-on-one basis. However, in recent years group antenatal care models have emerged as a promising approach to delivering care during pregnancy. In 2016, Scope collaborated with MSH to design a group ANC care model and curriculum adapted for communities in Uganda and Kenya. Scope collaborated with MSH again in 2019 to design, implement, and scale a group ANC model to improve the quality of services in Guatemala.

Human-centred design approach

Scope was geared to do this using a human-centred design (HCD) approach to identify specific user needs and preferences for both ANC clients and care providers. Using co-design methods, Scope refined and iterated on initial concepts and prototypes for the new group antenatal care model. We supported MSH to adapt the service design model to the local context, including customisation of all relevant ANC materials, including picture cards and job aids.

To kick-start the projects, a small team from Scope conducted initial exploratory research in the communities. The immersive discovery ensured access to first-hand local knowledge to later allow for greater contextualisation of outputs. This phase was followed by low-fidelity prototyping and, eventually, testing the prototypes in the same communities.

Project outcomes

In Uganda, over 160 women participated in 16 antenatal care groups and 12 midwives were trained to provide support for expectant mothers.

In Kenya, the introduction of the group care model led to a 20 per cent increase in women attending four or more ANC sessions, with over 1,600 women enrolled in pregnancy clubs throughout the programme. As a result, the rating of the quality of antenatal care services almost doubled. Pregnancy club participants were also twice as likely to make birth preparations than women who did not participate in the groups.

In Guatemala, the Prenatal Care Group model is being implemented and monitored by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with MSH, local partners, and midwives. The model is also being scaled up to improve the quality and cultural responsiveness of the services. To date, more than 1,000 women have participated in the groups to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

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