WHO Labor Care Guide for Obstetric Care Providers in Public Health Facilities in Mbarara, Southwestern Uganda

The goal of this mixed method multisite effectiveness-implementation study across all basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care facilities in Mbarara district and Mbarara City in Southwestern Uganda is to identify unique challenges, facilitators and patterns of potential and sustained uptake of the new WHO Labor Care Guide. Using these baseline findings, I will characterize, and refine the LCG, and then develop a suitable training strategy to effectively integrate/implement the new LCG into routine maternity care in Mbarara district. I will then utilize the Proctor implementation outcome framework to evaluate implementation outcomes of using the new labor care guide in routine maternity care that include; acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, fidelity, and effectiveness among HCPs actively involved in deliveries across Mbarara District and Mbarara City. Finally, I will assess the diagnostic predictability of the new LCG compared to the partogram in effectively detecting prolonged labor among women delivering in Mbarara district and Mbarara City.