Self-Reported Adherence to the Use of Clinical Practice Guidelines of
Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy in Jordanian Hospitals
Abstract
Rationale, aims & objectives: Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy (HDP)
represents a life-threatening event for women and their families. A
number of national and international Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs)
of HDP have been published, however, their use in clinical practice is
still not well documented as it is complex. Suboptimal adherence to CPGs
may lead to unfavorable maternal and perinatal outcomes. The purpose of
this study is to assess the level of adherence of Healthcare Providers
(HCPs) including obstetricians, nurses, and midwives to the HDP CPG
based on Health System Strengthening (HSS II) recommendations in Jordan.
Methods: A cross-sectional study design is used. 270 HCPs are recruited
from different healthcare sectors that provide maternal health care
services to women who are at risk of developing HDP. Data is collected
through a self-reported questionnaire. Results: HCPs showed a suboptimal
adherence to evidence-based recommendations of HDP’s guidelines;
particularly in the antepartum and postpartum period. Nurses and
midwives reported a low adherence rate to antepartum and postpartum
recommendations, whereas obstetricians reported low adherence rate to
antepartum recommendations of HDP’s guidelines. Conclusion: The results
of this study can be used by guideline developers to raise the
acceptance and applicability of the guideline recommendations. Moreover,
it may help healthcare stakeholders and policymakers in designing
tailored strategies to ensure successful and sustainable guideline
adoption and its implementation in evidence-based maternity care. Also
it may be utilized to overcome the barriers in implementing the
guidelines.