Patient-led decision making: Measuring autonomy and respect in Canadian maternity care

In 2012, the USAID Maternal Child Health Integrated Program examined the state of “respectful maternity care” worldwide and concluded that concepts of “safe motherhood must be expanded beyond the prevention of morbidity or mortality to encompass respect for women’s basic human rights, including respect for women’s autonomy, dignity, feelings, choices, and preferences” [1]. Patient-centered care prioritizes the needs of patients over those of healthcare providers and administrations, and has been defined by Berwick as ‘the experience (to the extent the informed individual patient desires it) of transparency, individualization, recognition, respect, dignity, and choice in all matters, without exception, related to one’s person, circumstances, and relationships in healthcare (p.

Source: Patient Education and Counseling - November 1, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Saraswathi Vedam, Kathrin Stoll, Daphne N. McRae, Mo Korchinski, Raquel Velasquez, Jessie Wang, Sarah Partridge, Lorna McRae, Ruth Elwood Martin, Ganga Jolicoeur, CCinBC Steering Committee Source Type: research