Abstract

 

Introduction: Identifying the risk factors of maternal mortality and morbidity requires the use of standard data, the integration of various information systems and state of the art technology to analysis maternal care data. This study was conducted for developing standard data elements and the designing of a Computerized and Integrated Maternal Health Surveillance System (CIMHSS) to investigate adverse maternal outcomes. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in two stages: 1) Determining the Minimum Data Set (MDS) using the Delphi technique among 70 experts throughout the country; 2) Designing an information system for the integration of the various maternal care data sources. Then approved MDS developed in terms of CIMHSS data base to investigate maternal health and adverse maternal outcomes. Data in both stages were analyzed through the descriptive statistics. Results: The maximum mean of score of experts opinions (20±0) for MDS were attributed to the domains of pregnancy and postpartum common assessment, and maternal history & physical assessment. The minimum mean score (16.05±6.74) was in the domains of “initial laboratory before pregnancy”. The CIMHSS adverse maternal outcomes reports revealed that highest frequent adverse outcome pertain to "preterm labor in women with preeclampsia" 86 (85.15%); "cesarean complications in women with gestational diabetes" 65 (64.36%). Conclusion: Experts believed that for proper maternal health, data relating to maternal health assessment and physical examination has more priority in comparisons to laboratory examination. The CIMHSS reports indicate that blood pressure disorders, diabetes and high Body mass index (BMI) were the most contributing factors in adverse maternal outcomes. Given the causal relationship between the risk factors and maternal health, collecting and integrating a wide range of data regarding to maternal health assessment and physical examination is required for enabling proper interventions.