Evidence on the use of Birthrate Plus® to guide safe staffing in maternity services - A systematic scoping review

Griffiths, Peter, Turner, Lesley, Lown, Jenny and Sanders, Julia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5712-9989 2024. Evidence on the use of Birthrate Plus® to guide safe staffing in maternity services - A systematic scoping review. Women and Birth 37 (2) , pp. 317-324. 10.1016/j.wombi.2023.11.003

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Abstract

Background Birthrate Plus® is a widely used tool that informs decisions about the number of midwifery staff needed to provide safe and high quality care in maternity services. Evidence about the effectiveness, validity, reliability, and feasibility of tools such as this is needed. Objective To identify, describe and analyse the available evidence supporting the use of Birthrate Plus. Methods We searched PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, Google Scholar, Scopus, Academic Search, British Library Ethos, Directory of Open Access Journals and Science Direct. Studies were eligible if they reported empirical data relevant to the validity, reliability, or useability of Birthrate Plus or if they measured the impact on staffing levels, outcomes, costs or provided a comparison with other methods. Results 23 sources of evidence were identified and reviewed. We found no prospective intervention studies on the use of Birthrate Plus to demonstrate outcomes for mothers, babies or staff wellbeing. Nor did we find studies comparing the tool to other methods or addressing resource use. Most of the evidence was descriptive, focussing on the use of the tool or the results of Birthrate Plus assessments. There is some evidence of the reliability of application of categories within the tool, the ability of the tool to detect variation in demand and to highlight staff shortages. Conclusions In terms of traditional hierarchies of evidence, the evidence for Birthrate Plus is weak. There is a need for more independent research or simulation using real world data to understand how the tool performs in the current context of midwifery practice.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Healthcare Sciences
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	1871-5192
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	4 March 2024
Date of Acceptance:	11 November 2023
Last Modified:	08 Mar 2024 16:44
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/166782

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