Introduction:
As the respectful maternity care agenda expands, it is necessary to understand what the priorities are for improving respectful, dignified, and high-quality care for newborns. To catalyze and inform a developing research field, we undertook a prioritization exercise to identify global research questions.
Methods:
We used a modified Delphi process to identify potential research priorities for understanding and addressing respectful care for newborns. Based on a literature review and expert discussions, we sent an open-ended questionnaire to participants in Round 1. The results were consolidated and used to create the Round 2 questionnaire, which asked participants to rank the preliminary list of research questions in 3 categories (descriptive, implementation, and measurement). Responses were weighted by rank and collated to generate a prioritized, consensus-based list of research questions.
Key Findings
- We undertook a modified Delphi exercise to learn what experts think are the key questions regarding respectful care for newborns, resulting in the first prioritized list of research questions that focus on respectful care for newborns.
- This study is the first to offer a working definition of respectful care for newborns and develop a ranked list of research questions focusing exclusively on respectful care for newborns.
Key Implications
- This list of research questions should inform and guide researchers and other stakeholders in research efforts on understanding the various aspects of respectful newborn care.
- Consensus-based definitions and standardized methodological research tools need to be developed to advance research efforts on respectful newborn care.