The effectiveness and usability of electronic partograph for obstetric care: A systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: Partograph is an instrument used to monitor and prevent labor complications. Unfortunately, a large number of situations where there is limited awareness of how to use a partograph as a labor monitoring tool. One of the efforts made is to develop partographs in the form of electronic partograph (e-partograph) applications. This review aims to analyze the effectiveness and usability of electronic partograph for obstetric care. Methods: This study conducted a systematic review of journals using three academic databases (Science Direct, PubMed, and Google Scholar) with a publication range from 2016 to 2022. Furthermore, the subjects in this study were skilled birth attendants (SBAs) and obstetric care providers. Inclusion criteria in the literature study were using electronic-based partographs in monitoring. The journal-reviewed guidelines used Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). Results: This study found 13 studies exploring the e-partograph in the last six years (2016-2022). Most of the results reviewed the effectiveness of using e-partographs compared to paper partographs. In addition, the e-partograph has shown another advantage. There was a reminder system when filling in data by the SBA. It could identify if the labor process were normal or required further treatment. Using an e-partograph could effectively save time and was easy to use. SBA was easy to accept and apply. Conclusion: The use of e-partograph gives better final results than paper partograph. E-partograph is able to maintain normal delivery and reduce the incidence of cesarean section and prolonged labor. Although the e-partograph was designed to provide benefits for its users, there was an audio and visual reminder system that could be used to detect complications during childbirth.