Understanding patient experience with elective Caesarean Section – an exploratory mixed method study utilising patient shadowing

E. Hughes, S. Brady, T. Tan, P. Popivanov

Introduction:

Patient experience (PE) during elective LSCS is a core part of patient centred care (PCC). Although there is no agreed definition of PCC, it encompasses the theory and practice of caring for patients and their families in ways that are meaningful and valuable to them. Although there has been an increasing drive for better understanding of PE, and more meaningful patient involvement in service design and improvement, efforts have sometimes failed to acknowledge the depth of these experiences. Furthermore, recent research is in agreement and demonstrates that patient-centredness is poorly studied by conventional research methods. Patient shadowing (PS) method of qualitative research that  has been recently proposed as a research method for PCC.  Purpose of this exploratory study: to utilise PS and gain better understanding of PE on the day of El LSCS in a tertiary maternal hospital.

Methods: