Background: WHO develops evidence-based guidelines for setting global standards and providing technical\r\nsupport to its Member States and the international community, as a whole. There is a clear need to ensure that\r\nWHO guidance is relevant, rigorous and up-to date. A key activity is to ascertain the guidance needs of the\r\ncountries. This study provides an international comparison of priority guidance needs for maternal and perinatal\r\nhealth. It incorporates data from those who inform policy and implementation strategies at a national level, in\r\naddition to targeting those who use and most need the guidance at grassroot level.\r\nMethods: An online multi-country survey was used to identify WHO guidance priorities for the next five years in\r\nthe field of maternal and perinatal health. WHO regional and country offices were requested to respond the survey\r\nand obtain responses from Ministries of Health around the world. In addition, the survey was disseminated through\r\nother networks and relevant electronic forums.\r\nResults: A total of 393 responses were received, including 56 from Ministries of Health and 54 from WHO/UN\r\ncountry offices. 75% of responses were from developing countries and 25% from developed countries. Guidance\r\non strategies focusing on ââ?¬Ë?quality of careââ?¬â?¢ issues to reduce all-cause maternal/perinatal mortality was considered\r\nthe most important domain to target, which includes for instance guidance to improve access, dissemination,\r\nimplementation of effective practices and health professionalsââ?¬â?¢ education.\r\nConclusions: This study provides a panorama of international priority guidance needs for maternal and perinatal\r\nhealth. Although clinical guidance remains a priority, there are other areas related to health systems guidance,\r\nwhich seem to be even more important. Overall, the domain ranked highest in terms of greatest need for\r\nguidance was around quality of care, which included questions related to educational needs, access to and\r\nimplementation of guidance.
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