Safe and family-centered maternity hospitals: organizational culture of maternity hospitals in the province of Buenos Aires

Abstract

In 2010, the Safe and Family-Centered Maternity Hospitals initiative was launched in order to transform large public maternity centers into settings where safe practices are implemented and the rights of women, newborn infants and families are warranted. As a result, the paradigm of perinatal care was modified. This article reports on the findings of organizational culture as a component for the implementation of the initiative. The sample was selected in a non-probabilistic way and was made up of 29 public hospitals located in the province of Buenos Aires that participated in the initiative. During 2011 and 2012, an anonymous, self-administered survey was completed by members of the Department of Neonatology and the Department of Obstetrics. The survey collected information on three dimensions of the organizational culture: organizational environment, safe practices, and facilitation of change. A total of 1828 surveys were collected; 51% of survey respondents stated that there is a need to improve communication by having more meetings, while 60% made a positive assessment of various aspects of leadership. Work overload was described as the main cause of conflicts by 60%. Approximately 25% agreed and showed commitment with the initiative of transforming maternity centers. Adherence to practices was dissimilar depending on the practice, but half of survey respondents reported that there were genuine reasons for change. The assessment of the organizational culture showed that commitment to the Safe and Family-Centered Maternity Hospitals initiative is yet to be consolidated, and the evaluation of leadership is not comprehensive. Work overload and communication failures are the main reasons for conflict.