The ultimate goal of this guideline is to improve the quality of care and health outcomes related to labour augmentation. Therefore, the dissemination and implementation of this guideline are crucial steps that should be undertaken by the international community and local health services. The WHO Department of Reproductive Health and Research has adopted a formal knowledge-to-action framework for the dissemination, adaptation and implementation of guidelines (12). In addition to this framework, a list of priority actions was established during the WHO technical consultation for this guideline, and this list will be used by WHO and other partners to foster the dissemination and implementation of this guideline.
5.1. Guideline dissemination and evaluation
The recommendations in this guideline will be disseminated through a broad network of international partners, including WHO country and regional offices, ministries of health, professional organizations, WHO collaborating centres, other United Nations agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. They will also be published on the WHO website4 and in The WHO Reproductive Health Library5 where they will be accompanied by an independent critical appraisal based on the AGREE instrument (Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation).6 A policy brief will also be developed for a wide range of policy-makers, programme managers and clinicians, and then disseminated through WHO country offices.
5.2. Guideline implementation
The successful introduction of evidence-based policies related to augmentation of labour into national programmes and health services depends on well-planned and participatory consensus-driven processes of adaptation and implementation. These processes may include the development or revision of existing national guidelines or protocols based on this document.
The recommendations contained in the present guideline should be adapted into locally appropriate documents that are able to meet the specific needs of each country and its national health service. Modifications to the recommendations, where necessary, should be limited to weak recommendations, and justifications for any changes should be made in an explicit and transparent manner.
An enabling environment should be created for the use of these recommendations, including changes in the behaviour of health care practitioners and managers to enable the implementation of these evidence-based practices (for example, providing screens for a woman and her birth companion to ensure privacy). Local professional societies may play important roles in this process, and an all-inclusive and participatory process should be encouraged. The WHO Department of Reproductive Health and Research has published specific guidance on the introduction of WHO's reproductive health guidelines and tools into national programmes (39).
Footnotes
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- 5
Available at: www
.who.int/rhl - 6
Available at: http://www
.agreecollaboration .org/instrument
Publication Details
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Publisher
World Health Organization, Geneva
NLM Citation
WHO Recommendations for Augmentation of Labour. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014. 5, Dissemination and implementation of the guideline.