{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,21]],"date-time":"2025-08-21T16:33:05Z","timestamp":1755793985932,"version":"3.44.0"},"reference-count":11,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,8]],"date-time":"2025-07-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1751932800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":7,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>The Preterm Birth Collaborative in Australia aims to reduce unnecessary preterm and early-term deliveries, addressing preterm birth as a leading cause of infant mortality and long-term disability. Mater Mother\u2019s Hospital (MMH), a tertiary obstetric centre, participates in the national \u2018Every Week Counts\u2019 initiative to minimize unnecessary early-term caesarean sections (CSs). Elective CS before 39\u2009weeks raises the risk of neonatal intensive care unit admissions and developmental delays. MMH introduced an electronic CS booking form to improve compliance with clinical guidelines for gestational age at birth and to reduce unwarranted clinical variation.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>A single-centre retrospective audit analysed CS data prior to and post implementing the electronic booking form. Data from 3 months pre- and 3 months post- were extracted from hospital records, assessing demographics, clinical indication, and compliance with national or hospital guidelines. The booking form, created with OnBase software, provided a recommended delivery window based on risk factors, requiring justification for deviations. Compliance with guidelines and rates of unplanned labour before scheduled CS were assessed.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Six months of CS were reviewed, among 1059 screened patients, 557 elective CS cases were assessed, with 283 pre-implementation and 274 post-implementation. Overall compliance with clinical guidelines improved from 90.5% to 94.5% (P\u2009=\u2009.06). A significant improvement was observed in patients with maternal or foetal risk factors, increasing compliance from 86.8% to 93.3% (P\u2009=\u2009.04). Compliance among low-risk patients remained high (95.2% pre-implementation vs. 96.8% post-implementation, P\u2009=\u2009.52). The proportion of CS cases presenting with spontaneous rupture of membranes (SROM) or labour before the scheduled procedure remained unchanged (23.6% vs. 24.8%, P\u2009=\u2009.75).<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>The introduction of an electronic CS booking form in conjunction to clinical prioritization improved compliance with clinical guidelines for recommended gestational age at time of delivery, particularly for patients with maternal or neonatal risk factors. While the booking form did not significantly impact overall compliance or the rate of patients presenting with SROM or in labour requiring emergency CS, it highlights the valuable role of digital innovation in reducing unwarranted clinical variation. Future research should explore broader implementation across various healthcare settings.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1093\/intqhc\/mzaf059","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,7]],"date-time":"2025-07-07T07:23:13Z","timestamp":1751872993000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Did the introduction of an electronic booking form for elective caesarean section improve compliance with guidelines for gestational age at delivery?"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"37","author":[{"given":"Julian","family":"Vitali","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Mater Misericordae Brisbane Ltd, Mother\u2019s Babies and Women\u2019s Health Service , Brisbane,","place":["Australia"]},{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Queensland , Brisbane,","place":["Australia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"Janssens","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mater Misericordae Brisbane Ltd, Mother\u2019s Babies and Women\u2019s Health Service , Brisbane,","place":["Australia"]},{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Queensland , Brisbane,","place":["Australia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Neha","family":"Ravi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mater Misericordae Brisbane Ltd, Mother\u2019s Babies and Women\u2019s Health Service , Brisbane,","place":["Australia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Huda","family":"Safa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mater Misericordae Brisbane Ltd, Mother\u2019s Babies and Women\u2019s Health Service , Brisbane,","place":["Australia"]},{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Queensland , Brisbane,","place":["Australia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,8]]},"reference":[{"year":"2024","key":"2025081507063676100_mzaf059-B1"},{"key":"2025081507063676100_mzaf059-B2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"988","DOI":"10.1111\/aogs.13371","article-title":"Gestation at birth, mode of birth, infant feeding and childhood hospitalization with infection","volume":"97","author":"Bentley","year":"2018","journal-title":"Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand"},{"key":"2025081507063676100_mzaf059-B3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"22","DOI":"10.1016\/j.wombi.2019.06.011","article-title":"Indications for, and timing of, planned caesarean section: a systematic analysis of clinical guidelines","volume":"33","author":"Coates","year":"2020","journal-title":"Women Birth"},{"key":"2025081507063676100_mzaf059-B4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"60","DOI":"10.1111\/ped.14437","article-title":"Early term delivery is associated with increased neonatal respiratory morbidity","volume":"63","author":"Bulut","year":"2021","journal-title":"Pediatr Int"},{"key":"2025081507063676100_mzaf059-B5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"297","DOI":"10.1111\/cch.12320","article-title":"Long-term cognitive and school outcomes of late-preterm and early-term births: a systematic review","volume":"42","author":"Chan","year":"2016","journal-title":"Child Care Health Dev"},{"key":"2025081507063676100_mzaf059-B6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"904","DOI":"10.3109\/14767058.2015.1023187","article-title":"Neonatal outcomes following elective caesarean delivery at term: a hospital-based cohort study","volume":"29","author":"Finn","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med"},{"author":"OnBase","key":"2025081507063676100_mzaf059-B7"},{"key":"2025081507063676100_mzaf059-B8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"176","DOI":"10.1186\/s13643-021-01718-1","article-title":"A systematic review on the effectiveness of implementation strategies to postpone elective caesarean sections to \u226539+(0\u20136) weeks of gestation","volume":"10","author":"Prediger","year":"2021","journal-title":"Syst Rev"},{"key":"2025081507063676100_mzaf059-B9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1186\/s13012-020-01056-1","article-title":"Factors affecting the use of clinical practice guidelines by hospital physicians: the interplay of IT infrastructure and physician attitudes","volume":"15","author":"Sasaki","year":"2020","journal-title":"Implement Sci"},{"key":"2025081507063676100_mzaf059-B10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1200","DOI":"10.1111\/1471-0528.13396","article-title":"Maternal and neonatal outcomes after implementation of a hospital policy to limit low-risk planned caesarean deliveries before 39 weeks of gestation: an interrupted time-series analysis","volume":"122","author":"Hutcheon","year":"2015","journal-title":"BJOG"},{"key":"2025081507063676100_mzaf059-B11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"121","DOI":"10.1097\/GCO.0000000000000158","article-title":"Elective cesarean delivery at 38 and 39 weeks: neonatal and maternal risks","volume":"27","author":"Glavind","year":"2015","journal-title":"Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol"}],"container-title":["International Journal For Quality In Health 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