Grant: CIHR Fellowship

The Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Canada recommends that prenatal screening be offered to all pregnant women. Prenatal screening occurs early in a pregnancy and involves one or more blood test(s) and an ultrasound to look for signs that a fetus might be at higher risk of having a rare but serious health condition. The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is committed to improving the prenatal screening services in Ontario. In some parts of Ontario, pregnant women are participating in prenatal screening while in other parts of the province they are not. While this service is optional, large differences in participation rates might mean that this service is not being made available equally across the province. The goal of this research is to better understand what might be influencing participation rates in prenatal screening in Ontario. Specifically, this research will examine characteristics of (a) pregnant women (e.g. their age, their education level, when they received prenatal care), (b) health care providers (e.g. whether they are obstetricians, midwives, or family physicians), and (c) characteristics of specific Ontario regions themselves (e.g. availability of necessary expertise) in order to understand the influences on prenatal screening participation rates in Ontario. Should this research identify system-level factors as key influences on participation rates, policy intervention may be warranted. This research project has been developed in collaboration with decision-makers who are actively involved in improving the nature of prenatal screening services in Ontario. The timely nature of this work will make a fundamental contribution to evidence-informed health policy.