%X From the private practitioners' and users' perspectives, What are the key aspects involved in private maternity care in Punto Fijo, Venezuela? The aim of this study is to identify issues surrounding private obstetric care in Punto Fijo, Venezuela as perceived by obstetricians working in private maternity care and users of these services. It is a descriptive qualitative study. Twenty open-ended, in depth semi-structured interviews with obstetricians and ten interviews of women who had recently received these services were conducted. Other methods used included informal nonparticipant observations and revision of grey literature. Results suggest that doctors work mainly in both private and public sector but prefer to work in private due to better opportunities to fulfil their plans for career development and practise adequate obstetrics. They perceive obstetrics as a speciality where technology is paramount to provide good quality services. There are though differences in the way obstetrics is practised in the private sector and public sectors. These differences respond to the characteristics of the users, the relationship between them and doctors as well as the conditions and availability of resources in the private institutions. Further research is needed to explore in depth some of the issues appearing in this research specially those concerning the excessive use of some obstetrical procedures and the apparent lack of regulatory mechanisms to control the activities of private obstetric care sector.
%L discovery10103808
%A Elizabeth Saenz-Martinez
%I UCL (University College London)
%O Thesis digitised by ProQuest.
%T Private maternity care practitioners in Punto Fijo, Venezuela
%K Health and environmental sciences; Venezuela
%D 1998