What good emotional care for miscarriage looks like: A mixed-methods investigation in an Australian private hospital setting

Abstract

Background: Miscarriage is a common medical occurrence which can be associated with significant psychological distress. Patients and partners are frequently disappointed by aspects of their care, especially with regard to emotional support. Although most published studies investigated the experiences of patients and partners in emergency departments (EDs) of public hospitals, miscarriage is also frequently diagnosed in non-emergency settings, such as during sonography or antenatal appointments, and approximately 25% of Australian women receive maternity care in private hospitals. Aim: Because the experience of miscarriage is known to be setting-dependent, it is important to understand how patients and partners experience care outside the ED. Here, we addressed this gap by investigating the experiences of patients and partners who attended a private maternity hospital for miscarriage using a mixed-methods approach. Materials and methods: Eighteen patients and six partners who had recently experienced a miscarriage were recruited at a private maternity hospital to take part in both semi-structured interviews and online surveys. Results: Overall, patients and partners were highly satisfied with the emotional care they received. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews allowed us to identify a total of ten themes that contributed to satisfaction with emotional care. Conclusions: We provide the first specific insights into the experiences of women and partners who received care for miscarriage in an Australian private hospital setting, and the first example of a healthcare setting that achieves high satisfaction with emotional care around miscarriage. The ten themes we identify provide a framework for improving satisfaction with care also in other settings.