Scaling Up Co-Created Clinical Guidelines: Processes, Experiences, and
Lessons from Maternity Care in Urban Tanzania – The PartoMa Project
Abstract
Objective: Resource constraints limit the use of evidence-based
clinical guidelines (CPGs). This study describes the adaptation and
scale-up of a context-specific maternity care pocket guide, initially
co-created in Zanzibar, to five urban health facilities in Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania. Design: Participatory, iterative co-creation.
Settings: Five government health facilities in Dar es Salaam
(2021). Population: Maternity care providers, researchers,
women and other stakeholders. Methods: A structured, flexible
CPG adaptation model was applied, combining a mixed-methods situational
analysis, review of global and national CPGs, and iterative feedback via
focus groups and individual reviews until saturation. The guide was then
pilot-tested and implemented. Main Outcome Measures:
Co-creation process, PartoMa Pocket Guide and implementation strategy.
Results: Two review cycles with 54 frontline providers, two
external reviews (11 international experts and 10 Dar es Salaam Health
Management Team members), and two consultation meetings with a 28-member
core team. The process produced a 24-page infographic pocket guide of
CPGs, covering routine care and common complications during childbirth,
and a dissemination strategy including in-house, low-dose,
high-frequency training. Using the Zanzibar guide streamlined
adaptation, revealing notable consistency across resource-constrained
settings. However, the process remained time- and resource-intensive,
particularly when international scientific evidence was insufficient or
failed to capture urban clinical complexities. Conclusions The
PartoMa CPG adaptation model effectively contextualises and scales
evidence-based CPGs in high-volume, resource-constrained urban settings.
Global CPG developers should integrate end-user needs from the outset
for more practical and cost-effective adaptations. Funding:
Danida Fellowship Centre (DFC), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
(DFC project no. 18-08-KU).