Patient reported outcome measures in childbirth and postpartum maternal quality of life: a protocol for systematic review of measurement properties.

Background: Patient centred healthcare is the corner stone to many healthcare strategies. Patient specific health needs should be at the fore of healthcare improvements and quality measurements. Patient reported outcome measures (PROM) that support real world clinical effectiveness assessments are increasingly being used to highlight domains where there is the greatest scope for change.

Objectives: This systematic review aims to identify and evaluate existing patient reported assessment measures/tool(s) that can be used in developing a PROM for postpartum women. We will assess and evaluate their measurement properties in a transparent and structured way in accordance with the COSMIN guidelines.

Methods: Methodological guidelines for systematic reviews of PROMs have been developed by the COSMIN initiative and will be followed for this systematic review. A systematic literature review will be performed using PubMed, CINAHL and EMBASE from inception to the present day. Two reviewers independently will judge eligibility, conduct data extraction and assess the methodological quality of each study as per COSMIN guidelines. Inclusion criteria: studies should concern PROM with an aim to evaluate measurement properties in the development or the evaluation of a PROM of interest. Included PROM will focus upon postpartum women assessing morbidity and quality of care. All peer reviewed studies with an assessment tool designed for patient completion will be considered. Exclusion criteria; abstract, letters and non-peer reviewed publications. Studies will be graded on measurement properties and quality of evidence as laid out by COSMIN. All studies and characteristics eligible for inclusion will be summarised and a recommendation to the most suitable measurement tool(s) will be given.

Discussion: We will provide a comprehensive description of all available patient reported assessment tools available for childbirth and postpartum quality of life and recommend based on COSMIN guidelines the most suitable instrument(s) available for use.