Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To identify research priorities of interventions for the primary prevention of preterm birth (PTB), by conducting an international stakeholder survey.
STUDY DESIGN: A prospective cross-sectional online survey was conducted in November 2016. Fifteen interventions to prevent spontaneous PTB were identified and ranked by stakeholders (n = 159) in the field of maternal and perinatal health research, using nine equally weighted criteria. Medians and interquartile ranges (IQRs) were calculated and the interventions ranked accordingly.
RESULTS: Respondents to the survey were from 46 different countries, mostly from low and middle-income countries (62%, 99/159) and were mainly clinicians (80%, 127/159). Of the fifteen interventions ranked, the following five were identified as research priorities in the primary prevention of PTB: dietary counselling and nutritional education, risk scoring, vitamin D supplementation, exercise and antioxidant supplementation.
CONCLUSION: We have identified research priorities of interventions to prevent spontaneous PTB through a global stakeholder survey. The interventions prioritized in this exercise can be used by researchers, grant funding bodies and research-policy decision makers to inform calls on future clinical trials or individual patient data meta-analyses on the primary prevention of PTB.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 240-248 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology |
Volume | 236 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Keywords
- Cross-Sectional Studies
- Humans
- Premature Birth/prevention & control
- Primary Prevention
- Research
- Surveys and Questionnaires