Quality of the contraceptive service structure: A pilot study in Finnish health centre organisations

Objectives To evaluate the quality of the contraceptive service structure in health centre organisations (HCOs) in western Finland and to establish whether the characteristics of the HCOs are associated with the quality measured. Methods Survey data were collected from all EICOs in a university hospital area in western Finland (N = 63). Quality was evaluated using a score of ten indicators. Associations between the score and the characteristics of the HCOs were studied using rank correlation analysis and a multivariate ordered logit model. Results Among 51 HCOs yielding complete data for the evaluation, the quality score ranged from 3 to 10, the mean being 5.8. From 25 variables studied, 'a chief nursing officer or leading nurse engaged in the HCO' (p = 0.001) and 'an appointed person responsible for management of health promotion' (p = 0.006) were found to be associated with a good score in the rank correlation analysis, and they also remained significant in multivariate analysis (Odds Ratio [ON = 11.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.3-56.5 and OR = 5.9, 95% Cl 1.6-21.5, respectively). Conclusions In the majority of the HCOs involved, the quality of service structure was rated average, but there was much variation between the HCOs. The results of the multivariate analysis emphasise the importance of good management of services.