An Overview of Canada’s Toolkit for Confidential Enquiry
This overview can be used to provide context for the importance of Maternal Mortality Review in Canada and the critical role of the MMRCs.
An Overview of Canada’s Toolkit for Confidential Enquiry (PDF)
Maternal Mortality Review Committees Guide
This guide is for members of a MMRC, to help them maximize their committee’s effectiveness and impact, and contribute important information to maternal health in the Canadian context, by establishing and consistently following comprehensive and sound formal processes. The review of maternal deaths is not about assigning blame but about learning how to improve care and circumstances to prevent future occurrences. The process is distinct from, but not a substitute for, hospital peer review committees, root-cause analysis, or complaint investigations.
This guide is intended to share suggestions and best practices that will help MMRCs establish processes for standardized case review and reporting. The guide is structured in the general order of steps a committee might take in conducting an actual review committee meeting. Committees may choose to do things differently, depending on resources, committee composition, and scope.
Maternal Mortality Review Committees Guide (PDF)
Maternal Mortality Review Committee Forms for Reviewers
A comprehensive Maternal Mortality Review Process requires notes from a thorough abstraction that are compiled into a comprehensive Case Narrative for presentation to the committee. After all data and information is gathered, it can be used to populate the forms. The templates will help committee members to write a case narrative that can be easily printed for presentation to the committee.
The following forms are available:
To download all forms, please click the link here: Maternal Mortality Review Committee Forms for Reviewers (PDF)
Interview Guide for Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths
Most MMRCs do not have access to the perceptions, experiences, and accounts of families, health care professionals, and others who can provide an understanding regarding the circumstances of a maternal death. However, these accounts, when obtained through established confidential enquiry methods, can provide multi-faceted perspectives on the woman’s care experiences before and surrounding her death and, in this way, informant interviews are the foundation of the added value that a confidential enquiry provides to the maternal mortality review process and can provide rich contextual information to complement existing records so that factors contributing to the death can be comprehensively assessed and effective recommendations can be made for prevention. This guide provides detailed information about how to conduct interviews related to a maternal death.
Interview Guide for Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths (PDF)
Abstractor Document Checklist
This checklist was designed to provide an overview of the documents and information obtained by the Abstractor.
Abstractor Document Checklist (PDF)
Minimum Dataset
This minimum dataset identifies indicators that should be captured to inform a comprehensive review of maternal mortality/severe maternal morbidity/perinatal mortality, including suggested data sources and definitions. It also suggests which indicators may be important to report on provincially or nationally. Existing data systems may or may not currently capture this information and will have to determine the process that works best for them.
Minimum Dataset (PDF)
Maternal Mortality Review Committee Orientation Slides
These slides can be used to orient stakeholders, partners and MMRC members to the importance of the review process, and the goals and functions of the MMRCs. Specific information can be inserted related to statistics, processes or anything else that users feel is important.
Maternal Mortality Review Committee Orientation Slides (PPT)