Shedding light on quality of care: a study protocol for a randomized trial evaluating the impact of the Solar Suitcase in rural health facilities on maternal and newborn care quality in Uganda

Table 1 Primary outcomes

Category	Outcome
Light	1. Average brightness of room during labor and delivery as measured by observer recorded questionnaire (range: 1 “pitch black” – 4 “very bright”) 2. Satisfactory light source^a used for entire delivery as measured by observer recorded questionnaire (%). 3. Adequate light^b for duration of delivery as measured by observer recorded questionnaire (%).
Quality of care	1. 20-item quality of maternal care index of essential actions to be performed by provider during labor and delivery as measured by observer recorded questionnaire (%) 2. 37-item quality of maternal care index of essential actions to be performed by provider during labor and delivery as measured by observer recorded questionnaire (%) 3. 6-item delays in care index as measured by observer recorded questionnaire
Health Worker Satisfaction	1. Satisfaction with light & electricity^c as measured by health worker survey (range 1 “strongly disagree” – 5 “strongly agree”) 2. Overall job satisfaction index^d as measured by health worker survey (range 1 “strongly disagree” – 5 “strongly agree”)

Notes. ^a“Satisfactory” defined as observation that occurs during the day or observation that occurs during night and uses grid electricity, solar power, or functional generator (rather than kerosene lamp, candle, or torch)
^b“Adequate” light defined as light from a satisfactory source and is recorded by enumerator as “very bright” or “somewhat bright” (rather than “dim” or “pitch black”)
^cSatisfaction defined as agree/strongly agree with both statements: "I am satisfied with the availability and brightness of light in this facility" and "I am satisfied with the availability of electricity in this facility"
^dOverall satisfaction defined as average score of following items: "i) These days, I feel motivated to work as hard as I can. ii) Overall, I am satisfied with my job. iii) Overall, the morale level at my department is good iv) I plan on staying at this position for the next year"

ISSN: 1471-2393