The DOI matches its Crossref record; 142 of the 146 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Travelling models and the challenge of pragmatic contexts and practical norms: the case of maternal health
Open accessAbstract
As in other areas of international development, we are witnessing the proliferation of 'traveling models' developed by international experts and introduced in an almost identical format across numerous countries to improve some aspect of maternal health systems in low- and middle-income countries. These policies and protocols are based on 'miracle mechanisms' that have been taken out of their original context but are believed to be intrinsically effective in light of their operational devices.In reality, standardised interventions are, in Africa and elsewhere, confronted with pragmatic implementation contexts that are always varied and specific, and which lead to drifts, distortions, dismemberments and bypasses. The partogram, focused antenatal care, the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV or performance-based payment all illustrate these implementation gaps, often caused by the routine behaviour of health personnel who follow practical norms (and a professional culture) that are often distinct from official norms - as is the case with midwives.Experiences in maternal and child health in Africa suggest that an alternative approach would be to start with the daily reality of social and practical norms instead of relying on models, and to promote innovations that emerge from within local health systems.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“However, in-depth field analyses, particularly by anthropologists, have shown that (1) interventions based on these models may be unsuitable for real-world health facilities,”
From The gender factor in meeting the needs of women who use drugs in Senegal (2025) · cites this paper as [17]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“(2) models are often only partly implemented at the field level,”
From The gender factor in meeting the needs of women who use drugs in Senegal (2025) · cites this paper as [17]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“(3) they are disconnected from the local context [17].”
From The gender factor in meeting the needs of women who use drugs in Senegal (2025) · cites this paper as [17]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Traveling models are frequently applied by health institutions in different African countries.”
From The gender factor in meeting the needs of women who use drugs in Senegal (2025) · cites this paper as [17]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
The Discovery of Grounded Theory; Strategies for Qualitative Research
Glaser, B. G., Strauss, A. L., & Strutzel, E. (1968) · Nursing Research · doi:10.1097/00006199-196807000-00014 · Cited by 39,449
DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2095101 · Cited by 38,435
DiMaggio, P., & Powell, W. W. (2004) · Advances in strategic management · doi:10.1016/s0742-3322(00)17011-1 · Cited by 25,973
(1984) · Cited by 21,166
Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies
Perry, J. L., & Kingdon, J. W. (1985) · Journal of Policy Analysis and Management · doi:10.2307/3323801 · Cited by 11,238
Agendas, alternatives, and public policies
Kingdon, J. W. (1984) · Cited by 9,299
DiMaggio, P. (1983) · American Sociological Review · Cited by 9,078
A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice
Cohen, M. D., March, J. G., & Olsen, J. P. (1972) · Administrative Science Quarterly · doi:10.2307/2392088 · Cited by 8,259
Diffusion of Innovations in Service Organizations: Systematic Review and Recommendations
GREENHALGH, T., ROBERT, G., MACFARLANE, F., BATE, P., & KYRIAKIDOU, O. (2004) · The Milbank Quarterly · doi:10.1111/j.0887-378x.2004.00325.x · Cited by 7,448
(1993) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 6,226
Research works printed but not linked: 22
- Jaffré Y. Olivier de Sardan JP. Une Médecine Inhospitalière. Les Difficiles Relations entre Soignants et Soignés dans Cinq Capitales d'Afrique de l'Ouest. Paris: Karthala; 2003.
- Moumouni A, Souley A. La Maternité Issaka Gazoby et l'Hopital National de Niamey. Niamey: Etudes et Travaux du LASDEL 19; 2004.
- Diarra A. La Prise en Charge de l’Accouchement dans Trois Communes au Niger. Say, Balleyara et Guidan Roumji. Niamey: Etudes et Travaux du LASDEL 101; 2012.
- Souley A. Interactions entre Personnels de Santé et Usagers à Niamey. Niamey: Etudes et Travaux du LASDEL 2; 2001.
- Sabatier P. editor. Theories of the Policy Process. Theoretical Lenses on Public Policy. Boulder: Westview Press; 1992.
- Lemieux V. L'étude des Politiques Publiques, les Acteurs et Leur Pouvoir. Québec: Les Presses de l'Université Laval; 2002.
- La Microfinance BF. Entre Utilité Sociale et Rentabilité Financière. Paris: L’Harmattan; 2013.
- Weiss CH. Theory-Based Evaluation: Past, Present and Future. New Directions for Evaluation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; 1997.
- Pawson R, Tilley N. Realistic Evaluation. London: Sage; 1997.
- Ridde V, Robert E, Guichard A, Blaise P, Van Olmen J. L’approche Realist à l’épreuve du réel de l’évaluation des programmes [The realist approach to the real-world evaluation of programs]. Revue Canadienne d’Evaluation des Programmes. 2012;26(3):14.
- Nachi M. Introduction à la Sociologie Pragmatique. Paris: Armand Colin; 2006.
- Health Education and Training Team for Africa. Antenatal Care Module. Chapter 13: Providing Focused Antenatal Care. Ethiopian Health Extension Programme. London: The Open University Press; 2011.
- Abbott A. What do Cases do? Some Notes on Activity in Sociological Analysis. In: Ragin C, Becker H, editors. What is a Case? Exploring the Foundations of Social Enquiry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1992.
- Fassin D. Le culturalisme pratique de la santé publique. Critique d'un sens commun. In: Dozon JP, Fassin D, editors. Critique de la Santé Publique. Une Approche Anthropologique. Paris: Balland; 2001.
- Vasseur P. Le travail des sages-femmes, entre savoir technique et normes pratiques. In: Jaffré Y, Diallo Y, Vasseur P, Grenier-Torrès C, editors. La Bataille des Femmes. Analyse Anthropologique de la Mortalité Maternelle dans Quelques Services d'Obstétrique d'Afrique de l'Ouest. Descartes: Les Éditions Faustroll; 2009.
- Vasseur P. Socialisation des Sages-Femmes Jeunes Diplômées dans la Vie Active au Sénégal. Marseille: Mémoire de l’EHESS; 2004.
- Diarra A. Socio-anthropologie de la Prise en Charge de l’Accouchement au Mali. Anthropology Doctorate thesis. Marseille: EHESS; 2010.
- Diop N, Mané B, Mbow FB, Thiam A. Etude Exploratoire des Soins Respectueux aux Femmes Fréquentant les Services de Santé de la Reproduction dans Deux Centres Urbains Principaux du Sénégal – Investigation des Données Qualitatives. Dakar: Population Council; 2013.
- Moha M, Ridde V, Dagenais C. Personnels d’Obstétrique Nigériens et Conditions pour Exercer en Milieu Rural. Niamey-Montréal: LASDEL-REALISME; 2015.
- Souley Issoufou MS. Ecarts aux Normes Officielles dans Deux Maternités du Niger. Niamey: Etudes et Travaux du LASDEL 115; 2017.
- Pavignani E, Colombo S. Analysing Disrupted Health Sectors: A Modular Manual. Geneva: WHO; 2009.
- Passeron JC. Le raisonnement sociologique. La preuve et le contexte. In: Michaud Y, editor. L’Histoire, la Sociologie et l’Anthropologie. Paris: Odile Jacob; 2002.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
High-quality health systems in the Sustainable Development Goals era: time for a revolution
Kruk, M. E., Gage, A. D., Arsenault, C., Jordan, K., Leslie, H. H., Roder-DeWan, S., Adeyi, O., Barker, P., Daelmans, B., Doubova, S. V., et al. (2018) · The Lancet Global Health · doi:10.1016/s2214-109x(18)30386-3 · Cited by 4,057
Provision and uptake of routine antenatal services: a qualitative evidence synthesis
Downe, S. M., Finlayson, K. W., Tunçalp, Ö., & Gülmezoglu, A. M. (2019) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd012392.pub2 · Cited by 180
Performance-based financing in low-income and middle-income countries: isn’t it time for a rethink?
Paul, É., Albert, L., Bisala, B. N., Bodson, O., Bonnet, E., Bossyns, P., Colombo, S., Brouwere, V. D., Dumont, A., Eclou, D. S., et al. (2018) · BMJ Global Health · doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000664 · Cited by 192
Using implementation science theories and frameworks in global health
Ridde, V., Pérez, D., & Robert, É. (2020) · BMJ Global Health · doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2019-002269 · Cited by 170
Framing and the formation of global health priorities
Shiffman, J., & Shawar, Y. R. (2022) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(22)00584-0 · Cited by 136
Metadata
- Authors
- Olivier de Sardan, J.-P., Diarra, A., & Moha, M.
- Affiliations
- Laboratoire d'Études et de Recherche sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le Développement Local (NE)
- ORCID
- Diarra, Aïssa
- Venue
- Health Research Policy and Systems
- Published
- 2017-07
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- S1
- Pages
- 60-60
- ISSN
- 1478-4505 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5516842
- OpenAlex
- W2736206036
- Cited by
- 167
- References
- 146
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 6
- FWCI
- 2.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Health Research Policy and Systems (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- International Development Research Centre
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Policy Implementation Science
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Global Maternal and Child Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Global Health and Surgery
- Keywords
- policy transfer, maternal health, implementation gap, practical norms, professional culture, midwives, partograph, focused antenatal care, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, performance-based pay, low- and middle-income countries, Africa
- MeSH terms
- Maternal Health, Africa, Community Health Workers, Female, Health Services Accessibility, Humans, Maternal Health Services, Midwifery, Pregnancy, Prenatal Care
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
