Improving physician compliance with antenatal syphilis screening through a multifaceted quality improvement initiative in Saudi Arabia

Congenital syphilis remains a preventable cause of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes, yet adherence to universal antenatal screening recommendations is often suboptimal. This pre–post quality improvement study evaluated the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention to improve physician compliance with antenatal syphilis screening at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between May and August 2025. The intervention included provider education, standardized antenatal laboratory workflows, electronic medical record prompts, and monthly audit and feedback. A total of 197 eligible antenatal visits were evaluated, including 87 before and 110 after the intervention. Physician compliance increased significantly from 55/87 (63.2%) before the intervention to 89/110 (80.9%) afterward (χ² = 7.73, P = 0.005). These findings demonstrate that a structured, system-based quality improvement approach can significantly enhance adherence to evidence-based antenatal syphilis screening recommendations and may contribute to improving maternal and neonatal health outcomes.