Reviewer ’s report  
 
Title:  Sowing the seeds of transformative practice to actualize women's rights to respectful 
maternity care: reflections from Kenya using the consolidated framework for implementation 
research  
 
Version: 1 Date: 25 Jul 2016 
 
Reviewer:  Lorraine O  Walker  
 
Reviewer’s report:  
 
- Major Compulsory Revisions  
 
1. Overall the authors have been responsive to the prior reviews or editorial comments of this 
important manuscript (I did not review the original manuscript).  
 
 
- Minor Essential Revisions  
 
2. I do not know if this falls into the category of minor essential or discretionary revisions, but I 
found that the excessive use of acronyms (17+) makes parts of this lengthy manuscript 
incomprehensible in places. For example, Table 2 is incomprehensive without the table of 
abbreviations in hand. Given that this manuscript, if accepted, would be published electronically, 
the usual concerns about page length do no apply and the purpose of this manuscript is to 
enlighten others who might benefit from the au thors' work. With that in mind, I suggest that the 
authors reduce the number of acronyms used by the following:  
 
*state parenthetically after the first use of Population Council, "hereafter known as The Council". 
This omits the PC acronym, which has at leas t 2 other widely recognized meanings.  
 
*Also, using acronyms for terms like focus group discussions, interviews, and quality 
improvement efforts, contributes to confusion and puzzlement for future readers, especially if 
reading online. Consider spelling ou t these words, which would add clarity and not appreciably 
lengthen the manuscript.  
 
 
3. I believe that a citation to reference (5) is needed on line 138 or thereabout.  
 
 
4. Line 754 "RH" is not an acronym defined in the list of abbreviations.  
 
 
5. Given that  the Figure might well be reproduced by others, it would be wise to spell out 
acronyms like RMC and D&A, or include their meaning in a footnote, otherwise they remain a 
mystery to others later.  
Are the methods appropriate and well described?  
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Does the work include the necessary controls?  
If not, please specify which controls are required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?  
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are you able to assess any statistics in the manuscri pt or would you recommend an 
additional statistical review?  
If an additional statistical review is recommended, please specify what aspects require further 
assessment in your comments to the editors.  
 
Not relevant to this manuscript  
 
Quality of written English  
Please indicate the quality of language in the manuscript:  
 
Acceptable  
 
Declaration of competing interests  
Please complete a declaration of competing interests, considering the following questions:  
 
1. Have you in the past five years received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an 
organisation that may in any way gain or lose financially from the publication of this 
manuscript, either now or in the future?  
 
2. Do you hold any stocks or shares in an org anisation that may in any way gain or lose 
financially from the publication of this manuscript, either now or in the future?  
 
3. Do you hold or are you currently applying for any patents relating to the content of the 
manuscript?  
 
4. Have you received reimbursem ents, fees, funding, or salary from an organization that 
holds or has applied for patents relating to the content of the manuscript?  
 
5. Do you have any other financial competing interests?  
 
6. Do you have any non -financial competing interests in relation to thi s paper?  
If you can answer no to all of the above, write 'I declare that I have no competing interests' 
below. If your reply is yes to any, please give details below.  
 
I declare that I have no competing interests  
 
I agree to the open peer review policy o f the journal. I understand that my name will be included 
on my report to the authors and, if the manuscript is accepted for publication, my named report 
including any attachments I upload will be posted on the website along with the authors' 
responses. I agree for my report to be made available under an Open Access Creative Commons 
CC-BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ). I understand that any comments 
which I do not wish to be i ncluded in my named report can be included as confidential comments 
to the editors, which will not be published.  
 
I agree to the open peer review policy of the journal