 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Linda Fogarty, PhD, Research and Evaluation Office, JHPIEGO Corporation, 1615 Thames Street, Baltimore, MD 21231-3492, 410-537-1965, lfogarty@jhpiego.net, Susi Wyss, MPH, West Africa Office, JHPIEGO Corporation, 1615 Thames Street, Baltimore, MD 21231, Abigail Kyei, MPH, JHPIEGO Corporation, P.M.B. 18, Legon Post Office, Accra, Ghana, and Kai Spratt, PhD, Office of HIV/AIDS, JHPIEGO Corporation, 1615 Thames Street, Baltimore, MD 21231-3492.
Purpose. Evaluate the effectiveness of a collaborative (JHPIEGO, Ghana Ministry of Health and Nurses-Midwives Council), USAID-funded effort to strengthen preservice education in family planning and maternal/neonatal health at 12 midwifery training schools in Ghana. The intervention included: Implementing a competency-based curriculum; improving preceptors’ skills; strengthening training sites; and providing essential models and training materials to schools. Data. This one-year follow-up evaluation compared knowledge and skills of midwives graduating in 2000 from strengthened schools (intervention) to graduates from other schools (control). Method. 72 intervention and 70 control graduates, matched by province and facility type, completed a 70-item (8 subscale) knowledge test, and four skills assessments (covering 15 skills sets). Results. Intervention group midwives scored significantly higher than controls overall (77% vs. 72%) and on 4 of the 8 subscales: family planning, infection prevention, antenatal care and partograph use. They also performed significantly better in the following skills: hand washing, abdominal palpation, vulval swabbing, controlled cord traction, preparation of decontaminant, instrument cleaning and providing counseling on a family planning method. Many sites lacked adequate resources and staffing and experienced frequent supply stockouts. Recommendations. The competency-based technical assistance JHPIEGO provided to the midwifery schools was effective and effects were maintained. This suggests similar training should be adopted in other regions. However, the evaluation identified common suboptimal working conditions that may limit midwives’ ability to practice and that suggest a broadened approach to maximize training gains. This approach addresses consistency across clinical training sites and the environment in which midwives work after graduation.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Training, Maternal and Child Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.