The impact of training on self-reported performance in reproductive, maternal, and newborn health service delivery among healthcare workers in Tanzania : a baseline- and endline-survey

Auteurs & affiliatie

Tumbwene Mwansisya, Columba Mbekenga, Kahabi Isangula, Loveluck Mwasha, Stewart Mbelwa, Mary Lyimo, Lucy Kisaka, Victor Mathias, Eunice Pallangyo, Grace Edwards, Michaela Mantel, Sisawo Konteh, Thomas Rutachunzibwa, Secilia Mrema, Hussein Kidanto, Marleen Temmerman

Abstract

Plain language summary Reproductive maternal and newborn health (RMNH) in low- and middle-income countries continue to face critical challenges. Training healthcare workers especially using a combined approach (training followed by immediate clinical mentorship) in RMNH have been documented as an essential strategy to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in low-and middle-income countries closer to those in high-income countries. This study investigated the effectiveness of a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) trainings on performance among healthcare workers in Mwanza Region. The study included a sample of 216 participants with before and after intervention groups comprising of 95 participants and control group comprising of 121 participants. The findings revealed that in comparison between before and after intervention groups all dimensions of the self-reported TNA questionnaire had a statistically significant difference. However, the comparison between intervention and controls groups indicated a statistical significant difference on leadership skills, intra-operative care, Comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (CEMONC) and overall RMNH self-reported performance. In conclusion, the findings demonstrated that healthcare workers' self-identified and prioritized training needs that are supported with clinical mentorship results in significant positive changes in performance across a wide range of RMNH tasks. Therefore, conducting TNA that is followed by training and mentorship according to the identified needs among healthcare workers plays a significant role in improving performance on RMNH services among healthcare workers. Background Delivery of quality reproductive health services has been documented to depend on the availability of healthcare workers who are adequately supported with appropriate training. However, unmet training needs among healthcare workers in reproductive, maternal, and newborn health (RMNH) in low-income countries remain disproportionately high. This study investigated the effectiveness of training with onsite clinical mentorship towards self-reported performance in RMNH among healthcare workers in Mwanza Region, Tanzania. Methods The study used a quasi-experimental design with pre-and post-intervention evaluation strategy. The baseline was compared with two endline groups: those with intervention (training and onsite mentorship) and those without. The differences among the three groups in the sociodemographic characteristics were analyzed by using chi-square test for categorical variables, independent-sample t-test for continuous variables and Mann-Whitney U test for ordinal or skewed continuous data. The independent sample t-test was used to determine the effect of the intervention by comparing the computed self-reported performance on RMNH services between the intervention and control groups. The paired-samples t-test was used to measure the differences between before and after intervention groups. Significance was set at a 95% confidence interval with p <= 0.05. Results The study included a sample of 216 participants with before and after intervention groups comprising of 95 (44.0%) and 121 (56.0%) in the control group. The comparison between before and after intervention groups revealed a statistically significant difference (p <= 0.05) in all the dimensions of the self-reported performance scores. However, the comparison between intervention groups and controls indicated a statistical significant difference on intra-operative care (t = 3.10, df = 216, p = 0.002), leadership skills (t = 1.85, df = 216, p = 0.050), Comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (CEMONC) (t = 34.35, df = 216, p <= 0.001), and overall self-reported performance in RMNH (t = 3.15, df = 216, p = 0.002). Conclusions This study revealed that the training and onsite clinical mentorship to have significant positive changes in self-reported performance in a wide range of RMNH services especially on intra-operative care, leadership skills and CEMONC. However, further studies with rigorous designs are warranted to evaluate the long-term effect of such training programs on RMNH outcomes.

Publicatiedatum:

2022

Teamleden:

Marleen Temmerman

Link naar publicatie

Open link

Bijlages

Mwansisya2022_Article_TheImpactOfTrainingOnSelf-repo.pdf (open)

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