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Objective: To understand healthcare providers' experiences with improvised uterine balloon tamponade (UBT) for the management of uncontrolled postpartum hemorrhage (PPH).Methods: In a qualitative descriptive study, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted between November 2014 and June 2015 among Kenyan healthcare providers who had previous experience with improvising a UBT device. Interviews were conducted, audio-recorded, and transcribed.Results: Overall, 29 healthcare providers (14 nurse-midwifes, 7 medical officers, 7 obstetricians, and 1 clinical officer) were interviewed. Providers perceived improvised UBT as valuable for managing uncontrolled PPH. Reported benefits included effectiveness in arresting hemorrhage and averting hysterectomy, and ease of use by providers of all levels of training. Providers used various materials to construct an improvised UBT. Challenges to improvising UBT-e.g. searching for materials during an emergency, procuring male condoms, and inserting fluid via a small syringe-were reported to lead to delays in care. Providers described their introduction to improvised UBT through both formal and informal sources. There was universal enthusiasm for widespread standardized training.Conclusion: Improvised UBT seems to be a valuable second-line treatment for uncontrolled PPH that can be used by providers of all levels. UBT might be optimized by integrating a standard package across the health system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To understand healthcare providers' experience of incorporating uterine balloon tamponade (UBT) into the national postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) clinical pathway after UBT training.Methods: In a qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with healthcare providers from 50 centers in Freetown, Sierra Leone, between May and June 2014. All eligible healthcare providers (undergone UBT training, actively conducted deliveries, and treated cases of PPH since UBT training) on duty at the time of center visit were interviewed.Results: Sixty-one providers at 47 facilities were interviewed. Bleeding was controlled in 28 (93%) of 30 cases of UBT device placement. Participants reported that UBT devices were easy to insert with only minor challenges, and enabled providers to manage most cases of uncontrolled PPH at their own facility and to refer others in a stable condition. Reported barriers to optimal UBT use included insufficient training and practical experience, and a scarcity of preassembled UBT devices. Facilitators of UBT use included widespread acceptance of UBT, comprehensive and enthusiastic training, and ready availability of UBT devices.Conclusion: UBT-used either as a primary endpoint or en route to obtaining advanced care-has been well accepted and integrated into the national PPH pathway by providers in health facilities in Freetown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To understand provider perceptions and experiences following training in the use of a condom-catheter uterine balloon tamponade (UBT) as second-line treatment for uncontrolled postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) in health facilities in Kenya.Methods: As part of a qualitative study, interviews of facility-based providers who had managed PPH following comprehensive PPH training were conducted between February and April 2014. Facilities were purposively sampled to represent a range of experience with UBT, facility size, and geography. Interviews continued until thematic saturation was achieved. Interview transcripts were analyzed for themes.Results: Overall, 68 providers from 29 facilities were interviewed, of whom 31 reported experience with UBT placement (25 midwives, 2 clinical officers, 4 medical officers). Qualitative analysis revealed several major themes. Providers used UBT appropriately within the PPH algorithm, although the timing and clinical severity of patients varied. UBT was most commonly used when bleeding was unresponsive to uterotonics, hysterectomy was unavailable, and referral times long. Providers reported that bleeding was arrested following UBT use in all except one patient, who had a suspected coagulopathy. Most providers described UBT as technically easy to use, although three described initial balloon displacement.Conclusion: UBT has been readily accepted by providers at all levels of training and is being incorporated into the existing PPH management algorithm in Kenya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]