1. A Curriculum Model for Multidisciplinary Training of Midwife Sonographers in a Low Resource Setting
- Author
-
Vinayak S, Temmerman M, Villeirs G, and Brownie SM
- Subjects
maternal health services ,ultrasonography ,midwifery ,education ,curriculum ,rural health ,kenya ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Sudhir Vinayak,1 Marleen Temmerman,2,3 Geert Villeirs,4 Sharon M Brownie5– 7 1Department of Medical Imaging, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya; 2Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya; 3Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; 4Department of Diagnostics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium; 5School of Nursing, Midwifery and Public Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia; 6School of Medicine, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia; 7Centre for Health and Social Practice, Wintec, Hamilton, New ZealandCorrespondence: Sharon M BrownieSchool of Nursing, Midwifery and Public Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaEmail sharon.brownie@canberra.edu.auAbstract: In many low-resource settings, less than 5% of pregnant women can access ultrasound during pregnancy. Thus, gestational age is often difficult to determine, multiple pregnancies are diagnosed late and foetal and pregnancy-related anomalies can go undetected. A pilot solution was designed beyond the traditional approach of increasing numbers of qualified radiologists, gynaecologists and sonographers. An innovative Human Resource for Health (HRH) task sharing, and maternal child health (MCH) workforce training and capacity building initiative was designed, involving development and testing of a curriculum to train midwife sonographers via a teleradiology innovation platform and a partnership between specialist radiologists, sonographers and midwives. The setting was a tertiary-level private university hospital in Nairobi with implementation in three outreach locations. Direct oversight, support and supervision of specialist radiologists and ultrasonographers effectively addressed issues of quality and safety across the 3-week training period and project implementation. Concepts from sociocultural learning theory informed an initial interactive e-learning module for each midwife at their respective site. Midwives were introduced to ultrasound equipment with a series of didactic and interactive lectures delivered by an expert sonographer at the tertiary hospital teaching site. Lectures were supported by hands-on practical experience, role modelling and mentoring over a four-week period. Assessments included both written examination and practical assessment with an exit examination requiring demonstration of competency in both written and practical format. Final confirmation of scanning accuracy was confirmed with post-delivery verification of results. The pilot was highly successful with an image interpretation accuracy of 99.63% for the midwives. Lessons from this initiative provides guidance in the curriculum development process along with a curriculum outline; pedagogical framework; teaching methods; assessment processes; credentialing; resourcing; and other considerations in scaling up the program. Importantly, the paper details processes for maintaining a high level of quality control and patient safety.Keywords: maternal health services, ultrasonography, midwifery, education, curriculum, rural health, Kenya
- Published
- 2021