TY - JOUR
T1 - Skilled birth attendant competence
T2 - An initial assessment in four countries, and implications for the Safe Motherhood movement
AU - Harvey, S. A.
AU - Ayabaca, P.
AU - Bucagu, M.
AU - Djibrina, S.
AU - Edson, W. N.
AU - Gbangbade, S.
AU - McCaw-Binns, A.
AU - Burkhalter, B. R.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors wish to express our appreciation to Ministry of Health officials, health facility directors, participating health personnel and field team members in each country who made this study possible. The research described here was supported by the Quality Assurance Project under contracts number HRN-C-00-96-90013 and GPH-C-00-02-00004-00 with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Conclusions and opinions are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the affiliated organizations or USAID. Affiliations are listed for identification purposes only.
PY - 2004/11
Y1 - 2004/11
N2 - Percentage of deliveries assisted by a skilled birth attendant (SBA) has become a proxy indicator for reducing maternal mortality in developing countries, but there is little data on SBA competence. Our objective was to evaluate the competence of health professionals who typically attend hospital and clinic-based births in Benin, Ecuador, Jamaica, and Rwanda. Methods: We measured competence against World Health Organization's (WHO) Integrated Management of Pregnancy and Childbirth guidelines. To evaluate knowledge, we used a 49-question multiple-choice test covering seven clinical areas. To evaluate skill, we had participants perform five different procedures on anatomical models. The 166 participants came from facilities at all levels of care in their respective countries. Results: On average, providers answered 55.8% of the knowledge questions correctly and performed 48.2% of the skills steps correctly. Scores differed somewhat by country, provider type, and subtopic. Conclusion: A wide gap exists between current evidence-based standards and current levels of provider competence.
AB - Percentage of deliveries assisted by a skilled birth attendant (SBA) has become a proxy indicator for reducing maternal mortality in developing countries, but there is little data on SBA competence. Our objective was to evaluate the competence of health professionals who typically attend hospital and clinic-based births in Benin, Ecuador, Jamaica, and Rwanda. Methods: We measured competence against World Health Organization's (WHO) Integrated Management of Pregnancy and Childbirth guidelines. To evaluate knowledge, we used a 49-question multiple-choice test covering seven clinical areas. To evaluate skill, we had participants perform five different procedures on anatomical models. The 166 participants came from facilities at all levels of care in their respective countries. Results: On average, providers answered 55.8% of the knowledge questions correctly and performed 48.2% of the skills steps correctly. Scores differed somewhat by country, provider type, and subtopic. Conclusion: A wide gap exists between current evidence-based standards and current levels of provider competence.
KW - Clinical competence/standards
KW - Maternal health services/standards
KW - Maternal mortality
KW - Pregnancy complications/mortality/prevention and control
KW - Skilled attendance at delivery
KW - Skilled birth attendant
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ijgo.2004.06.017
DO - 10.1016/j.ijgo.2004.06.017
M3 - Article
C2 - 15491581
AN - SCOPUS:7444226839
SN - 0020-7292
VL - 87
SP - 203
EP - 210
JO - International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics
JF - International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics
IS - 2
ER -