Advancing quality and safety of perinatal services in India: opportunities for effective midwifery integration

En Route to Midwifery Professionalisation: Contextualising Midwifery Care in the Indian Public Health System

BackgroundThe 'Guidelines on Midwifery Services Initiative, 2018' introduces the Nurse Practitioner in Midwifery (NPM) cadre to improve maternal mortality rates, quality of care, and reduce overmedicalisation in the Indian public health system. The paper examines how the NPM cadre is envisioned in the guidelines, positioned within the medical hierarchy, and aligned within the existing maternal health context. It also looks at how existing midwives and midwifery advocates perceive the changes introduced and the accompanying professionalisation process.MethodologyThe study employed two methods: (a) qualitative document analysis (QDA) of the midwifery guidelines and (b) semi-structured in-depth interviews with 14 nurse-midwifery leaders and advocates.FindingsThe QDA uncovers the underlying themes of task shifting and institutional deliveries as dominant, discussions on professional autonomy and primary health care receiving less importance and even less reflection on the history of midwifery in India. The interview findings highlight (a) tensions around carving out a separate profession, (b) the implications of midwifery at the primary healthcare level and (c) the need for an enabling environment for midwives. This paper reveals how the guidelines frame midwifery as a cost-effective, specialised nursing care within the institutional delivery framework and distanced from its traditional connotations.DiscussionIt elucidates tensions around autonomous midwifery involving professional boundaries, negotiations with medical professionals, institutional perceptions, and historical stereotypes. It builds on the broader literature on 'professions' in sociology by identifying aspects of 'professional boundary work' embedded in policy documents and experiences of participants - thereby unpacking the midwifery professionalisation process in the Indian context.

Supporting Timor-Leste midwives and nurses through an educational program: An evaluative study

Little is currently known about the impacts of participation in a five-week Australian maternal and newborn health training program for Timorese midwives and nurses.

BACKGROUND

The maternal mortality rate in Timor-Leste is estimated to be around 204 per 100,000 live births, and there is a correlation between safe and quality maternal and newborn health services. Hence, there is a need to develop the nation's maternity workforce. Whilst numerous training programs have been geared towards improving the knowledge and skills of Timorese midwives and nurses, to date, no published study has evaluated their impact on participants.

AIM

To describe satisfaction of an Australian maternal and newborn health training program for Timorese midwives and nurses and its impact based upon the participants survey and qualitative evaluations.

METHODS

An evaluative study was conducted using a survey to explore the impacts of a five-week Australian residential training program on 12 Timorese midwives and one nurse.

FINDINGS

The survey data demonstrated an increase in the participants knowledge and skills required to provide enhanced maternal and newborn care; post-training, most participants demonstrated increased knowledge of obstetric emergencies. The participants showed the most pronounced increase in Advanced Clinical Skills in the subjects of fetal assessment, neonatal resuscitation and obstetric emergencies. The qualitative data identified two main themes and six subthemes related to professionalism, communication, and connections.

CONCLUSION

An Australian residential training program, provided in collaboration with local Rotary clubs can enhance the development of maternal and newborn healthcare skills for midwives and nurses from Timor-Leste.

National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Act, 2023 in India: Issues and the Way Forward

With the recent enactment of the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission (NNMC) Act, 2023, significant changes are anticipated in the scope of practice and autonomy for registered nurses and midwives in India. However, alongside these anticipated advancements, concerns have emerged regarding various aspects of the Act, necessitating critical examination. In this article, we aim to explore expected changes in nursing education and service and concerns about the NNMC Act, providing insights into the implications of the NNMC Act on the regulation and advancement of the nursing and midwifery profession in India. The Act is anticipated to introduce uniform standards, implement entry and exit examinations, recognize midwifery as a distinct discipline, and determine the scope of practice for nurses and midwives. Moreover, the implementation of the Nurse Practitioner Program and guidelines for its limited prescribing authority is anticipated. Concerns exist regarding the composition of the commission and board members, adequate stakeholder representation, lacking provisions for ensuring continued competence, working conditions of nurses and midwives, nomenclature, integrating new terms, and clearly defining roles. These concerns emphasize the need for viable career pathways, uniform cadres, and a streamlined registration system, crucial for advancing nursing and midwifery profession in India. The coexistence of concerns and anticipation highlights the complexity of enacting regulatory reforms in nursing and midwifery. Policymakers can lay the foundation for a comprehensive, inclusive regulatory system that promotes excellence in nursing and midwifery practice, ultimately benefiting both healthcare providers and patients.

Strengthening midwifery in the South-East Asian region: A scoping review of midwifery-related research

Improving sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, and adolescent health outcomes necessitates greater commitment to, and investments in, midwifery. To identify future research priorities to advance and strengthen midwifery, we conducted a scoping review to synthesise and report areas of midwifery that have been explored in the previous 10 years in the 11 countries of the World Health Organization's South-East Asia region. Electronic peer-reviewed databases were searched for primary peer-reviewed research published in any language, published between January 2012 and December 2022 inclusive. A total of 7086 citations were screened against the review inclusion criteria. After screening and full text review, 195 sources were included. There were 94 quantitative (48.2%), 67 qualitative (34.4%) and 31 mixed methods (15.9%) studies. The majority were from Indonesia (n = 93, 47.7%), India (n = 41, 21.0%) and Bangladesh (n = 26, 13.3%). There were no sources identified from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or the Maldives. We mapped the findings against six priority areas adapted from the 2021 State of the World's Midwifery Report and Regional Strategic Directions for Strengthening Midwifery in the South-East Asia region (2020-2024): practice or service delivery (n = 73, 37.4%), pre-service education (n = 60, 30.8%), in-service education or continuing professional development (n = 51, 26.2%), workforce management (n = 46, 23.6%), governance and regulation (n = 21, 10.8%) and leadership (n = 12, 6.2%). Most were published by authors with affiliations from the country where the research was conducted. The volume of published midwifery research reflects country-specific investment in developing a midwifery workforce, and the transition to midwifery-led care. There was variation between countries in how midwife was defined, education pathways, professional regulation, education accreditation, governance models and scope of practice. Further evaluation of the return on investment in midwifery education, regulation, deployment and retention to support strategic decision-making is recommended. Key elements of leadership requiring further exploration included career pathways, education and development needs and regulatory frameworks to support and embed effective midwifery leadership at all levels of health service governance.

The incidence of brain trauma caused by road injuries: Results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

BACKGROUND

Road collisions are a significant source of traumatic brain injury (TBI). We aimed to determine the pattern of road injury related TBI (RI-TBI) incidence, as well as its temporal trends.

METHODS

We collected detailed information on RI-TBI between 1990 and 2019, derived from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) of RI-TBI age standardized incidence rate (ASIR), by sex, region, and cause of road injuries, were assessed to quantify the temporal trends of RI-TBI burden.

RESULTS

Globally, incident cases of RI-TBI increased 68.1% from 6,900,000 in 1990 to 11,600,000 in 2019. The overall ASIR increased by an average of 0.43% (95% CI 0.30%-0.56%) per year during this period. The ASIR of RI-TBI due to cyclist, motorcyclist and other road injuries increased between 1990 and 2019; the corresponding EAPCs were 0.56 (95% CI 0.37-0.75), 1.60 (95% CI 1.35-1.86), and 0.75 (95% CI 0.59-0.91), respectively. In contrast, the ASIR of RI-TBI due to motor vehicle and pedestrian decreased with an EAPC of -0.12 and -0.14 respectively. The changing pattern for RI-TBI was heterogeneous across countries and regions. The most pronounced increases were observed in Mexico (EAPC = 3.74), followed by China (EAPC = 2.45) and Lesotho (EAPC = 1.91).

CONCLUSIONS

RI-TBI remains a major public health concern worldwide, although road safety legislations have contributed to the decreasing incidence in some countries. We found an unfavorable trend in several countries with a relatively low socio-demographic index, suggesting that much more targeted and specific approaches should be adopted in these areas to forestall the increase in RI-TBI.