An online communication skills education program for midwifery students: A quasi-experimental study

BACKGROUND

Communication and entrepreneurship skills, which have a very important place among the 21st century skills, are among the basic skills that a midwife should have.

OBJECTIVE

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of the Communication Skills Education Program on the communication and entrepreneurship skills of the midwifery students.

DESIGN

This study was designed a quasi-experimental study.

SETTINGS

Online.

PARTICIPANTS

First grade Bachelor of Midwifery Science students (n = 117).

METHODS

In this study, the Communication Skills Education Program was given to midwifery students. The Communication Skills Assessment Scale and University Students Entrepreneurship Scale were administered before the education program was implemented (pre-test), when the training program was completed (post-test), and six months after the education program was completed (post-test). Classified data were given in numbers and percentage distribution. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between the variables. In order to test the significance of the difference between pre-test, post-test and follow-test the repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed.

RESULTS

The mean age of the participating students was 19.46 ± 1.74 (min. 18.0, max: 31.0) years. While 8.5 % of the students received training on communication previously, 7.7 % of the students received education on entrepreneurship previously. Statistically significant differences were determined between the scores the students obtained at the pre-test, post-test and follow-up test [F = 224.38, p = .00/F = 325.13, p = .00]. The Bonferroni test performed to find out from which tests the difference stemmed demonstrated that there was a significant difference between the mean scores obtained at all the tests. According to the analysis of the relationship between the mean scores the students obtained from the scales, there was a moderately significant positive correlation only between their pre-test mean scores.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, we determined that the Communication Skills Education Program improved the students' communication and entrepreneurship skills.

Does the Stage of University Education Differentiate Midwifery Students in Terms of Their Behaviors in Certain Situations and Sense of Self-Efficacy?

Midwifery students' behaviors in relevant spheres of their lives, as well as their sense of self-efficacy, can affect the process of training in the midwifery profession. The aim of the study was to determine the behaviors of students in Poland, assessed in a situational context, as well as their sense of self-efficacy in correlation with these behaviors at different levels of education in the midwifery profession. The study group included first- and third-year bachelor's degree (BS) midwifery students, as well as master's degree (MS) midwifery students. The survey was conducted on 1031 students. The 'Inventory for Personality Assessment in Situations' (IPS) and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) were used in the study. The largest group of students that were categorized as having problematic profiles was observed in the social-communicative domain, which indicates the necessity of introducing corrective and therapeutic actions concerning their interpersonal relations. The leading trait in the social-communicative domain among the BS students was sensitivity to frustration. The lowest self-confidence was observed among the third-year BS students. The average result of generalized self-efficacy among all the respondents was M = 28.36 (SD = 4.41), which indicates the average level of the obtained results. Students at different stages of midwifery programs demonstrate different behaviors when assessed in the situational context.

The role of midwives and obstetrical nurses in the promotion of healthy lifestyle during pregnancy

Women with maternal obesity, an unhealthy lifestyle before and during pregnancy and excess gestational weight gain have an increased risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes that can also increase the risk of long-term poor health for them and their children. Pregnant women have frequent medical appointments and are highly receptive to health advice. Healthcare professionals who interact with women during pregnancy are in a privileged position to support women to make lasting healthy lifestyle changes that can improve gestational weight gain and pregnancy outcomes and halt the intergenerational nature of obesity. Midwives and obstetrical nurses are key healthcare professionals responsible for providing antenatal care in most countries. Therefore, it is crucial for them to build and enhance their ability to promote healthy lifestyles in pregnant women. Undergraduate midwifery curricula usually lack sufficient lifestyle content to provide emerging midwives and obstetrical nurses with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to effectively assess and support healthy lifestyle behaviours in pregnant women. Consequently, registered midwives and obstetrical nurses may not recognise their role in healthy lifestyle promotion specific to healthy eating and physical activity in practice. In addition, practising midwives and obstetrical nurses do not consistently have access to healthy lifestyle promotion training in the workplace. Therefore, many midwives and obstetrical nurses may not have the confidence and/or skills to support pregnant women to improve their lifestyles. This narrative review summarises the role of midwives and obstetrical nurses in the promotion of healthy lifestyles relating to healthy eating and physical activity and optimising weight in pregnancy, the barriers that they face to deliver optimal care and an overview of what we know works when supporting midwives and obstetrical nurses in their role to support women in achieving a healthy lifestyle.

Woman's Needs and Satisfaction Regarding the Communication with Doctors and Midwives during Labour, Delivery and Early Postpartum

The study aimed to identify the difference in communication needs of women giving birth and women during early postpartum. An additional goal includes the analysis of the experience and communication needs through the context of a woman's approach to childbirth. The study is a cross-sectional, self-report survey; 521 women between 5 and 10 days after birth participated in the study. Women perceived information provided by the medical staff as the most helpful aspect of verbal communication both during labour and early postpartum. Maintaining eye contact with the medical staff was perceived as the most helpful aspect of non-verbal communication. Women were more satisfied with communication during labour and birth than in the maternity ward and those after non-instrumental childbirth were more satisfied with communication compared to the instrumental birth group. Women perceiving childbirth as the natural, physiological process considered verbal and non-verbal communication during and after childbirth as less helpful than women perceiving birth as more risky and requiring interventions. The results of the study emphasize the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication during birth and early postpartum and at the same time different communication needs during these two time points. It also showed that women who perceive labour as a physiological process seem to be less dependent on the communication with the medical staff than women who accept medical interventions during labour and birth as necessary.

Addressing transition to motherhood, guideline adherence by midwives in prenatal booking visits: Findings from video recordings

OBJECTIVE

To assess if and how primary care midwives adhere to the guideline by addressing transition to motherhood at the first prenatal booking visit and to what extent there was a difference in addressing transition to motherhood between nulliparous and multiparous women.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional observational study of video-recorded prenatal booking visits.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

126 video recordings of prenatal booking visits with 18 primary care midwives in the Netherlands taking place between August 2010 and April 2011.

MEASUREMENTS

Five observers assessed dichotomously if midwives addressed seven topics of transition to motherhood according to the Dutch guideline prenatal midwifery care from the Royal Dutch Organization of Midwives and used six communication techniques. Frequencies and percentages of addressing each topic and communication technique were calculated. Differences between nulliparous and multiparous women were examined with Chi-Square tests or Fischer Exact tests, were appropriate. The agreement between the five observers was quantified using Fleiss' Kappa.

FINDINGS

During all visits at least one of the seven topics of transition to motherhood was addressed. The topics mother-to-infant bonding and support were addressed respectively in 2% and 16% of the visits. In almost all visits the topics desirability of the pregnancy, experience with the ultrasound examination or abdominal palpation or hearing the foetal heartbeat and practical preparation were addressed. Open questions for addressing transition to motherhood were used in 6% of the prenatal booking visits. Dutch midwives addressed transition to motherhood mostly by giving information (100%) and by using closed-ended questions (94%) and following woman's initiative (90%). Nulliparous women brought up transition to motherhood on their own initiative more often than multiparous women (97% versus 84%). For the topics 'desirability of the pregnancy 'and' practical preparations' and for conversation techniques 'giving information' and 'closed-ended questions', 100% agreement was achieved. However, the topic 'Support' had poor agreement (kappa = 0.19).

KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Although during every visit the transition of motherhood was addressed, the topics mother-to-infant bonding and support should get more attention. Midwives should improve adherence to the guideline by addressing transition to motherhood and by using more open questions. Furthermore, they should focus on taking the initiative to address the transition to motherhood in multiparous women themselves.