Abstract
Background: Midwives play an important role in the implementation of health programs in health care units. The objective of this study was to compare the professional role and task in curriculum with the ongoing role and task of midwives working in the health care units of Tabriz (East Azarbaijan, Iran, 2015). Methods: This cross-sectional study was done via census on all midwives working in rural and urban health units in Tabriz in 2015 (225 persons). The data was collected using a researcher-designed questionnaire based on the national midwifery curriculum approved in 2012. The questionnaire includes questions related to the use of specific teaching courses and their relevancy to the professional roles contained in the curriculum;a self-assessment of the midwives’ current performance was completed by midwives themselves. The validity and reliability of questionnaire were confirmed. Data were presented using mean (SD) and n (%) for numerical and categorical variables. Results: Professional roles and tasks contained in the curriculum were not fully relevant to current roles and tasks of midwives. The highest relevancy was related to the role of education and the lowest relevancy was seen in ongoing tasks related to disease diagnosis, care and intervention. Of the specialized courses, internships in pregnancy and childbirth and its pathology had the highest and lowest applications, respectively. Conclusion: This study showed that, midwifery specialized training courses content and professional role and tasks curriculum- based are not consistent with ongoing expected real world tasks. Therefore, it is essential that reforms are made to enhance the curriculum and efficiently align it with practical responsibilities and expectations.
Highlights
To prevent health problems and promote public health and treatment, having capable and skilled personnel with sufficient knowledge and skills providing the best services is necessary
The first part asked for demographic information of the study participants (12 questions), the second part included questions related to the use of any of the main topics’ specialized courses with current performance (136 main topics), and the third part included questions related to the relevancy regarding of professional roles and tasks contained in the curriculum compared with their current performance of the midwives who were being surveyed
In examining the relevancy of main topics of specialized courses for midwives with their current performance, the highest relevancy was found in the specialized course of normal pregnancy training, with an average of 4.21±0.73 and the main topic of familiarity with training and counseling of pregnant women related to pregnancy was observed with an average of 4.30 ± 0.75
Summary
To prevent health problems and promote public health and treatment, having capable and skilled personnel with sufficient knowledge and skills providing the best services is necessary. The care includes preventive measures, promotion of normal vaginal delivery, diagnosis of problems in both mother and child, access to medical care, and other appropriate help as well as participation in emergency measures.[4] Defined roles and tasks in the curriculum for midwifery include diagnosis, care, treatment, training, counseling, and prevention. The objective of this study was to compare the professional role and task in curriculum with the ongoing role and task of midwives working in the health care units of Tabriz (East Azarbaijan, Iran, 2015). The questionnaire includes questions related to the use of specific teaching courses and their relevancy to the professional roles contained in the curriculum;a self-assessment of the midwives’ current performance was completed by midwives themselves. Conclusion: This study showed that, midwifery specialized training courses content and professional role and tasks curriculum- based are not consistent with ongoing expected realworld tasks. It is essential that reforms are made to enhance the curriculum and efficiently align it with practical responsibilities and expectations
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