Development of a Tool to Enhance Midwifery Decision-Making.

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Development of a Tool to Enhance Midwifery Decision-Making. Anna M. Smyth1*, Steve Provost1 and Elaine Jefford2 1 Department of Psychological Science, School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University, Australia 2 School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University, Australia Aim: Decision-making is an integral aspect of midwifery practice. Despite the crucial role it plays in childbirth, there is a significant lack of research into the factors involved in midwives’ clinical decision-making. The current study sought to determine whether several personality characteristics, such as impulsivity, influenced the judgements that midwives made on clinical decisions, and whether these judgements were modified through the use of a midwifery-specific enhanced decision-making and assessment (EDAM) tool. Method: Midwives (N = 89) recruited through the Australian College of Midwives and the international Midwifery and Reproductive Health Research Forum completed a survey containing three childbirth vignettes and a number of instruments including the Behavioural Inhibition/ Activation Scales (BIS/BAS). Participants were asked to rate the midwives’ clinical reasoning and midwifery practice in the vignettes on a 7-point Likert scale. One group of participants (N = 30) were asked to make these judgements after they had completed the EDAM tool, and another group (N = 59) did not. Results: There was some evidence for a relation between participants’ scores on the BIS/BAS and their judgements in some of the scenarios. In two of the scenarios, when following the use of the EDAM tool, mean judgments of midwifery practice and decision-making were higher than without the tool. In these scenarios, subscales of the EDAM tool correlated with judgements. In the third scenario, use of the EDAM tool did not impact judgements, and these were uncorrelated with any of its subscales. Conclusions: Use of the EDAM tool influences midwives’ judgements, but this is dependent on the specific factors involved in the vignette. The role of sensitivity to reward in decision-making tasks such as this is not well recognised, and future efforts to further explore this factor may enhance training for effective decision-making. Keywords: risk, impulsivity, Edam, decision-making, Midwifery Conference: 15th Annual Psychology Honours Research Conference , Coffs Harbour, Australia, 4 Oct - 5 Oct, 2018. Presentation Type: Research Topic: Abstract for 15th Annual Psychology Honours Research Conference Citation: Smyth AM, Provost S and Jefford E (2019). Development of a Tool to Enhance Midwifery Decision-Making.. Front. Psychol. Conference Abstract: 15th Annual Psychology Honours Research Conference . doi: 10.3389/conf.fpsyg.2018.74.00035 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 18 Sep 2018; Published Online: 27 Sep 2019. * Correspondence: Ms. Anna M Smyth, Department of Psychological Science, School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, Australia, a.smyth.23@student.scu.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Anna M Smyth Steve Provost Elaine Jefford Google Anna M Smyth Steve Provost Elaine Jefford Google Scholar Anna M Smyth Steve Provost Elaine Jefford PubMed Anna M Smyth Steve Provost Elaine Jefford Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.