Evaluation of an online master's programme in Somaliland. A phenomenographic study on the experience of professional and personal development among midwifery faculty.

Abstract

To record the variation of perceptions of midwifery faculty in terms of the possibilities and challenges related to the completion of their first online master's level programme in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Somaliland. The informants included in this phenomenongraphical focus group study were those well-educated professional women and men who completed the master's program. The informant perceived that this first online master's level programme provided tools for independent use of the Internet and independent searching for evidence-based information, enhanced professional development, was challenge-driven and evoked curiosity, challenged professional development, enhanced personal development and challenged context-bound career paths. Online education makes it possible for well-educated professional women to continue higher education. It furthermore increased the informants' confidence in their use of Internet, software and databases and in the use of evidence in both their teaching and their clinical practice. Programmes such as the one described in this paper could counter the difficulties ensuring best practice by having a critical mass of midwives who will be able to continually gather contemporary midwifery evidence and use it to ensure best practice. An increase of online education is suggested in South-central Somalia and in similar settings globally.