Abstract
BackgroundLesotho has been experiencing health challenges as indicated by its high maternal mortality ratio of 620 per 100 000 live births for the year 2010, which has been linked to its limited human resources.ObjectivesThe knowledge and skills of final-year student nurse-midwives related to the active management of the third stage of labour were determined.MethodA quantitative, descriptive survey design was used to conduct this study with 99 final-year midwifery students at four nursing schools in Lesotho using stratified sampling. The structured questionnaire collected data on the knowledge and self-reported competency. Subsequently, the controlled cord traction marks, extracted from the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), were compared to the self-reported competency of these midwifery students using R software version 3.4.0.ResultsThe mean score for knowledge and the OSCE was 73.8% (n = 99) and 77.2% (n = 99), respectively. The majority of respondents (95.2%, n = 99) rated themselves highly in terms of the active management of the third stage of labour competency. There was no correlation between the self-reported competency and knowledge (r = 0.08, p = 0.4402), and self-reported competency and OSCE scores (r = −0.004, p = 0.01).ConclusionThe high mean scores for the knowledge and the OSCE indicate that the theoretical component of the curriculum on the active management of the third stage of labour was effective in equipping final-year midwifery students with knowledge and skills to carry out this competency.
Highlights
The sub-Saharan African region has the highest burden of disease in the world, which includes the highest rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections, maternal deaths and morbidity, with the lowest density of human resources compared with other regions (Kyei-Nimakoh, Carolan-Olah & McCann 2016:52)
Lesotho is one of the countries located within the sub-Saharan region and it is no surprise that the main drivers of the deteriorating health trends in Lesotho include HIV and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), limited access to essential maternal and preventive healthcare services, poor-quality services and lack of access to essential drugs (Ministry of Development Planning Lesotho 2014:17)
The study results indicate that the curriculum component on the active management of the third stage of labour was, to some extent, effective in imparting knowledge and skills regarding the active management of the third stage of labour to final-year student nurse-midwives
Summary
The sub-Saharan African region has the highest burden of disease in the world, which includes the highest rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections, maternal deaths and morbidity, with the lowest density of human resources compared with other regions (Kyei-Nimakoh, Carolan-Olah & McCann 2016:52). Lesotho’s challenges in terms of the health of its population and limited human resources are reflected in the high maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 487 per 100 000 live births for 2015 (World Health Organization [WHO] 2016). This rate is slightly lower than the reported 2013 MMR of 510 for sub-Saharan Africa but much higher than the worldwide MMR of 210 per 100 000 live births reported for 2013 (Kyei-Nimakoh et al 2016:52). Lesotho has been experiencing health challenges as indicated by its high maternal mortality ratio of 620 per 100 000 live births for the year 2010, which has been linked to its limited human resources. The government worked collaboratively with development partners on strategies to improve nursing and midwifery education, which included the implementation of the competency-based curricula for midwifery in 2014
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
