“Everywhere in the community you are seen as a bad luck midwife”: experiences of midwives upon conducting stillbirth deliveries in Northern Ghana

Midwives have a huge responsibility when it comes to conducting deliveries. They expect to save the life of both the mother and child. The purpose of the study was to explore the experiences of midwives and their coping strategies when they conduct a stillbirth delivery. The study used an exploratory qualitative approach to understand the experiences of midwives upon conducting a stillbirth delivery. The study was conducted among 15 midwives in one district in northern Ghana. Participants were purposively selected and data collected through individual face-to-face in-depth interviews. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed using content analysis. The study findings indicate that midwives who conduct stillbirth delivery suffer psychological effects such as sadness, guilt, sleeplessness and loss of appetite. They also suffer social effects such as social stigma, social withdrawal, altered relationships, and difficulty communicating the news to the affected mother. The midwives coped with the psychosocial effects upon conducting stillbirth deliveries through spirituality, diversional therapy, support from peers, and support from family. There is a need for a systematic structure in the hospital to provide psychological assistance to midwives who perform stillbirth deliveries and are emotionally affected

Challenges and coping strategies when caring for terminally ill persons with cancer: perspectives of family caregivers

© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Introduction: Terminal illness is an irreversible illness that, without life-sustaining procedures, usually results in death or permanent disability from which recovery is unlikely. When involved, family caregivers are believed to improve health outcomes, such as reduced hospitalization, and establishing a patient’s initial access to professional treatment services. However, caring for a patient with a terminal illness is viewed as one of the most difficult aspects of providing care. This study aimed to identify the challenges, and coping strategies developed by family caregivers to cope with the care of the terminally ill person. Methods: An exploratory descriptive qualitative approach was used. Twenty (20) family caregivers voluntarily participated in the study from the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants. The transcribed interviews were then analysed using thematic analysis. Results: From the analysis, three main themes emerged: challenges, coping strategies, and social support. These themes encompassed sixteen subthemes including financial burden, bad health conditions, faith and prayer, and support from health professionals. From the study, both male and female family caregivers narrated that providing care for sick relatives undergoing terminal disease is characterized as a daily duty demanding one’s time and fraught with emotional strain. In addition, even though it was a difficult job, family members who provided care for ailing relatives never gave up, citing responsibility, the importance of family, and religious beliefs as the primary motivations for doing so. Conclusion: The difficulties and demands of family caregiving roles for terminally ill relatives are complex and multifactorial. The findings call for multidisciplinary professional attention for family caregivers and policies that will support their lives holistically.Peer reviewe

The development of a framework for clinical education programme of undergraduate nursing students in Ghana

Abstract Introduction Clinical education is an important aspect of the training of nursing students but it is faced with challenges in Ghana. The development of a framework will respond to the need for improvement in the quality of clinical nursing education. This study describes part of a larger study which culminated in the development of a framework for a clinical education programme for undergraduate nursing students in Ghana. The aim of the current study was to integrate findings from a scoping review and situational analysis to develop a framework for clinical education in nursing. Methods A sequential multimethod design approach was used to conduct the study. A scoping review on the practices that facilitate clinical nursing education and situational analysis were first conducted. The lessons learnt from the scoping review and the situational analysis provided the data matrix that was triangulated to develop the framework. The framework was developed using the model for clinical education developed by South African Nursing Education Stakeholders in consultation with experts in nursing education. An implementation plan was developed from the framework and evaluated using a Delphi technique. Findings The resulting framework indicates the need for effective communication and collaboration between nursing education institution and the service setting to ensure that there is a well-structured clinical placement, formal supervision system and effective clinical assessment of students. The framework also proposes that to ensure quality clinical nursing education there is the need for Nursing Education Institutions to implement innovative and cost-effective clinical teaching methods. Conclusion The framework spells out the functions of the various stakeholders in nursing education and how these can be integrated and implemented to enhance quality clinical nursing education. Effectiveness of the thematic areas of the framework will increase the quality of clinical nursing education

Mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B: extent of knowledge of physicians and midwives in Eastern region of Ghana

Abstract Background Mother -to -Child transmission of hepatitis B infection remains a major public health concern particularly in Africa. Adequate knowledge of physicians and midwives is crucial in averting most of the hepatitis B viral transmissions from mothers to their new-borns. However, there is a dearth of evidence on extent of knowledge of physicians and midwives in Ghana inspite of the increasing incidence of hepatitis B infection in the country. This study therefore assessed the knowledge level of physicians and midwives regarding Mother-to-Child transmission of hepatitis B in the Eastern region of Ghana. Methods A Cross sectional survey was conducted between August to November, 2015 using semi-structured self-administered questionnaire. Study participants were recruited from five health facilities and their level of awareness and knowledge about Mother-to-Child transmission of hepatitis B were assessed. The level of statistical significance was set at 0.05 alpha level. Results The findings showed that both physicians and midwives had good knowledge on Mother-to-Child transmission of hepatitis B infection. However, there were some knowledge gaps regarding effective hepatitis B prevention from mother to their newborns such as the use of hepatitis B vaccine and immunoglobulin. Additionally, 49.2 % (n = 62) of the participants had never attended any workshop on Mother-to-Child transmission of hepatitis B since completion of formal training. Conclusions Developing appropriate periodic training programmes on current issues of hepatitis B for physicians and midwives in Eastern region will further enhance their knowledge. It is recommended that, further study examine if the knowledge of the respondents is translated into practice

Perceptions on Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness: Perspectives of Pregnant Women

Birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR) involves preparing for childbirth, bearing in mind the possible complications. The concept of BPCR has the potential to improve the awareness and utilization of suitable medical facilities to ensure safe delivery and minimize maternal and neonatal mortality. The purpose of the study was to explore pregnant women’s perspectives on the benefits and barriers of BPCR in the Northern Ghana. The study employed an exploratory descriptive design using a qualitative approach. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 13 participants. Data was collected through individual face-to-face interviews. The data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Out of the 13 participants, the age range for participants was 17 to 37 years; more than half were married, but less than half had no formal education. The participants indicated their understanding of BPCR by explaining the concept of BPCR, dangers signs, and prevention of danger signs. A varied source of information on BPCR was reported including the midwives or clinic, media, and family. The participants indicated that the benefits of BPCR include ensuring adequate preparation, delivery of a healthy child, and arranging for support. The barriers to BPCR were inadequate information, lack of finances, lack of transport, lack of support from the family, and lack of community support. The study findings indicate that the participants were generally informed about the concept of BPCR. However, to enable pregnant women prepare adequately for childbirth, there is a need to involve the husbands in the education on BPCR. The use of mass media to get families and communities educated on the importance of BPCR will enable them to support pregnant women