Knowledge and Skills Gap of Midwives to Conduct Obstetric Ultrasonography Screening in Primary Health Care Facilities in Kajiado and Kisii Counties, Kenya

Abstract

Background: Ultrasound remains a tool of much importance in maternity care with midwives regarded as key health professionals when it comes to care of pregnant mothers. There is however limited study on the knowledge and skills gaps of midwives in conducting obstetric ultrasonography screening. The purpose of this study was to assess the specific obstetric ultrasonography knowledge and skills gaps among midwives based in primary health care facilities. Methods: A cross-sectional study employing both qualitative and quantitative method was conducted between July and August 2019 with 274 midwives. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data while Focus group discussion and Key Informants Interview were used to collect qualitative data. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data test associations between variables while the qualitative data were used to compliment the questionnaire data in eliciting more information on the gaps. Findings: Almost all (94.5%) the midwives had never been trained on any basic obstetric ultrasound while six of those that had been trained in early stages by the project lacked equipment to practice the acquired skills. More than three quarters of the respondents opined that they wished to provide personalized care services to mothers/clients seeking Antenatal Care Services (ANC) in their community at a fee while only 13.9% had knowledge that obstetric screening should be done before 24 weeks gestation. Four out of ten of the respondents scored themselves a one (1) on the level of confidence they have using an ultrasound machines or technology. Conclusion: There still remains a huge gap as far as training of midwives on basic ultrasound screening is

Feasibility and effects of the Mimba Yangu (My Pregnancy) project in improving routine prenatal ultrasound by nurses-midwives in rural Kenya: A before-after study

“…Similarly, in other studies midwives expressed motivation and con dence in acquiring the knowledge, expressed their desire to perform ultrasound and highlighted the empowerment created through making decisions without necessarily waiting for the availability of the doctor. [28][29][30] Studies also attributed appreciation of skills to prominent need and desire to gain further knowledge of the eld. 27,31 Midwives from a study in Ethiopia expressed that ultrasound creating an image of the baby facilitated their communication with pregnant women.…”

Role Of the Midwife in The Use of Ultrasonography (USG) Equipment in Antenatal Care (ANC) Service: A Scoping Review

“…The inhibiting factors indicated in the article [10] that there is still a large gap as far as the training of midwives on basic ultrasound screening and the lack of basic obstetric ultrasound examination skills are obstacles to participating in Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) examination services (Matiang'i et al, 2020). Ultrasound training for midwives directly with a longer training duration can detect high-risk pregnancy conditions during labor with a high level of quality and accuracy after training (Shah et al, 2020).…”

“…Ultrasonography (USG) is one of the most important tools for health workers in obstetrics (Matiang'i et al, 2020). The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended for ≤ 24 weeks pregnant women should perform an ultrasound at least once, and twice for all pregnant women.…”