Midwifery workplace culture in Australia: A national survey of midwives

Catling, Christine; Rossiter, Chris

doi:10.1016/j.wombi.2019.09.008

Cited by 45 publications

(45 citation statements)

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“…Prior to the pandemic, many midwives were already unhappy in the profession [ [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] ]. Within the literature, the cause of this dissatisfaction is predominantly attributed to certain features of mainstream Australian maternity care; hierarchical organisational structure, inadequate opportunity to work in models that support continuity, and medical dominance [ 17 , 19 , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] ]. Midwives experience higher rates of burnout than many other caring professions [ 17 , 21 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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No one asked us: Understanding the lived experiences of midwives providing care in the north west suburbs of Melbourne during the COVID-19 pandemic: An interpretive phenomenology

et al. 2022

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Problem Within the Victorian healthcare system, a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated frequent and ongoing changes to midwifery practice. Background Midwives are a vital workforce at risk of burnout, attrition, and trauma. Emotional consequences of the pandemic for midwives remain largely unknown. Aim To understand the lived experiences of midwives providing care in the north west suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria during the pandemic. Methods Purposive and snowball sampling facilitated the recruitment of eight midwives in the north west suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. Semi-structured interviews were audio recorded and transcribed, occurring via telephone or video between September and October 2020. Interpretive phenomenology was the methodology used, informed by the writings of Heidegger and Gadamer. Findings Insights gleaned from the data embody a range of understandings. The unknown cost of change and adaptation; waves of the virus; balancing risk; telehealth; personal protective equipment; stripping away support; the privilege of abiding by the restrictions; separation, distress, uncertainty; and, professional strength. Discussion Experiences of midwives during the pandemic are characterised by sensations of voicelessness and professional invisibility. Distinctive differences in personal wellbeing and professional satisfaction exist between midwives working with and without continuity of care. Conclusion This paper voices the lived experiences of Victorian midwives, in the midst of an extended lockdown, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowledge obtained from this research provides important understandings for leaders, policymakers, and healthcare systems, in planning a long-term response to the pandemic that supports the wellbeing and longevity of a vital workforce.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Symptoms of trauma and stress are frequently reported by research and are strongly associated with burnout [ 25 ]. Attrition is also significant, with workforce shortages possible by 2025 if the trajectory of burnout continues unchanged [ 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

No one asked us: Understanding the lived experiences of midwives providing care in the north west suburbs of Melbourne during the COVID-19 pandemic: An interpretive phenomenology

et al. 2022

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“…It indicates the new (*) and reverse‐scored (**) items and the original domains. Results from the pilot‐test about midwives' ratings on elements of workplace culture are published elsewhere (Catling & Rossiter, in press).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One strength of this study was that respondents in the pilot test were broadly representative of Australian midwives in general (Catling & Rossiter, in press), with a diversity of ages, roles, employment, educational qualifications and state or territory of residence, suggesting this sample is appropriate for pilot testing the instrument. However, response bias is possible, as the midwives who chose to participate in the pilot test may differ from those who did not respond.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Developing the Australian Midwifery Workplace Culture instrument

Catling

Rossiter

McIntyre

2019

Int J of Nursing Practice

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Aim: To develop and psychometrically test the Australian Midwifery WorkplaceCulture instrument.Background: Workplace culture is critical within midwifery settings. Culture determines not only the well-being and continued retention of maternity staff and managers but it also affects the quality and ultimate safety of the care they provide to women, infants and families. Several studies have identified cultural problems within maternity services. Relatively few instruments take account of the unique aspects of these workplaces and the relationship between midwives and women. Design: Three-stage instrument development involved item generation (based on the Culture of Care Barometer), expert content validation and a pilot test. Methods: During 2016, 38 midwifery experts reviewed the initial items, and 322 midwives then pilot-tested the draft instrument. We used exploratory factor analysis to identify key domains and to refine the instrument. Results: The refined instrument contained 22 items in three distinct domains: relationship with managers, empowerment and collegiality. Conclusion: The instrument can contribute to understanding important dimensions of the culture in maternity workplaces and thus to examining problematic attitudes and practices. The instrument requires further development and testing with larger and more diverse samples of midwives and validation in specific midwifery settings and models of care. KEYWORDS attitude, health personnel, childbirth, maternity hospitals, midwifery, organizational culture, validation studies SUMMARY STATEMENTWhat is already known about this topic?• Previous research reports problems in the organizational culture in maternity services, increasing the stress on midwives and potentially affecting the care they provide to women and infants.• Negative workplace culture may contribute to attrition in maternity workforce.• There are few measures that specifically address midwifery workplace culture.• This paper presents a new instrument designed to measure dimensions of midwifery workplace culture, detailing item generation and pilot testing.• Analysis identified three domains that demonstrated good psychometric properties: relationship with management; empowerment and autonomy; collegiality and relationship with peers.Implications of this paper:• The exploratory factor analysis suggests the utility of this instrument for assessing workplace culture in midwifery settings.• The study recommends further testing of this instrument and validation in diverse midwifery workplaces, including large and small hospitals, community services and rural and remote areas.

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