Support in the Battle against COVID-19: A National Qualitative Study among Midwives in Indonesia

Abstract

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2019 was met with various responses globally in an effort to reduce its spread. Despite these efforts, however, low- and middle-income countries like Indonesia are still being confronted with challenges, especially the healthcare providers who are frontline workers in the struggle. The current study aimed to explore the support expected by and provided to Indonesian midwives and pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research method used was a descriptive-interpretative qualitative research design. The data was collected through conducting in-depth interviews with 24 midwives who were purposively sampled and evenly recruited across all regions and all areas of midwifery practice in Indonesia. The recorded interviews were coded and themes were identified, after which a thematic analysis was done. Two main themes emerged and nine sub-themes were identified from the main themes. The study findings offered new insights into the individual and collective experiences of midwives from various regions in Indonesia. They had to adjust by leveraging the internet and mobile telephones in order to continue delivering standard care to pregnant women amid the pandemic. In addition, the midwives saw the need to provide food and financial support to pregnant women. However, despite the end of the pandemic being in sight in September 2022, there is a need to continue to support midwives and pregnant women in the disruption caused by the pandemic. Government agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should plan interventions targeted at providing specific support to midwives and pregnant women.

Analisis Faktor-Faktor Yang Berhubungan Dengan Tingkat Kecemasan Mahasiswa Kebidanan Selama Masa Pandemi Covid-19

“…Pengumpulan data dilakukan pada bulan Juli 2020 dengan menggunakan Google form. 7 Subjek penelitian ini adalah mahasiswa Kebidanan, yang terdiri atas mahasiswa Sarjana dan Magister di Jawa, Sumatera, Sulawesi, dan Nusa Tenggara Timur Indonesia yang sampelnya diambil secara convenience sampling guna mendukung pembatasan kontak saat pandemi COVID-19. Kriteria eksklusi penelitian ini adalah mahasiswa selain Kebidanan dan tidak bersedia untuk mengikuti penelitian ini.…”

“…Kecemasan juga dilaporkan pada penelitian sebelumnya pada bidan di Indonesia selama pandemi. 33 Namun, hal ini tidak sejalan dengan hasil penelitian pada mahasiswa kebidanan oleh Wijayanti (2022) yang menyatakan bahwa mahasiswa yang terpapar dengan orang yang dicurigai COVID-19 memiliki risiko 2,83 kali lebih tinggi meningkatkan kecemasan dibandingkan dengan mereka yang tidak terpapar dengan orang yang dicurigai COVID-19. 34 Mahasiswa kebidanan atau mahasiswa kesehatan pada umumnya dianggap telah mengerti atau memahami tentang COVID-19 dan protokol kesehatan dibandingkan dengan masyarakat umum, mengetahui bagaimana proses penularan COVID-19 dan cara mencegahnya, yang seharusnya tidak menimbulkan kecemasan yang berarti pada mereka.…”