Background
Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of maternal death in the world. Nontechnical skills (NTS), such as communication and teamwork, are critical for efficient management of this obstetric emergency. Specific scenarios were designed on a screen-based simulator to train NTS. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of training midwives for NTS with a PPH screen-based simulation.
Methods
A total of 24 midwives participated in the study. They were randomized in 2 groups: the NTS group (n = 12) performed 3 screen-based scenarios designed to train NTS and the control group (n = 12) performed 3 basic scenarios of the screen-based simulation without the NTS training. A structured interview followed the simulation. On the same day, each trainee underwent individually an evaluation on a PPH high-fidelity simulation scenario. Three experts, blinded to the study arm, assessed the NTS with the Anesthetists Non-Technical Skills (ANTS) score.
Results
Midwives from the NTS group achieved higher median scores in each dimension of the ANTS score: task management (4 vs. 2/4, P < 0.0001), team working (4 vs. 2/4, P < 0.0001), situation awareness (4 vs. 2.7/4, P < 0.0001), and decision-making (4 vs. 2/4, P < 0.0001). The median value of the total ANTS score was higher in the NTS group than in the control group (15.5 vs. 8/16, P < 0.0001).
Conclusions
Our study highlights that training with a NTS screen-based simulation, with specific scenarios and debriefing, leads to higher midwives' nontechnical skills performance during simulated postpartum hemorrhage.
Background. Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of maternal death in the world. Non-technical skills (e.g. communication) are now recognized as a contributing factor to medical safety. In the field of simulation, screen-based simulations are currently very popular with computer/technological development. This study evaluates a screen-based simulation device, PerinatSims, developed to improve technical and non-technical skills in PPH situation. This experiment hypothesized that exposure and repetition of training with PerinatSims would improve the self-assessment of non-technical skills, and therefore increase the ability to manage PPH.
Methods. The primary endpoint was a self-assessment of non-technical skills during simulation session of PPH on a digital simulator. Twenty French midwives performed three of nine 25 minutes sessions of PPH screen-based simulation. Four self-assessment questionnaires were administered at the end of each simulation session: a leadership/team working questionnaire (BAT), a negative feelings/emotional questionnaire (DASS-21), a Flow questionnaire and a mental load questionnaire (NASA-TLX). Results between sessions were compared using a repeated measures ANOVA followed by a Bonferroni post hoc test.
Results. The study showed a positive evolution during the three screen-based simulation sessions: an increase of leadership and team working self-assessment, an increase of Flow sense, and a decrease of negative emotions (anxiety and depression in the DASS-21 score). Significant decrease of stress was found only between the second and the third sessions, and significant differences in the NASA-TLX were observed only in two dimensions, Performance and Frustration.
Conclusion. A repeated exposure to PPH situations with a screen-based simulation tool improved the midwives’ self-assessment, especially for leadership, team working, emotion management and Flow sense. Furthermore, midwives had a very positive feedback on the device. They highlighted the desire to use PerinatSims more often to be trained to PPH management, for technical as well as non-technical skills.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.