Development and pilot test of a smartphone app for midwifery care in Tanzania: A comparative cross-sectional study

Shimpuku, Yoko; Mwilike, Beatrice; Mwakawanga, Dorkasi L.; Ito, Keiko; Hirose, Naoki; Kubota, Kazumi

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0283808

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Nurses and midwives found the first developed prototype of smartphone app training of the EmONC acceptable as it met the midwives' expectations in terms of the knowledge and skills' gap in EmONC. This finding is consistent with perspectives expressed by midwives in Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo about the effects of smartphone application in equipping them with knowledge useful for their practice of EmONC provision [26,27]. In spite of the positive perspectives about the acceptability of the newly developed smartphone app, our study identified a number of constraints that may affect nurses' and midwives' utilization of the newly developed smartphone application.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Nurses and midwives mentioned that the quality of and availability of internet in the remote areas, affordability of internet bundles, and the coordination of the online training for CPD purposes may affect the use of this application for CPD purposes. Like in other places where smartphone applications were piloted to provide trainings such as Tanzania, similar constraints above mentioned have been documented particularly lack of free internet access in maternity [26]. In addition to these challenges, unlike our study, the study from Tanzania further highlighted lack of time to read due to busy workloads [26].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 49%

“…Like in other places where smartphone applications were piloted to provide trainings such as Tanzania, similar constraints above mentioned have been documented particularly lack of free internet access in maternity [26]. In addition to these challenges, unlike our study, the study from Tanzania further highlighted lack of time to read due to busy workloads [26]. To mitigate the issue of limited internet network access, nurses and midwives suggested that they actively use the app to access CPDs on EmONC if an offline version of the app is availed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Utilization of technology to provide on-the-job trainings on Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care: Perspectives of nurses and midwives working in Rwanda’s remote health facilities

Uhawenimana,

Gakwerere,

Ngabonzima

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction One of the targets for the third sustainable development goals is to reduce worldwide maternal mortality ratio (MMR) to less than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. To address issues affecting women and the newborns during childbirth and postnatal period, concerted efforts from governments and their stakeholders are crucial to maximize the use of technology to enhance frontline health professionals’ skills to provide the emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC). However, no study has garnered nurses’ and midwives’ perspectives regarding the application of technology-enhanced learning approach to provide on-the-job Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and factors that may influence the application of this training approach in the Rwandan context. Methods The study collected data from nurses and midwives from forty (40) public health facilities in remote areas nationwide. The study applied a qualitative descriptive design to explore and describe nurses’ and midwives’ perspectives on the feasibility and acceptability of technology enhanced learning approaches such as e-learning, phone-based remote training, and other online methods to provide trainings in EmONC. Two focus group discussions with EmONC mentors, two with nurses and midwives were conducted. Twelve key informant interviews were conducted. Participants were selected purposively. In total, 54 individuals were included in this study. A thematic approach was used to analyse data. Results Nurses and midwives highlighted the need to provide refresher trainings about the management of pre-eclampsia. Most of the EmONC trainings are still provided face-to-face and the use of technology enhanced learning approaches have not yet been embraced in delivering EmONC CPDs for nurses and midwives in remote areas. Nurses and midwives found the first developed prototype of smartphone app training of the EmONC acceptable as it met the midwives’ expectations in terms of the knowledge and skills’ gap in EmONC. Conclusion Although the newly developed application was found acceptable, further research involving practical sessions by nurses and midwives using the developed application is needed to garner views about the ease of use of the application, relevance of the EmONC uploaded content on the app, and needed improvements on the app to address their needs in EmONC.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 49%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Utilization of technology to provide on-the-job trainings on Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care: Perspectives of nurses and midwives working in Rwanda’s remote health facilities

Uhawenimana,

Gakwerere,

Ngabonzima

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Initiatives to improve the quality of maternal healthcare services, enhance access to education, and alleviate poverty may have played a key role [ 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 ]. However, the MMR remains relatively high, suggesting that challenges such as health system weaknesses, the low socioeconomic status of women, and limited access to healthcare services are still prevalent [ 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends, Projections, and Regional Disparities of Maternal Mortality in Africa (1990–2030): An ARIMA Forecasting Approach

Onambele,

Guillen-Aguinaga,

Guillen-Aguinaga

et al. 2023

Epidemiologia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

With the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) (2015–2030) focused on the reduction in maternal mortality, monitoring and forecasting maternal mortality rates (MMRs) in regions like Africa is crucial for health strategy planning by policymakers, international organizations, and NGOs. We collected maternal mortality rates per 100,000 births from the World Bank database between 1990 and 2015. Joinpoint regression was applied to assess trends, and the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model was used on 1990–2015 data to forecast the MMRs for the next 15 years. We also used the Holt method and the machine-learning Prophet Forecasting Model. The study found a decline in MMRs in Africa with an average annual percentage change (APC) of −2.6% (95% CI −2.7; −2.5). North Africa reported the lowest MMR, while East Africa experienced the sharpest decline. The region-specific ARIMA models predict that the maternal mortality rate (MMR) in 2030 will vary across regions, ranging from 161 deaths per 100,000 births in North Africa to 302 deaths per 100,000 births in Central Africa, averaging 182 per 100,000 births for the continent. Despite the observed decreasing trend in maternal mortality rate (MMR), the MMR in Africa remains relatively high. The results indicate that MMR in Africa will continue to decrease by 2030. However, no region of Africa will likely reach the SDG target.

show abstract

Nurses and Midwives’ Perspectives on Technology-Enhanced Learning and Continuous Professional Development on Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care in Rwanda

Uhawenimana,

Gakwerere,

Ngabonzima

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundOne of the targets for the third sustainable development goals is to reduce worldwide maternal mortality ratio (MMR) to less than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. To address issues affecting women and the newborns during childbirth and postnatal period, concerted efforts from governments and their stakeholders are crucial to maximize the use of technology to enhance frontline health professionals’ skills to provide the emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC). However, no study has garnered nurses’ and midwives’ perspectives regarding the application of technology-enhanced learning approach to provide on-job CPDs and factors that may influence the application of this training approach in the Rwandan context.MethodsThe study collected data from nurses and midwives from forty (40) public health facilities in remote areas nationwide. The study applied a qualitative descriptive design to explore and describe nurses’ and midwives’ perspectives on the feasibility and acceptability of technology enhanced learning approaches such as e-learning, phone-based remote training, and other online methods to provide trainings in EmONC. Two focus group discussions with EmONC mentor, two with nurses and midwives were conducted. Twelve key informant interviews were conducted. Participants were selected purposively. In total, 54 individuals were included in this study. A thematic approach was used to analyse data.ResultsNurses and midwives highlighted the need to provide refresher trainings about the management of pre-eclampsia. Most of the EmONC trainings are still provided face to face and the use of technology enhanced learning approaches have not yet been embraced in delivering EmONC CPDs for nurses and midwives in remote areas. Nurses and midwives found the first developed prototype of smartphone app training of the EmONC acceptable as it met the midwives’ expectations in terms of the knowledge and skills’ gap in EmONC.ConclusionAlthough the newly developed application was found acceptable, further research involving practical sessions by nurses and midwives using the developed application is needed to garner views about the ease of use of the application, relevance of the EmONC uploaded content on the app, and needed improvements on the app to address their needs in EmONC.

show abstract

Development and pilot test of a smartphone app for midwifery care in Tanzania: A comparative cross-sectional study

Cited by 3 publications

References 35 publications

Utilization of technology to provide on-the-job trainings on Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care: Perspectives of nurses and midwives working in Rwanda’s remote health facilities

Utilization of technology to provide on-the-job trainings on Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care: Perspectives of nurses and midwives working in Rwanda’s remote health facilities

Trends, Projections, and Regional Disparities of Maternal Mortality in Africa (1990–2030): An ARIMA Forecasting Approach

Nurses and Midwives’ Perspectives on Technology-Enhanced Learning and Continuous Professional Development on Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care in Rwanda

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About