Nurses' and midwives' experiences of providing group antenatal and postnatal care at 18 health centers in Rwanda: A mixed methods study.

<h4>Background</h4>The East Africa Preterm Birth Initiative-Rwanda began a cluster randomized controlled trial of group antenatal care (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC) in Rwanda in 2017. That trial will report its primary outcome, gestational length at birth, after data collection conclude...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tiffany Lundeen, Sabine Musange, Hana Azman, David Nzeyimana, Nathalie Murindahabi, Elizabeth Butrick, Dilys Walker
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219471
_version_ 1797660711585841152
author Tiffany Lundeen
Sabine Musange
Hana Azman
David Nzeyimana
Nathalie Murindahabi
Elizabeth Butrick
Dilys Walker
author_facet Tiffany Lundeen
Sabine Musange
Hana Azman
David Nzeyimana
Nathalie Murindahabi
Elizabeth Butrick
Dilys Walker
author_sort Tiffany Lundeen
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>The East Africa Preterm Birth Initiative-Rwanda began a cluster randomized controlled trial of group antenatal care (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC) in Rwanda in 2017. That trial will report its primary outcome, gestational length at birth, after data collection concludes in 2019. This nested study includes providers of ANC and/or PNC at the 18 health centers randomized to provide the group model of ANC/PNC and the 18 health centers randomized to continue providing ANC/PNC in the traditional, individual visit model. The objective of this study is to understand the experiences of providers of group ANC/PNC and compare their job satisfaction and perceived stress with individual ANC/PNC providers.<h4>Methods</h4>We collected both quantitative and qualitative data from providers (nurses and midwives) who were recruited by health center directors to participate as group ANC and PNC facilitators at intervention sites and from a similar number of providers of standard ANC and PNC at control sites. Quantitative data was collected with questionnaires administered at baseline and approximately 9 months later (follow up). Qualitative data was collected in 3 focus groups of group ANC/PNC providers conducted one year after group care began.<h4>Results</h4>Eighty-six percent of nurses and midwives surveyed who implemented group ANC and PNC reported that they prefer group care to the traditional individual model of ANC and PNC. Perceived stress levels and job satisfaction results were similar between groups. Mixed focus group discussions among both nurses and midwives experienced in group ANC and PNC suggest that the group model of care has advantages for both service beneficiaries and providers. When providers described implementation challenges, their peers in the focus groups offered them suggestions to cope and improve service delivery.<h4>Discussion</h4>These results are consistent with studies of providers of group ANC and PNC in other LMIC contexts with respect to the perceived benefits of group care. This study adds new insights into the ways peer providers can help one another solve implementation problems. When given the opportunity to meet as a group, these study participants offered one another peer support and shared knowledge about best practices for successful implementation of group ANC/PNC. This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03154177.
first_indexed 2024-03-11T18:34:56Z
format Article
id doaj.art-67928e9c34864cb087d599db2b95ecba
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1932-6203
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T18:34:56Z
publishDate 2019-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj.art-67928e9c34864cb087d599db2b95ecba2023-10-13T05:31:37ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032019-01-01147e021947110.1371/journal.pone.0219471Nurses' and midwives' experiences of providing group antenatal and postnatal care at 18 health centers in Rwanda: A mixed methods study.Tiffany LundeenSabine MusangeHana AzmanDavid NzeyimanaNathalie MurindahabiElizabeth ButrickDilys Walker<h4>Background</h4>The East Africa Preterm Birth Initiative-Rwanda began a cluster randomized controlled trial of group antenatal care (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC) in Rwanda in 2017. That trial will report its primary outcome, gestational length at birth, after data collection concludes in 2019. This nested study includes providers of ANC and/or PNC at the 18 health centers randomized to provide the group model of ANC/PNC and the 18 health centers randomized to continue providing ANC/PNC in the traditional, individual visit model. The objective of this study is to understand the experiences of providers of group ANC/PNC and compare their job satisfaction and perceived stress with individual ANC/PNC providers.<h4>Methods</h4>We collected both quantitative and qualitative data from providers (nurses and midwives) who were recruited by health center directors to participate as group ANC and PNC facilitators at intervention sites and from a similar number of providers of standard ANC and PNC at control sites. Quantitative data was collected with questionnaires administered at baseline and approximately 9 months later (follow up). Qualitative data was collected in 3 focus groups of group ANC/PNC providers conducted one year after group care began.<h4>Results</h4>Eighty-six percent of nurses and midwives surveyed who implemented group ANC and PNC reported that they prefer group care to the traditional individual model of ANC and PNC. Perceived stress levels and job satisfaction results were similar between groups. Mixed focus group discussions among both nurses and midwives experienced in group ANC and PNC suggest that the group model of care has advantages for both service beneficiaries and providers. When providers described implementation challenges, their peers in the focus groups offered them suggestions to cope and improve service delivery.<h4>Discussion</h4>These results are consistent with studies of providers of group ANC and PNC in other LMIC contexts with respect to the perceived benefits of group care. This study adds new insights into the ways peer providers can help one another solve implementation problems. When given the opportunity to meet as a group, these study participants offered one another peer support and shared knowledge about best practices for successful implementation of group ANC/PNC. This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03154177.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219471
spellingShingle Tiffany Lundeen
Sabine Musange
Hana Azman
David Nzeyimana
Nathalie Murindahabi
Elizabeth Butrick
Dilys Walker
Nurses' and midwives' experiences of providing group antenatal and postnatal care at 18 health centers in Rwanda: A mixed methods study.
PLoS ONE
title Nurses' and midwives' experiences of providing group antenatal and postnatal care at 18 health centers in Rwanda: A mixed methods study.
title_full Nurses' and midwives' experiences of providing group antenatal and postnatal care at 18 health centers in Rwanda: A mixed methods study.
title_fullStr Nurses' and midwives' experiences of providing group antenatal and postnatal care at 18 health centers in Rwanda: A mixed methods study.
title_full_unstemmed Nurses' and midwives' experiences of providing group antenatal and postnatal care at 18 health centers in Rwanda: A mixed methods study.
title_short Nurses' and midwives' experiences of providing group antenatal and postnatal care at 18 health centers in Rwanda: A mixed methods study.
title_sort nurses and midwives experiences of providing group antenatal and postnatal care at 18 health centers in rwanda a mixed methods study
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219471
work_keys_str_mv AT tiffanylundeen nursesandmidwivesexperiencesofprovidinggroupantenatalandpostnatalcareat18healthcentersinrwandaamixedmethodsstudy
AT sabinemusange nursesandmidwivesexperiencesofprovidinggroupantenatalandpostnatalcareat18healthcentersinrwandaamixedmethodsstudy
AT hanaazman nursesandmidwivesexperiencesofprovidinggroupantenatalandpostnatalcareat18healthcentersinrwandaamixedmethodsstudy
AT davidnzeyimana nursesandmidwivesexperiencesofprovidinggroupantenatalandpostnatalcareat18healthcentersinrwandaamixedmethodsstudy
AT nathaliemurindahabi nursesandmidwivesexperiencesofprovidinggroupantenatalandpostnatalcareat18healthcentersinrwandaamixedmethodsstudy
AT elizabethbutrick nursesandmidwivesexperiencesofprovidinggroupantenatalandpostnatalcareat18healthcentersinrwandaamixedmethodsstudy
AT dilyswalker nursesandmidwivesexperiencesofprovidinggroupantenatalandpostnatalcareat18healthcentersinrwandaamixedmethodsstudy