Understanding the challenges related to breastfeeding education and barriers to curricular change: a systems perspective for transforming health professions education
Objectives: A majority of women and families wish that their babies be breastfed. However, too many still receive insufficient or inappropriate initial care from health professionals (HPs) who have limited breastfeeding (BF) competencies. We investigated barriers and potential solutions to improve...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Canadian Medical Education Journal
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Canadian Medical Education Journal |
| Online Access: | https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cmej/article/view/73178 |
| _version_ | 1811244836547723264 |
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| author | Isabelle Michaud-Létourneau Marion Gayard Julie Lauzière Micheline Beaudry Laura Pascual Isabelle Chartier Juliette Herzhaft-LeRoy Sylvie Chiasson Bénédicte Fontaine-Bisson Catherine Pound Isabelle Gaboury |
| author_facet | Isabelle Michaud-Létourneau Marion Gayard Julie Lauzière Micheline Beaudry Laura Pascual Isabelle Chartier Juliette Herzhaft-LeRoy Sylvie Chiasson Bénédicte Fontaine-Bisson Catherine Pound Isabelle Gaboury |
| author_sort | Isabelle Michaud-Létourneau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Objectives: A majority of women and families wish that their babies be breastfed. However, too many still receive insufficient or inappropriate initial care from health professionals (HPs) who have limited breastfeeding (BF) competencies. We investigated barriers and potential solutions to improve the undergraduate training programs for various HPs.
Methods: Focus groups were carried out in three universities in Quebec and one in Ontario (Canada), with 30 faculty and program directors from medicine, midwifery, nursing, nutrition, and pharmacy. Discussions were subjected to thematic content analysis, before being validated in a strategic planning workshop with 48 participants from the same disciplines, plus dentistry and chiropractic.
Findings: Substantive improvements of undergraduate training programs for BF could be obtained by addressing challenges related to the insufficient, or lack of, (i) interactions among various HPs, (ii) opportunities for practical learning, (iii) specific standards to guide course content, (iv) real-life experience with counselling, and (v) understanding of the influence of attitudes on professional practice. Several potential solutions were proposed and validated. The re-interpretation of the results in light of various literature led to an emerging framework that takes a systems perspective for enhancing the education of HPs on BF.
Conclusions: To improve the education of HPs so as to enable them to provide relevant support for future mothers, mothers and their families, solutions need to be carried out to address challenges in the health system, the education system as well as regarding the curricular change process.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T14:31:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b0476f650a4b4cb48f646bc2e3872964 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1923-1202 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T14:31:45Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Canadian Medical Education Journal |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Canadian Medical Education Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-b0476f650a4b4cb48f646bc2e38729642022-12-22T03:29:15ZengCanadian Medical Education JournalCanadian Medical Education Journal1923-12022022-06-0110.36834/cmej.73178Understanding the challenges related to breastfeeding education and barriers to curricular change: a systems perspective for transforming health professions educationIsabelle Michaud-Létourneau0Marion Gayard1Julie Lauzière2Micheline Beaudry3Laura Pascual4Isabelle Chartier5Juliette Herzhaft-LeRoy6Sylvie Chiasson7Bénédicte Fontaine-Bisson8Catherine Pound9Isabelle Gaboury10Université de MontréalMouvement allaitement du QuébecMouvement allaitement du QuébecMouvement allaitement du QuébecMouvement allaitement du QuébecMouvement allaitement du QuébecMouvement allaitement du QuébecMouvement allaitement du QuébecMouvement allaitement du QuébecUniversity of OttawaSherbrooke University Objectives: A majority of women and families wish that their babies be breastfed. However, too many still receive insufficient or inappropriate initial care from health professionals (HPs) who have limited breastfeeding (BF) competencies. We investigated barriers and potential solutions to improve the undergraduate training programs for various HPs. Methods: Focus groups were carried out in three universities in Quebec and one in Ontario (Canada), with 30 faculty and program directors from medicine, midwifery, nursing, nutrition, and pharmacy. Discussions were subjected to thematic content analysis, before being validated in a strategic planning workshop with 48 participants from the same disciplines, plus dentistry and chiropractic. Findings: Substantive improvements of undergraduate training programs for BF could be obtained by addressing challenges related to the insufficient, or lack of, (i) interactions among various HPs, (ii) opportunities for practical learning, (iii) specific standards to guide course content, (iv) real-life experience with counselling, and (v) understanding of the influence of attitudes on professional practice. Several potential solutions were proposed and validated. The re-interpretation of the results in light of various literature led to an emerging framework that takes a systems perspective for enhancing the education of HPs on BF. Conclusions: To improve the education of HPs so as to enable them to provide relevant support for future mothers, mothers and their families, solutions need to be carried out to address challenges in the health system, the education system as well as regarding the curricular change process. https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cmej/article/view/73178 |
| spellingShingle | Isabelle Michaud-Létourneau Marion Gayard Julie Lauzière Micheline Beaudry Laura Pascual Isabelle Chartier Juliette Herzhaft-LeRoy Sylvie Chiasson Bénédicte Fontaine-Bisson Catherine Pound Isabelle Gaboury Understanding the challenges related to breastfeeding education and barriers to curricular change: a systems perspective for transforming health professions education Canadian Medical Education Journal |
| title | Understanding the challenges related to breastfeeding education and barriers to curricular change: a systems perspective for transforming health professions education |
| title_full | Understanding the challenges related to breastfeeding education and barriers to curricular change: a systems perspective for transforming health professions education |
| title_fullStr | Understanding the challenges related to breastfeeding education and barriers to curricular change: a systems perspective for transforming health professions education |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding the challenges related to breastfeeding education and barriers to curricular change: a systems perspective for transforming health professions education |
| title_short | Understanding the challenges related to breastfeeding education and barriers to curricular change: a systems perspective for transforming health professions education |
| title_sort | understanding the challenges related to breastfeeding education and barriers to curricular change a systems perspective for transforming health professions education |
| url | https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cmej/article/view/73178 |
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