• Laurel Bookman, Cyril Engmann, Emmanuel Srofenyoh, Christabel Enweronu-Laryea, Medge Owen, Greg Randolph, Wayne Price, and Pierre Barker.
• Division of Neonatology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, 3333 Burnet Ave., MLC 7009, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA. laurel.bookman@cchmc.org
• Resuscitation. 2010 Sep 1; 81 (9): 1180-2.

Aim Of The StudyTo assess midwives' baseline cognitive knowledge of evidence-based neonatal resuscitation practices, and short- and long-term educational effects of teaching a neonatal resuscitation program in a hospital setting in West Africa.MethodsAll midwives (n=14) on the labor ward at Ridge Hospital in Ghana were trained using materials modified from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP). This training program included didactic and practical teaching and was assessed by direct observation within delivery rooms and written pre- and post-test evaluations. Written and practical modules 9-12 months after the initial training session were also conducted to assess retention of NRP knowledge and skills.ResultsFourteen midwives received NRP training on the labor ward. Both written and practical evaluation of neonatal resuscitation skills increased after training. The percentage of items answered correctly on the written examination increased from 56% pre-training to 71% post-training (p<0.01). The percentage of items performed correctly on the practical evaluation of skills increased from 58% pre-training to 81% (p<0.01). These results were sustained 9-12 months after the initial training session.ConclusionAfter receiving NRP training, neonatal resuscitation knowledge and skills increased among midwives in a hospital in West Africa and were sustained over a 9-month period. This finding demonstrates the sustained effectiveness of a modified neonatal resuscitation training program in a resource constrained setting.Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

17 keywords...

hide…