An analysis of the global diversity of midwifery pre-service education pathways
An analysis of the global diversity of midwifery pre-service education pathways
Background: The development of competent professional midwives is a pre-requisite for improving access to skilled attendance at birth and reducing maternal and neonatal mortality. Despite an understanding of the skills and competencies needed to provide high- quality care to women during pregnancy, birth and the post-natal period, there is a marked lack of conformity and standardisation in the approach between countries to the pre-service education of midwives. This paper describes the diversity of pre-service education pathways, qualifications, duration of education programmes and public and private sector provision globally, both within and between country income groups. Methods: We present data from 107 countries based on survey responses from an International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) member association survey conducted in 2020, which included questions on direct entry and post-nursing midwifery education programmes. Findings: Our findings confirm that there is complexity in midwifery education in many countries, which is concentrated in low -and middle-income countries (LMICS). On average, LMICs have a greater number of education pathways and shorter duration of education programmes. They are less likely to attain the ICM-recommended minimum duration of 36 months for direct entry. Low- and lower-middle income countries also rely more heavily on the private sector for provision of midwifery education. Conclusion: More evidence is needed on the most effective midwifery education programmes in order to enable countries to focus resources where they can be best utilised. A greater understanding is needed of the impact of diversity of education programmes on health systems and the midwifery workforce.
Health care worker education, Maternal health services, Midwifery
439-445
Neal, Sarah
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Nove, Andrea
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Bar-Zeev, Sarah
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Pairman, Sally
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Ryan, Erin
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ten Hoope-Bender, Petra
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Homer, Caroline
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September 2023
Neal, Sarah
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Nove, Andrea
90e094cf-1931-4d79-a8c1-ad04779e61e0
Bar-Zeev, Sarah
ad8e3750-2c2f-4f9e-95b3-de14eb1574be
Pairman, Sally
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Ryan, Erin
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ten Hoope-Bender, Petra
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Homer, Caroline
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Neal, Sarah, Nove, Andrea, Bar-Zeev, Sarah, Pairman, Sally, Ryan, Erin, ten Hoope-Bender, Petra and Homer, Caroline
(2023)
An analysis of the global diversity of midwifery pre-service education pathways.
Women and Birth, 36 (5), .
(doi:10.1016/j.wombi.2023.03.002).
Abstract
Background: The development of competent professional midwives is a pre-requisite for improving access to skilled attendance at birth and reducing maternal and neonatal mortality. Despite an understanding of the skills and competencies needed to provide high- quality care to women during pregnancy, birth and the post-natal period, there is a marked lack of conformity and standardisation in the approach between countries to the pre-service education of midwives. This paper describes the diversity of pre-service education pathways, qualifications, duration of education programmes and public and private sector provision globally, both within and between country income groups. Methods: We present data from 107 countries based on survey responses from an International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) member association survey conducted in 2020, which included questions on direct entry and post-nursing midwifery education programmes. Findings: Our findings confirm that there is complexity in midwifery education in many countries, which is concentrated in low -and middle-income countries (LMICS). On average, LMICs have a greater number of education pathways and shorter duration of education programmes. They are less likely to attain the ICM-recommended minimum duration of 36 months for direct entry. Low- and lower-middle income countries also rely more heavily on the private sector for provision of midwifery education. Conclusion: More evidence is needed on the most effective midwifery education programmes in order to enable countries to focus resources where they can be best utilised. A greater understanding is needed of the impact of diversity of education programmes on health systems and the midwifery workforce.
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 2 March 2023
Published date: September 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This work was funded by a grant from the New Venture Fund (reference NVF-NGDF-NOV10_Subgrant-014350-2021-05-01 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
Keywords:
Health care worker education, Maternal health services, Midwifery
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 477419
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/477419
ISSN: 1871-5192
PURE UUID: b4b24ed5-62a8-49e6-94ed-84d56138d102
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Date deposited: 06 Jun 2023 16:53
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:19
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Contributors
Author:
Andrea Nove
Author:
Sarah Bar-Zeev
Author:
Sally Pairman
Author:
Erin Ryan
Author:
Petra ten Hoope-Bender
Author:
Caroline Homer
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