Influence of skill-based training on Midwives’ competence in Kangaroo mother care positioning techniques: A Quasi-Experimental study in tertiary healthcare facilities in low-resource Nigerian settings

Abstract

Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) has been globally recognized and proven to reduce neonatal morbidity and mortality among low-birth-weight babies, but the implementation of KMC intervention is poor in low- and middle-income countries. In Nigeria, evidence shows that KMC is underutilized due to inadequate training for midwives. Hence, the study evaluated the effect of a structured skill-based training intervention in enhancing KMC competence among midwives in Ondo State, Nigeria. Two-group quasi-experimental study design was utilized. All the three tertiary health facilities in Ondo State were selected for the study. These facilities were randomly assigned to Intervention Group (IG) and Control Group (CG). Total sampling was used to select 203 midwives for the study; 82 in IG and 121 in CG. A 12-item Likert scale checklist was used to assess KMC skills. The IG was trained on KMC positioning techniques; immediate (P1), six weeks (P2), and twelve weeks (P3) post-intervention assessments were conducted. Written informed consent was obtained from the participants. Analyses were done using descriptive and inferential statistics at α 0.05. Participants’ age in IG and CG were 36.3 ± 8.6 and 38.0 ± 8.2 years, respectively. At baseline KMC skill was poor in both groups, IG (0 %) versus CG (0 %); however, post-intervention IG had better KMC skill at P1 (70.7 %), P2 (62.2 %) and P3 (61.0 %) than CG which remained 0 % at P1, P2, and P3. Significant differences were observed in KMC skills between midwives in IG and CG post-intervention. It was found that skill-based training significantly improved KMC competence among midwives in the intervention group.