Protocol for a scoping review to identify and map in-service education and training materials for midwifery care in sub-Saharan Africa from 2000 to 2020

Abstract

Introduction: Maternal and neonatal mortality are disproportionally high in low-and middle-income countries. In 2017 the global maternal mortality ratio was estimated to be 211 per 100 000 live births. An estimated 66% of these deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. Training programmes that aim to prepare providers of midwifery care vary considerably across sub-Saharan Africa in terms of length, content and quality. To overcome the shortfalls of pre-service training and support the provision of quality care, in-service training packages for providers of midwifery care have been developed and implemented in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We aim to identify what in-service education and training materials have been used for providers of midwifery care between 2000 and 2020 and map their content to the International Confederation of Midwives' Essential Competencies for Midwifery Practice (ICM Competencies), and the Lancet Midwifery Series Quality Maternal and Newborn Care (QMNC) framework.

Methods and analysis: A search will be conducted for the years 2000-2020 in Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed/MEDLINE, Social Sciences Citation Index, African Index Medicus and Google Scholar. A manual search of reference lists from identified studies and a hand search of literature from international partner organisations will be performed. Information retrieved will include study context, providers trained, focus of training and design of training. Original content of identified education and training materials will be obtained and mapped to the ICM Competencies and the Lancet Series QMNC.

Ethics and dissemination: A scoping review is a secondary analysis of published literature and does not require ethical approval. This scoping review will give an overview of the education and training materials used for in-service training for providers of midwifery care in sub-Saharan Africa. Mapping the content of these education and training materials to the ICM Competencies and The Lancet Series QMNC will allow us to assess their appropriateness. Findings from the review will be reflected to stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of such materials. Additionally, findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, and used to inform the design and content of an in-service training package for providers of midwifery care as part of the Action Leveraging Evidence to Reduce perinatal morTality and morbidity (ALERT) study, (https://alert.ki.se/) a multi-country study in Benin, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda.

Trial registration number: PACTR202006793783148; Post-results.

Keywords: medical education & training; obstetrics; public health.