The Image of Nurses and Midwives in Ghana: Patient and Family Perspectives
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Ohene L
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9685108 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundThe World Health Organization has admonished member countries to strive towards achieving universal health coverage (UHC) through actionable health policies and strategies. Nurses and midwives have instrumental roles in achieving UHC via health policy development and implementation. However, there is a paucity of empirical data on nurses and midwives' participation in policy development in Ghana. The current study explored nurses and midwives' participation in policy development, reviews and reforms in Ghana.MethodsA qualitative descriptive exploratory design was adopted for this study. One-on-one individual interviews were conducted after 30 participants were purposefully selected. Data was audiotaped with permission, transcribed and analyzed inductively using the content analysis procedures.ResultsTwo main themes emerged from the data: participation in policy development and perspectives on policy reviews and reforms. The findings showed that during health policy development and reviews, nurses in Ghana were overlooked and unacknowledged. Policy reforms regarding bridging the pre-service preparation gap, staff development and motivation mechanisms and influence on admission into nursing schools were raised.ConclusionThe authors concluded that nurses and midwives are crucial members of the healthcare systems and their inputs in policy development and reviews would improve health delivery in Ghana.
| S-EPMC7821498 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundNon-pharmacological interventions hold promise in reducing labour pain, with minimal or no harm to the mother, foetus and the progress of labour and are simple and cost-effective. Yet their use has not been adequately explored in clinical settings, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.MethodsThis was a descriptive phenomenological study. Fifteen (15) nurses and midwives working in labour wards of two hospitals in Ghana were interviewed. Data analysis was guided by the principles of coding by Bailey and the constant comparative approach to generate themes. Ethics approval was obtained from the 37 Military Teaching Hospital Institutional Review Board in Ghana.ResultsThree major themes were identified that described the experiences of nurses and midwives regarding their use of non-pharmacological interventions in managing labour pain. These were familiarity with non-pharmacological interventions, perceived benefits of non-pharmacological interventions, and barriers to the use of non-pharmacological interventions in the management of labour pain.ConclusionsWhile some non-pharmacological pain management interventions were known and used by the nurses and midwives, they were not familiar with a good number of these interventions. Nurses and midwives perceived these interventions to be beneficial yet a number of barriers prevented easy utilisation.
| S-EPMC6518741 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Following periods of health workforce crisis characterised by a severe shortage of nurses, midwives and doctors due to low production rates and excessive out-migration, the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Health (MOH) responded by expanding training and allowing private sector involvement in the training of health workers especially nurses and midwives. This resulted in substantial increases in the production levels of nurses and midwives even above the projections of the MOH. In this paper, we discuss how a strategy that was seemingly well planned suffered a decade of uncorrected implementation lapses resulting in a lingering need-based shortage of nurses and midwives at service delivery points whilst thousands of trained nurses and midwives remained unemployed for up to 4?years and constantly protesting for jobs. In the short term, we argue that the Government of Ghana would need to increase investment to recruit trained and unemployed nurses and midwives whilst a comprehensive health labour market analysis is conducted to provide robust evidence towards the development of a long-term health workforce plan that would guide future production of nurses and midwives. The Government of Ghana may also explore the option of a managed migration programme to export nurses/midwives to countries that are already destinations to individual migration initiatives in a bid to mitigate the potential skill loss associated with long periods of unemployment after training, especially for those who trained from the private institutions.
| S-EPMC7059310 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of psychological well-being on job performance among nurses and midwives in rural and urban hospitals in Ghana amidst COVID-19. The study adopted a purely quantitative approach, using the explanatory research design. Data were collected from 262 nurses and midwives in two selected hospitals in the Central Region of Ghana. The Structural Equation Modelling was used to analyze the data collected. The results revealed that the levels of psychological well-being and job performance were high in both hospitals amidst the pandemic. Further, it was observed that although psychological well- being had significant influence on job performance among the nurses and midwives in both rural and urban communities, the effect was more significant in the urban settlements. Given these findings, the study recommended that in order to effectively improve the job performance of nurses and midwives, management must adopt policies such as, flexible work arrangements, leave policy, and counselling services to support their psychological well-being.
| S-EPMC11356392 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe purpose of the study was to explore the views of nurses on the concept of patient- and family-centered care (PFCC) and its practices in a peri-operative context in Northern Ghanaian hospitals.MethodsThe study, using a qualitative explorative, descriptive, and contextual research design was conducted at six selected hospitals located in the Northern part of Ghana. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants for individual and focus group interviews. Data were generated between March and May 2022. Data saturation was reached with 27 participants comprising 15 individuals and 12 members from two focus group interviews. All interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim and the data analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsTwo themes emerged from the study, namely nurses' understanding of the concept of PFCC and how they see the benefits of PFCC in a peri-operative context. Subthemes of the nurses' understanding of PFCC included their perceptions of PFCC, the need for collaboration, supporting the patient's family for better post-operative and effective communication, and PFCC practices in the peri-operative context. Subthemes for benefits of PFCC in the peri-operative context included nurse-related benefits, patient- and family-related benefits, and healthcare system-related benefits.ConclusionsThe study revealed that the concept of PFCC is unfamiliar to the Ghanaian peri-operative context despite the positive perceptions exhibited by the nurses in terms of their understanding of PFCC and its related benefits to nurses, patients, and families as well as the healthcare system.
| S-EPMC10845520 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAs the largest professional group, nurses and midwives play instrumental roles in healthcare delivery, supporting the smooth administration and operation of the health system. Consequently, the withdrawal of nursing and midwifery services via strike action has direct and indirect detrimental effects on access to healthcare.ObjectiveThe current study examined the impact of strike action by nurses and midwives with respect to access to and use of health services.MethodData were collected retrospectively from a total of 181 health facilities from all the 16 administrative regions of Ghana, with the support of field officers. Because the strike lasted for 3 days, the data collection span three consecutive days before the strike, three days of the strike and three consecutive days after the strike. Data analysis was focused comparing the utilization of healthcare services before, during and after strike. Data were analysed and presented on the various healthcare services. This was done separately for the health facility type and the 16 administrative regions.FindingsThe results showed that; (1) the average number of patients or clients who accessed healthcare services reduced drastically during the strike period, compared with before the strike. Majority of the regions recorded more than 70% decrease in service use during the strike period; (2) the average number of patients or clients who accessed healthcare services after the strike increased by more than 100% across majority of the regions.ConclusionThe study showed that strike action by nurses and midwives negatively affected access to and utilization of healthcare services.
| S-EPMC9565728 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Nurses who care for patients with life-limiting illness operate at the interface of family caregivers (FCGs), patients, and prescribers and are uniquely positioned to guide late-life medication management, including challenging discussions about deprescribing. The study objective was to describe nurses' perspectives about their role in hospice FCG medication management. Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative interviews with nurses from a parent study exploring views on medication management and deprescribing for advanced cancer patients. Ten home and inpatient hospice nurses, drawn from 3 hospice agencies and their referring hospital systems in New England, were asked to describe current practices of medication management and deprescribing and to evaluate a pilot tool to standardize hospice medication review. Analysis of the 10 interviews revealed that hospice nurses are receptive to a standardized approach for comprehensive medication review upon hospice transition and responded favorably to opportunities to discuss medication discontinuation with FCGs and prescribers. Effective framing for discussions included focus on reducing harmful and nonessential medications and reducing caregiver burden. Results indicate that nurses who care for hospice-eligible and enrolled patients are willing to discuss deprescribing with FCGs and prescribers when conversations are framed around medication harms and their impact on quality of life.
| S-EPMC7561076 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundEvidence shows that women in Ghana experience disrespectful care (slapping, pinching, being shouted at, etc.) from midwives during childbirth. Hence, evidence-based research is needed to advance the adoption of respectful maternity care (RMC) by midwives. We therefore sought to explore and document midwives' perspectives concerning challenges faced and prospects available for promoting RMC in a tertiary health facility.MethodsWe employed an exploratory descriptive qualitative study design. In total, we conducted 12 interviews with midwives educated on RMC. All audio data were transcribed verbatim and exported to NVivo-12 for data management and analyses. We relied on the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research guideline in reporting this study.ResultsThe findings were broadly categorised into three themes: emotional support, dignified care and respectful communication which is consistent with the WHO's quality of care framework. For each theme, the current actions that were undertaken to promote RMC, the challenges and recommendations to improve RMC promotion were captured. Overall, the current actions that promoted RMC included provision of sacral massages and reassurance, ensuring confidentiality and consented care, and referring clients who cannot pay to the social welfare unit. The challenges to providing RMC were logistical constraints for ensuring privacy, free movement of clients, and alternative birthing positions. Poor attitudes from some midwives, workload and language barrier were other challenges that emerged. The midwives recommended the appointment of more midwives, as well as the provision of logistics to support alternative birthing positions and privacy. Also, they recommended the implementation of continuous training and capacity building.ConclusionWe conclude that in order for midwives to deliver RMC services that include emotional support, dignified care, and respectful communication, the government and hospital administration must make the required adjustments to resolve existing challenges while improving the current supporting activities.
| S-EPMC9153163 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundKeeping the patients well and fully informed about diagnosis, prognosis, and treatments is one of the patient's rights in any healthcare system. Although all healthcare providers have the same viewpoint about rendering the truth in treatment process, sometimes the truth is not told to the patients; that is why the healthcare staff tell "white lie" instead. This study aimed to explore the nurses' experience of white lies during patient care.MethodsThis qualitative study was conducted from June to December 2018. Eighteen hospital nurses were recruited with maximum variation from ten state-run educational hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Purposeful sampling was used and data were collected by semi-structured interviews that were continued until data saturation. Data were classified and analyzed by content analysis approach.ResultsThe data analysis in this study resulted in four main categories and 11 subcategories. The main categories included hope crisis, bad news, cultural diversity, and nurses' limited professional competences.ConclusionResults of the present study showed that, white lie told by nurses during patient care may be due to a wide range of patient, nurse and/or organizational related factors. Communication was the main factor that influenced information rendering. Nurses' communication with patients should be based on mutual respect, trust and adequate cultural knowledge, and also nurses should provide precise information to patients, so that they can make accurate decisions regarding their health care.
| S-EPMC7470607 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionDecent working time in the health sector is critical to providing quality care, and balancing health workers' well-being with the requirements of 24/7 healthcare provision. Nursing and midwifery staff, comprising the largest group in the health workforce, play a crucial role. Understanding their experiences and challenges related to duty rosters is essential for improving work conditions, job satisfaction, and ultimately, the quality of care.ObjectiveThis study aims to explore the experiences of nurses and midwives with the hospital duty roster at selected health facilities in Ho, the Volta Region of Ghana.MethodA qualitative research method with a phenomenological approach was employed to capture the nuanced experiences of nurses and midwives regarding the hospital duty roster. A semistructured interview guide facilitated data collection, ensuring a comprehensive exploration of participants' experiences. Three selected health facilities in Ho, the Volta Region of Ghana, served as the study's location. The study recruited 20 participants (nurses and midwives) to reach data saturation. The collected data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed through thematic content analysis, using a deductive approach. Researchers reviewed the raw data, generating initial codes to capture new concepts of interest.ResultsThe duty roster often demonstrated organizational flaws negatively impacting the health, well-being, and job performance of nurses and midwives, consequently affecting patient care quality. The study identified that these healthcare professionals faced significant risks of work-related stress, burnout, and mental health problems due to ineffective coping strategies toward the hospital duty roster. Findings from the study also demonstrated that nurses and midwives prefer day shift because of its short time and the availability of all groups of professionals to help manage cases as compared to a night shift.ConclusionsThe findings underscore factors influencing nurses' choice of shift patterns, emphasizing the need for further research to explore the extent to which nurses' preferences are considered when designing hospital duty rosters. Such insights can contribute to improving both the working conditions of healthcare professionals and the overall quality of patient care.
| S-EPMC11342322 | biostudies-literature