Evaluation of a student-led midwifery group practice: A woman's perspective

• Published in: Midwifery 2020-07, Vol.86, p.102691-102691, Article 102691
• Main Authors: Stulz, Virginia, Elmir, Dr Rakime, Reilly, Heather
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Continuity; Female; Group practice; Humans; Internet; Midwifery - education; Midwives; New South Wales; Nursing; Practice Patterns, Nurses' - standards; Practice Patterns, Nurses' - statistics & numerical data; Pregnant Women - psychology; Quality of Health Care - standards; Quality of Health Care - statistics & numerical data; Retrospective Studies; Student Run Clinic - standards; Student Run Clinic - statistics & numerical data; Student-led; Surveys and Questionnaires; Women
• ISSN: 0266-6138; 1532-3099
• DOI: 10.1016/j.midw.2020.102691

•Women value continuity of care with student-led midwifery models of care.•Women value students’ learning experiences in a continuity of care model.•Women value being informed throughout the course of pregnancy by student midwives.•Women feel continually supported by student midwives’ experience and expertise.•Women feel included in decision-making processes with student-led midwifery models. . To evaluate women's experiences of a student-led midwifery group practice. A mixed methods design was used to examine women's experiences and level of satisfaction about a student-led midwifery model of care. An on-line survey elucidated women's levels of satisfaction and experiences with the student-led midwifery group practice. The online survey was sent to all women (n = 25) who were receiving care from third year Bachelor of Midwifery students in 2018 via email up to 6 weeks postnatally. The online survey was distributed in the first instance to obtain baseline information about the importance of this student-led midwifery group practice and so the survey information was linked to the in-depth interview in the analysis for the purpose of identifying if the women were primiparous or multiparous. Women (n = 9) were invited to participate in an in-depth interview by self-opting on the survey and this extra data provided a richer understanding about the level of satisfaction about woman-centred care led by midwifery students. Retrospective data were also collected from the Maternity database - E-Maternity about birth outcomes. A tertiary teaching public hospital in New South Wales (NSW). Fifteen women participated in an online survey. Five primiparous and four multiparous women opted to be involved in the in-depth interviews on the online survey. Analysis in SPSS provided descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages of data including birth outcomes. Simple correlations enabled associations to be established between levels of satisfaction, individualised care, quality of care, benefits and anxiety during pregnancy. The overarching themes from the qualitative findings identified the students’ presence for the women as the most important component of the women's journey. The four main themes that emerged from the study included: familiarity of the caregiver, staying informed on the journey, feeling supported and reassured by their expertise, and control and decisions over birth events. For a variety of reasons, women valued the presence of the students