| 1. |
- Edvardsson, Kristina, et al.
(author)
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Physicians' experiences and views on the role of obstetric ultrasound in rural and urban Rwanda : a qualitative study
- 2016
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In: Tropical medicine & international health. - : Wiley. - 1360-2276 .- 1365-3156. ; 21:7, s. 895-906
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective To explore Rwandan physicians' experiences and views on the role of obstetric ultrasound in clinical management of pregnancy, and in situations where maternal and fetal health interests conflict. Methods Physicians (n=19) in public and private health facilities in urban and rural Rwanda were interviewed in 2015 as part of the CROss-Country Ultrasound Study (CROCUS). Data were analysed qualitatively. Results Ultrasound was described as an important tool in maternity care. Availability and quality of equipment varied across sites, and considerable disparities in obstetric ultrasound utilisation between rural and urban areas were described. The physicians wanted more ultrasound training and saw the potential for midwives to perform basic scans. Information about fetal sex and well-being was described as women's main expectations of ultrasound. Although women's right to autonomy in pregnancy was supported in principle by participating physicians, fetal rights were sometimes seen as needing physician protection'. Conclusions There appears to be increasing use and demand for obstetric ultrasound in Rwanda, particularly in urban areas. It seems important to monitor this development closely to secure wise and fair allocation of scarce obstetric expertise and resources and to prevent overuse or misuse of ultrasound. Raising awareness about the benefits of all aspects of antenatal care, including ultrasound may be an important step to improve pregnant women's uptake of services. Increased opportunities for formal ultrasound training, including the training of midwives to perform basic scans, seem warranted. Moreover, in parallel with the transition to more medico-technical maternity care, a dialogue about maternal rights to autonomy in pregnancy and childbirth is imperative.
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| 2. |
- Holmlund, Sophia, et al.
(author)
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Health professionals' experiences and views on obstetric ultrasound in Rwanda : A cross-sectional study
- 2018
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In: PLOS ONE. - : PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE. - 1932-6203. ; 13:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: Implementation of ultrasound in antenatal care (ANC) in low-income countries has been shown to increase pregnant women’s compliance with ANC visits, and facilitate detection of high-risk pregnancies. In Rwanda, as in other low-income countries, access to ultrasound has increased significantly, but lack of training is often a barrier to its use. The aim of this study was to investigate Rwandan health professionals’ experiences and views of obstetric ultrasound in relation to clinical management, resources and skills.Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was undertaken between November 2016 and March 2017, as part of the CROss Country UltraSound Study (CROCUS). Data were collected at 108 health facilities located in both rural and urban areas of Rwanda, including provincial, referral, district and private hospitals as well as health centres. Participants were obstetricians (n = 29), other physicians (n = 222), midwives (n = 269) and nurses (n = 387).Results: Obstetricians/gynecologists/other physicians commonly performed ultrasound examinations but their self-rated skill levels implied insufficient training. Access to ultrasound when needed was reported as common in hospitals, but available to a very limited extent in health centres. The vast majority of participants, independent of health profession, agreed that maternity care would improve if midwives learned to perform basic ultrasound examinations.Conclusions: Barriers to provision of high quality ultrasound services include variable access to ultrasound depending on health facility level and insufficient skills of ultrasound operators. Physicians in general need more training to perform ultrasound examinations. Implementation of a general dating ultrasound examination seems to be a relevant goal as most health professionals agree that pregnant woman would benefit from this service. To further improve maternity care services, the possibility of educating midwives to perform ultrasound examinations should be further explored.
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| 3. |
- Holmlund, Sophia, et al.
(author)
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Health professionals’ experiences and views on obstetric ultrasound in Vietnam : a regional, cross-sectional study
- 2019
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2044-6055. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: Obstetric ultrasound is an important part of antenatal care in Vietnam, although there are great differences in access to antenatal care and ultrasound services across the country. The aim of this study was to explore Vietnamese health professionals’ experiences and views of obstetric ultrasound in relation to clinical management, resources and skills.Design: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was performed as part of the CROss Country UltraSound study.Setting: Health facilities (n=29) in urban, semiurban and rural areas of Hanoi region in Vietnam.Participants: Participants were 289 obstetricians/ gynaecologists and 535 midwives.Results: A majority (88%) of participants agreed that ‘every woman should undergo ultrasound examination’ during pregnancy to determine gestational age. Participants reported an average of six ultrasound examinations as medically indicated during an uncomplicated pregnancy. Access to ultrasound at participants’ workplaces was reported as always available regardless of health facility level. Most participants performing ultrasound reported high-level skills for fetal heart rate examination (70%), whereas few (23%) reported being skilled in examination of the anatomy of the fetal heart. Insufficient ultrasound training leading to suboptimal pregnancy management was reported by 37% of all participants. ‘Better quality of ultrasound machines’, ‘more physicians trained in ultrasound’ and ‘more training for health professionals currently performing ultrasound’ were reported as ways to improve the utilisation of ultrasound.Conclusions: Obstetric ultrasound is used as an integral part of antenatal care at all selected health facility levels in the region of Hanoi, and access was reported as high. However, reports of insufficient ultrasound training resulting in suboptimal pregnancy management indicate a need for additional training of ultraso
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| 4. |
- Holmlund, Sophia, 1980-
(author)
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Health professionals’ experiences and views related to obstetric ultrasound in Rwanda and Vietnam
- 2019
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- BackgroundObstetric ultrasound has become an indispensable part of maternity care in high-income countries, where it is universally used for screening, diagnostic and surveillance purposes. In low-income countries, insufficient numbers of trained health professionals’ is commonly a barrier to obstetric ultrasound use. Globally, health professionals’ encounter complex clinical situations in which rapid technical improvements in fetal surveillance and pregnancy interventions are components that influence clinical decisions, thereby implicating maternal and fetal health outcomes.AimsThe overall aim of this thesis was to explore health professionals’ experiences and views on the role of obstetric ultrasound in relation to clinical management, including ethical aspects, in two low-to-middle-income countries with different characteristics, cultures, religions and health care systems.MethodsStudy I (Rwanda) and Study III (Vietnam) are based on focus group discussions in which data were analysed using content analysis. Study I included six focus group discussions with 23 midwives recruited from six different hospitals in the area of Kigali and in the Southern province. Study III included four focus group discussions with 25 midwives working at three different hospitals in the Hanoi area. Study II (Rwanda) and Study IV (Vietnam) are cross-sectional studies using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s chi-square test and logistic regression analyses. A questionnaire, including items based on the results from previous qualitative studies, was used as the data collection tool. For Study II, health professionals (midwives, nurses, obstetricians, other physicians; N=907) working at 108 health facilities representing all provinces of Rwanda were recruited. Study IV constituted a regional sample of 824 health professionals (midwives, obstetricians/gynecologists) working at 29 health facilities in urban, semi-urban and rural parts of Hanoi, Vietnam.Main findingsObstetric ultrasound was regarded as a highly valued tool for pregnancy management in Rwanda as well as in Vietnam (Papers I–IV). In Rwanda, access to ultrasound was described as poor, especially for women living in rural areas (Paper I). In contrast, access to obstetric ultrasound was described as being very high in all health facilities in urban, semi-urban and rural areas of Hanoi (Paper III & Paper IV). In Rwanda, if a pregnancy was considered normal, obstetric ultrasound was not routinely performed (Paper I), while pregnant women in Vietnam were reported as undergoing several further ultrasound examinations in addition to the three examinations recommended by the Ministry of Health (Paper III). Midwives in Rwanda expressed a need to be trained in ultrasound, particularly those working at health centres in rural areas where ultrasound was rarely available (Paper I). A majority of health professionals (91%) also agreed that maternity care in Rwanda would improve if midwives were qualified to perform basic ultrasound examinations (Paper II). Sub-optimal pregnancy management due to a lack of or insufficient ultrasound training was reported by health professionals in both Rwanda (65%; Paper II) and Vietnam (37%; Paper IV). The use of obstetric ultrasound without medical indication was described as a troubling phenomenon, especially in Vietnam, where participants also reported that pregnant women sometimes replaced antenatal care surveillancewith ultrasound examinations (Paper III).ConclusionObstetric ultrasound plays a significant role in pregnancy management in Rwanda, although access varies significantly. The findings indicate that physicians in Rwanda are in need of additional formal ultrasound training in order to increase the quality of ultrasound surveillance and to improve maternal and fetal health outcomes. To increase ultrasound access for all pregnant women in Rwanda, midwives could potentially be trained to perform basic ultrasound examinations. In the Hanoi area of Vietnam, ultrasound is a well-integrated tool in pregnancy management and access was high. However, overuse and commercialisation of obstetric ultrasound examinations were described as common and need to be addressed to achieve adequate allocation of resources. The rapid development of technology in maternity care needs to be accompanied by medical guidelines stating the appropriate indications for ultrasound surveillance.
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| 5. |
- Holmlund, Sophia, et al.
(author)
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Improved maternity care if midwives learn to perform ultrasound : a qualitative study of Rwandan midwives' experiences and views of obstetric ultrasound
- 2017
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In: Global Health Action. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1654-9716 .- 1654-9880. ; 10:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Obstetric ultrasound has become an indispensable part of antenatal care worldwide. Although the use of ultrasound has shown benefits in the reduction of maternal and foetal morbidity and mortality, it has also raised many ethical challenges. Because of insufficient numbers of midwives in Rwanda, uncomplicated pregnancy care is usually provided by nurses in local health centres. Obstetric ultrasound is generally performed by physicians at higher levels of healthcare, where midwives are also more likely to be employed.Objectives: To explore Rwandan midwives’ experiences and views of the role of obstetric ultrasound in relation to clinical management, including ethical aspects.Methods: A qualitative study design was employed. Six focus group discussions were held in 2015 with 23 midwives working in maternity care in rural and urban areas of Rwanda, as part of the CROss Country Ultrasound Study (CROCUS).Results: Obstetric ultrasound was experienced as playing a very important role in clinical management of pregnant women, but participants emphasised that it should not overshadow other clinical examinations. The unequal distribution of ultrasound services throughout Rwanda was considered a challenge, and access was described as low, especially in rural areas. To increase the quality of maternity care, some advocated strongly for midwives to be trained in ultrasound and for physicians to receive additional training. In general, pregnant women were perceived both as requesting more ultrasound examinations than they received, and as not being satisfied with an antenatal consultation if ultrasound was not performed.Conclusions: Obstetric ultrasound plays a significant role in maternity care in Rwanda. Increasing demand for ultrasound examinations from pregnant women needs to be balanced with medical indication and health benefits. Training of midwives to perform obstetric ultrasound and further training for physicians would help to address access to ultrasound for greater numbers of women across Rwanda.
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| 6. |
- Holmlund, Sophia, et al.
(author)
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Sub-optimal use of ultrasound examinations may result in underperformance of Vietnamese maternity care : A qualitative study of midwives’ experiences and views
- 2020
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In: Sexual & Reproductive HealthCare. - : Elsevier. - 1877-5756 .- 1877-5764. ; 24
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To explore Vietnamese midwives’ experiences and views on the role of obstetric ultrasound in relation to clinical management, including ethical aspects.Methods: Using a qualitative design, content analysis of focus group discussions with midwives (N = 25) working at Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology at three hospitals in urban, semi-urban and rural parts of Hanoi were performed.Results: Obstetric ultrasound was reported as being a highly valuable tool, although replacing ordinary antenatal care surveillance with ultrasound examinations and misuse of ultrasound without medical indication was perceived as troubling. Participants generally viewed the fetus as a human being already at an early stage of pregnancy. However, when complications occurred, the pregnant woman’s health was mostly prioritised.Conclusion: Although the use of ultrasound has many benefits during pregnancy, replacing ordinary antenatal care surveillance with ultrasound examinations and misuse of ultrasound without medical indication is concerning and needs to be addressed. There is also a need to communicate the benefits of adequate antenatal care to pregnant women and caution about the non-beneficial use of repeated ultrasound examinations without medical indication. Additionally, non-medical ultrasounds consume limited healthcare resources and its use needs to be better regulated in Vietnam.
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| 7. |
- Holmlund, Sophia, et al.
(author)
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Suboptimal use of ultrasound examinations may result in underperformance of Vietnamese maternity care : a qualitative study of midwives’ experiences and views
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Objective: To explore Vietnamese midwives’ experiences and views on the role of obstetric ultrasound in relation to clinical management, including ethical aspects.Methods: Using a qualitative design, content analysis of focus group discussions with midwives (N=25) working at Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology at three hospitals in urban, semi-urban and rural parts of Hanoi were performed. Results: Obstetric ultrasound was reported as being a highly valuable tool, although replacing ordinary antenatal care surveillance with ultrasound examinations and misuse of ultrasound without medical indication was perceived as troubling. Participants generally viewed the fetus as a human being already at an early stage of pregnancy. However, when complications occurred, the pregnant woman’s health was mostly prioritized.Conclusion: Although the use of ultrasound has many benefits during pregnancy, replacing ordinary antenatal care surveillance with ultrasound examinations and misuse of ultrasound without medical indication is concerning and needs to be addressed. There is also a need to communicate the benefits of adequate antenatal care to pregnant women and caution about the non-beneficial use of repeated ultrasound examinations without medical indication. Additionally, non-medical ultrasounds consume limited healthcare resources and its use needs to be better regulated in Vietnam.
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| 8. |
- Holmlund, Sophia, et al.
(author)
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Vietnamese midwives' experiences of working in maternity care : A qualitative study in the Hanoi region
- 2022
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In: Sexual & Reproductive HealthCare. - : Elsevier. - 1877-5756 .- 1877-5764. ; 31
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: This study aimed to explore Vietnamese midwives’ experiences of working in maternity care.Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was undertaken, which involved four focus group discussions with midwives (n = 25) working at three different hospitals in urban, semi-urban and rural parts of Hanoi region, Vietnam. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.Results: The overall theme, “Practising midwifery requires commitment” showed that Vietnamese midwives’ dedication to their work and to women's reproductive health helped them to cope with stress, pressure and negative aspects of their work environment. In the first category “Being the central link in the web of care”, midwives described themselves as having a key role in maternity care although collaborations with other health professions were important. In the second category “Rewarding role but also vulnerable position”, positive aspects of midwifery were expressed although the great pressure of the work midwives do was prominent. High workload, patients’ demands, and being negatively exposed and vulnerable, when adverse events occurred, were reported. In the third category “Morally challenging tasks”, ultrasound examinations to reveal fetal sex and working with abortion services were described as emotionally stressful.Conclusions: Although participating Vietnamese midwives experienced midwifery as essentially positive, they felt exposed to significant workload pressure, ethically highly demanding work and being blamed when adverse obstetric events occurred. Public health interventions to inform Vietnamese citizens about reproductive issues, as well as specific antenatal education measures may increase the understanding of evidence-based maternity care and complications that can occur during pregnancy and birth.
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| 9. |
- Mogren, Ingrid, et al.
(author)
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Maternal health care professionals’ experiences and views on the use of obstetric ultrasound in Rwanda : A cross-sectional study
- 2021
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In: BMC Health Services Research. - : BioMed Central. - 1472-6963. ; 21:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: This study, undertaken in Rwanda, aimed to investigate health professionals’ experiences and views on the following topics: current clinical guidelines for ultrasound from second trimester at the clinic, regional and national levels, and adherence to clinical guidelines; medically indicated ultrasound examinations; non-medical use of ultrasound including ultrasounds on maternal request; commercialisation of ultrasound; the value of ultrasound in relation to other clinical examinations in pregnancy; and ultrasound and medicalisation of pregnancy.Methods: A cross-sectional design was adopted. Health professionals providing antenatal care and delivery services to pregnant women in 108 health facilities were invited to complete a survey, which was developed based on the results of earlier qualitative studies undertaken as part of the CROss Country Ultrasound Study (CROCUS).Results: Nine hundred and seven health professionals participated: obstetricians/gynecologists (3.2%,) other physicians (24.5%), midwives (29.7%) and nurses (42.7%). Few physicians reported the existence of clinical guidelines at clinic, regional or national levels in Rwanda, and guidelines were moderately adhered to. Three obstetric ultrasound examinations were considered medically indicated in an uncomplicated pregnancy. Most participants (73.0%) were positive about obstetric ultrasound examinations on maternal request. Commercialisation was not considered a problem, and the majority (88.5%) agreed that ultrasound had contributed to medicalisation of pregnancy.Conclusions: Findings indicate that clinical guidelines for the use of obstetric ultrasound are limited in Rwanda. Non-medically indicated obstetric ultrasound was not considered a current problem at any level of the healthcare system. The positive attitude to obstetric ultrasound examinations on maternal request may contribute to further burden on a maternal health care system with limited resources. It is essential that limited obstetric ultrasound resources are allocated where they are most beneficial, and clearly stated medical indications would likely facilitate this.
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