Speaker: Rizka Ayu Setyani
Facilitator: Terri Downer and Scarlet Woolcott
One of the obstacles to handling HIV is late diagnosis due to a lack of access to diagnostic services in health facilities. In addition, the negative stigma against this disease also makes people reluctant to diagnose at health facilities. Early diagnosis needs to be done, especially in pregnant women, as an essential condition that needs to be known in childbirth and breastfeeding. Unfortunately, the HIV testing policy in Indonesia still has loopholes for the mother or the patient to refuse to take the HIV test. Health workers are required to offer HIV testing, but the mother’s voluntary willingness determines the HIV test. This implementation trial pilot study used random cluster sampling to select seven intervention and seven control sites in Yogyakarta city, Indonesia. Seven intervention health facilities used the EKSTRIM website for three months, from January through April 2022, to educate and do HIV counselling with pregnant women patients. EKSTRIM website was designed for use on mobile phones to improve HIV testing among pregnant women. Health workers managed to record 1,594 visits and were able to increase HIV testing by 6.7% in pregnant women. The EKSTRIM pilot demonstrated the feasibility of implementing a digital healthcare-integrated solution in a low-resource setting, health worker capacity building and patient self-care into a single robust and responsive system. Although the implementation phase was only three months, the pilot generated evidence that EKSTRIM could increase HIV testing uptake.
Recording: https://youtu.be/tG1Vs6rwvHQ
Speaker: Joy Kemp and Sharmin Shobnom Joya
Facilitator: Aisha Salihu Abdullahi
A 5-year twinning partnership between the Bangladesh Midwifery Society (BMS) and the Royal College of Midwives UK was completed and evaluated in 2022; results will be shared in this presentation. Twinning was both organisational and individual. Midwives are new in Bangladesh; they are negotiating professional space. UK midwifery is more established but the workforce is not representative of the population with Bangladesh heritage (1%); maternal and perinatal outcomes are worse for South-Asian families. Therefore, twinning had potential benefit for both contexts.
Objective: To evaluate if twinning had mutual benefit, especially in strengthening midwifery leadership.
Methods: A mixed methods enquiry using document-review, surveys, focus-groups, key informant interviews and participant observation. Evaluation framework informed by OECD criteria and stakeholder questions. Thematic data analysis.
Results: BMS’ organisational capacity increased significantly during the partnership. Fifty-one young midwife leaders in Bangladesh were developed and six won international leadership fellowships. Seven quality- improvement projects in Bangladesh were successfully completed, advancing midwifery services. UK midwives valued and learned from their participation. The partnership enabled greater engagement with South Asian diaspora midwives in the UK and highlighted inequity of UK maternity outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic brought both challenges and opportunities for innovation.
Conclusions/Summary: This partnership strengthened midwifery associations and midwifery leadership and impacted every area of the ICM’s Professional Framework in Bangladesh. Twinning facilitated reciprocal benefits in both countries and may be replicable in other contexts.
Recording: https://youtu.be/jCiv_7LqMnA
Speakers: Bhavya Reddy
Facilitator: Heather Brigance and Sabina Ojil
Despite decades of considerable economic investment in improving the health of families and newborns world-wide, aspirations for maternal and newborn health have not been attained in many regions. The global turn toward recognizing the importance of positive birth experiences and reducing adverse outcomes signals a critical change in maternal and newborn health care conversations and research priorities. In this session we will introduce QMNC’s new program, communications platform, and approach designed to facilitate our focus on answering “different research questions,” drawing on evidence presented in the 2014 Lancet Series on Midwifery and a research prioritization study conducted with the World Health Organization from 2016. The objective of this workshop is to orient midwifery researchers, and especially future researchers, as well as those in the global south, to connect, collaborate, and develop capacity in research aimed at improving maternal and newborn health outcomes globally. It is critical that the professions of midwifery and midwifery science develop strong collaborative networks and research capacity aimed at answering critical research questions whose answers can reduce preventable maternal and infant death and suffering. The QMNC Research Alliance has acquired the preliminary funding needed to build a global platform and to hire support staff to facilitate this work. This session will be interactive, guiding attendees to identify where their research interests and expertise aligns with the three priorities. Participants who continue to engage with the QMNC beyond this session will also be invited to publish on the process of working together via the QMNC online platform.
Recording: https://youtu.be/Ut7r1QqyREQ
Speaker: Brenda Araujo Salas
Facilitator: Paloma Terra
A partir de las ilustraciones elaboradas por Yaquemilsa Matiashi Vicente, una joven madre del pueblo Matsigenka, perteneciente a la amazonía peruana, describiremos las prácticas tradicionales en salud materna que aún se mantienen vigentes en las comunidades más alejadas de la vida moderna. Se describirán las concepciones y prácticas culturales durante la primera menstruación, los cuidados en el embarazo, la atención del parto por parte de la familia y parteras, y los cuidados en el posparto.
Conocer gráficamente las prácticas en salud materna a través de la mirada de una mujer del mismo pueblo, nos permite visualizar detalles significativos que se dan en la los cuidados de las mujeres gestantes y los recién nacidos. La importancia de este material es educativa y en favor de una mejora en la atención del parto para fundar la comprensión y el respeto a las costumbres y participación de las parteras y especialistas tradicionales de salud, ya que, actualmente, gran parte de las comunidades amazónicas tienen acceso a establecimientos de salud, pero estos ofrecen servicios sin pertinencia cultural. Por otro lado, el material también permite el reconocimiento de la importancia de los conocimientos de las mujeres Matsigenka en los niños, niñas y adolescentes.
English:
From the illustrations elaborated by Yaquemilsa Matiashi Vicente, a young mother of the Matsigenka people, belonging to the Peruvian Amazon, we will describe the traditional practices in maternal health that are still in force in the communities farthest away from modern life. We will describe the cultural conceptions and practices during the first menstruation, pregnancy care, childbirth care by the family and midwives, and postpartum care.
The graphic presentation of maternal health practices through the eyes of a woman from the same village allows us to visualize significant details in the care of pregnant women and newborns. The importance of this material is educational and in favor of an improvement in childbirth care, in order to establish understanding and respect for the customs and participation of midwives and traditional health specialists, since, at present, most Amazonian communities have access to health facilities, but these offer services without cultural relevance. On the other hand, the material also allows the recognition of the importance of Matsigenka women’s knowledge in children and adolescents.
Recording: https://youtu.be/voZyHiTevvw
