Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Project

College/School

College of Nursing

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Project Mentor

Dr. Kelly McBroom

Readers

Dr. Amanda Heffernan

Abstract

Introduction: Most providers do not have the skills, knowledge, or confidence to safely support vaginal breech birth (VBB) despite 3-5% of all pregnancies being breech at term. The presence of a provider skilled in VBB reduces risk in VBB, however VBB skills are not a standard part of birth provider training. Identifying an effective instruction method can make VBB training more accessible.

Methods: We conducted a secondary data analysis of 3940 surveys submitted by self-selected participants in an international hybrid VBB training program from May 2021 to February 2024. Pre- to post-training analysis using non-paired t-test and chi-squared comparison was conducted to assess changes in provider confidence and knowledge.

Results: Across a series of 13 Likert-scale questions rating participant confidence, results showed a 25.77% increase in overall confidence after completing the entire hybrid training program, a 20.91% increase after completing the online portion of the training only, and a 23.15% increase after completing only in-person training. Across 3 objective questions assessing participant knowledge, results showed a 32.97% increase in overall knowledge after completing the entire hybrid training program, a 33.03% increase after completing the online portion of the training only, and a 31.67% increase after completing only in-person training.

Discussion: Completion of a hybrid VBB training program leads to increases in participant knowledge and confidence. Identifying an effective model for VBB training is especially important for lower resourced settings, and for supporting birth autonomy.

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