Training among in-service doctors in Manipur and their translation into practice

Abstract

Introduction: Manipur, the easternmost state of India, suffer from lack of specialist doctors at peripheral public health service points. Among MBBS doctors, many lack knowledge on maternal and child health, resulting in delay identifying high-risk cases, which contribute to increased morbidity and mortality. Under RMNCH + A strategy as a continuum to the previous program, to overcome the shortage of specialist doctors, multi-skilling of doctors in the public health system is being undertaken. Training need assessment, proper conduct of training, mentoring should be ensured so that these service providers gain confidence and are thus able to practice newly acquired skills. Objectives: The aim is to determine the type and pattern of training among Medical Officers and to assess the level of translation of Basic Emergency Obstetric Care (BEmOC) training (knowledge and skills) into practice. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done from June 2015 to October 2017. A questionnaire-guided interview was done among BEmOC trained in-service doctors. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS-version-21. Descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean, median, and standard deviation were used. Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were used for testing the significance between the proportions. ANOVA and independent t-test were used for comparing means. A value of P < 0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Out of 49 respondents, 82% responded and 61% were male. The mean knowledge score was 21 ± 2.8 with a range of 16–27 and the mean age was 33.2 ± 4.1. Gender, year of training, and performed manual removal of placenta were seen significantly associated with knowledge score. About 81.6% of the doctors conducted normal delivery in the past 6 months. Around 45% of the doctors reported performing manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) procedures in the past 6 months and were confident about it. Conclusion: The mean knowledge score about BEmOC was more than two-third of the total score. After training, the knowledge score seems to decrease as time passes. Males had better knowledge than females. There was no association between age, place of posting, and years of experience with knowledge. Almost half of the participants performed the induction of labor and MVA procedure in the last 6 months.