Perceived changes in the knowledge and confidence of doctors and midwives to manage obstetric emergencies following completion of an Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics course in Australia

Background: The Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) course is an internationally recognised interprofessional course to support health professionals to develop and maintain the knowledge and skills to manage obstetric emergencies. Aims: This study investigated changes in confidence and percei...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Walker, Laura, Fetherston, C., McMurray, A.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46266
_version_ 1848757511103971328
author Walker, Laura
Fetherston, C.
McMurray, A.
author_facet Walker, Laura
Fetherston, C.
McMurray, A.
author_sort Walker, Laura
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Background: The Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) course is an internationally recognised interprofessional course to support health professionals to develop and maintain the knowledge and skills to manage obstetric emergencies. Aims: This study investigated changes in confidence and perceived changes in the knowledge of doctors and midwives to manage specific obstetric emergency situations following completion of an ALSO course in Australia. Methods: A prospective repeated-measures survey design was used to survey 165 course attendees from four Australian states pre- and postcourse and at six weeks (n = 101). Data were analysed using a Friedman two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance and the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results: There was a significant improvement in confidence and perceived knowledge of the recommended management of all 17 emergency situations immediately postcourse (P < 0.001) and at six weeks postcourse (P < 0.001) when compared to precourse levels for both groups of health professionals. However, a significant decrease in knowledge and confidence for many emergency situations from immediately postcourse to six weeks postcourse (P < 0.05) was also observed in both groups. Conclusions: Completion of the Australian ALSO course in Australia has a positive effect on the confidence and perceived knowledge of doctors and midwives to manage obstetric emergencies. However, there needs to be some means of reinforcing the effects of the course for longer term maintenance of knowledge and confidence.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T09:29:15Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-46266
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:29:15Z
publishDate 2013
publisher Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-462662018-03-29T09:07:47Z Perceived changes in the knowledge and confidence of doctors and midwives to manage obstetric emergencies following completion of an Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics course in Australia Walker, Laura Fetherston, C. McMurray, A. knowledge Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) confidence obstetric emergencies Background: The Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) course is an internationally recognised interprofessional course to support health professionals to develop and maintain the knowledge and skills to manage obstetric emergencies. Aims: This study investigated changes in confidence and perceived changes in the knowledge of doctors and midwives to manage specific obstetric emergency situations following completion of an ALSO course in Australia. Methods: A prospective repeated-measures survey design was used to survey 165 course attendees from four Australian states pre- and postcourse and at six weeks (n = 101). Data were analysed using a Friedman two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance and the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results: There was a significant improvement in confidence and perceived knowledge of the recommended management of all 17 emergency situations immediately postcourse (P < 0.001) and at six weeks postcourse (P < 0.001) when compared to precourse levels for both groups of health professionals. However, a significant decrease in knowledge and confidence for many emergency situations from immediately postcourse to six weeks postcourse (P < 0.05) was also observed in both groups. Conclusions: Completion of the Australian ALSO course in Australia has a positive effect on the confidence and perceived knowledge of doctors and midwives to manage obstetric emergencies. However, there needs to be some means of reinforcing the effects of the course for longer term maintenance of knowledge and confidence. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46266 10.1111/ajo.12110 Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia restricted
spellingShingle knowledge
Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO)
confidence
obstetric emergencies
Walker, Laura
Fetherston, C.
McMurray, A.
Perceived changes in the knowledge and confidence of doctors and midwives to manage obstetric emergencies following completion of an Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics course in Australia
title Perceived changes in the knowledge and confidence of doctors and midwives to manage obstetric emergencies following completion of an Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics course in Australia
title_full Perceived changes in the knowledge and confidence of doctors and midwives to manage obstetric emergencies following completion of an Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics course in Australia
title_fullStr Perceived changes in the knowledge and confidence of doctors and midwives to manage obstetric emergencies following completion of an Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics course in Australia
title_full_unstemmed Perceived changes in the knowledge and confidence of doctors and midwives to manage obstetric emergencies following completion of an Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics course in Australia
title_short Perceived changes in the knowledge and confidence of doctors and midwives to manage obstetric emergencies following completion of an Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics course in Australia
title_sort perceived changes in the knowledge and confidence of doctors and midwives to manage obstetric emergencies following completion of an advanced life support in obstetrics course in australia
topic knowledge
Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO)
confidence
obstetric emergencies
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46266