TITLE:
Attitudes, Practices and Factors Affecting the Use of the Partogram by Professionals Attending to Women in Labour and Delivery in the Bafut Health District
AUTHORS:
Takang William Ako, Fouelifack Ymele Florent, Egbe Thomas Obichemti, Atchounkeu Tchouasseu Arsene
KEYWORDS:
Partogram, Health Assistant, PAWLD, Limiting Factor
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.12 No.8,
August
31,
2022
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Given that the provision of care to the childbirth process is not purely
in the hands of educated and trained midwives, the competency in application of
midwifery tools may be inadequate and consequently affect the quality of care. The
Partogram is the single most important tool which has been scientifically
proven to reduce maternal and foetal morbidity and mortality. Though important,
many healthcare providers do not use it regularly in the monitoring of labour. Objectives: Our objectives were to determine the attitudes, practices, proportion of
parturients monitored using a Partogram and the factors limiting the use of the
Partogram by professionals attending to women in labour and delivery (PAWLD) in
the Bafut Health District. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study
carried out amongst 65 Professionals attending to women in labour and delivery
in the Bafut Health District that lasted 6 months. All the data were collected
by our self. First through a face to face
interview with a questionnaire, secondly with an observational guide
used to assess Partograms filled and lastly using delivery registers to obtain the
proportion of parturients monitored with a Partogram. The data analysis was
done using the statistic software Epi Info version 7 and Microsoft Excel. Results: This study revealed that 47 (72.3%) of participants had good attitudes, 34
(52%) had good practices, 375 (79.3%) parturients were monitored using a
Partogram, and the lack of in-service training, low number of staff and poor
knowledge on Partogram use were identified as the main limiting factors to the
use of the Partogram. Being a health assistant was statistically significantly
associated with having a poor practice with a p-value of 0.047 and odds ratio 5.33 [1.03
- 26.45] we obtained just 1 (1.54%) filled according to the WHO standards. Conclusions and Recommendations: In the Bafut Health District, 7 out of 10 PAWLDs have a positive
attitude towards the use of the Partogram, while a poor practice is predominant
as a result 4 out of 5 deliveries were monitored using a Partogram with only
1.54% of the Partograms filled according to
WHO standards. The lack of in-service training, lack of PAWLD and poor knowledge on Partogram usage are the major drawbacks
to the use of the Partogram. We therefore recommend that continues medical
education (CME) be organised on the use of the Partogram.