Technology-enhanced simulation-based obstetric training in low- and high-resource settings

Anne van Tetering defended her PhD thesis at the Department of Electrical Engineering on May 27th. Her research was completed at Máxima Medical Center and Eindhoven University of Technology.

Every day, over 800 women and 6,700 newborns die worldwide from obstetric emergencies during pregnancy and childbirth. The presence of skilled healthcare workers is essential to provide adequate care in such situations. To enhance the quality of healthcare and ensure patient safety in obstetrics, regular training including simulation-based medical education, is a promising approach. The PhD thesis of Anne van Tetering contributes to the knowledge of how to effectively provide and evaluate simulation-based obstetric training to improve healthcare outcomes in obstetrics in Africa and in the Netherlands.

Simulation-based obstetric training in Africa

The first part of the thesis of Anne van Tetering was about simulation-based obstetric training in Africa.

Results of a scoping review about 47 articles about simulation-based obstetric training in Africa showed that this type of training can have a positive impact on the reaction of participants, learning, changes in behaviour and patient outcomes.

However, results were not consistent across all studies and temporal variations in effects have been described in van Tetering’s work.

Combination and quality

To understand why some simulation-based training programs were more effective than others, van Tetering and her collaborators evaluated the combination and quality of ingredients to create effective training courses.

Results showed that these ingredients were heterogeneously applied and described. A detailed and uniform description of these ingredients of future simulation-based obstetric training will contribute to a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms that determine why certain training programs are more effective than other.

Train the trainers

Furthermore, van Tetering conducted a trial to investigate the effectiveness of a technology-enhanced, simulation-based obstetric training program in Kampala, Uganda.

A medical simulation centre was installed with a full-body birthing simulator, an interactive neonate, and an audio and video recording system. The training was performed using a train-the-trainers model in which training was cascaded down from master trainers to local gynaecologists to their residents. 

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Simulation-based obstetric training in the Netherlands

In the second part of this thesis, van Tetering investigated factors that influence the effectiveness and research of simulation-based training in the Netherlands.

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Read more about Tetering's PhD research on the website of TU Eindhoven.