The effectiveness of the post-caesarean section home care guide in increasing the knowledge of nurse midwives in central Tanzania

Abstract

Background Evidence suggests that nurse midwives often provide unsatisfactory health education to post-caesarean (CS) mothers regarding home care. The increase in CS has led to the premature discharge of mothers with insufficient guidance, which may result in an abnormal recovery. This might be due to the lack of a home care guide to educate mothers on how to care for themselves at home after discharge. The authors developed a post-caesarean section home care guide and assessed its effectiveness at increasing knowledge of home care among nurse midwives working in a maternity unit in central Tanzania. Methods This quasi-experimental study involved 126 nurse midwives working in a maternity unit of Dodoma and Singida regional Hospital. Participants were assessed on their level of knowledge of home care after CS both before and after they were exposed to the intervention. The intervention involved familiarizing the nurse midwives to the developed home care guide. SPSS Version 27 was used in data analysis. Results The mean knowledge score was 20.29 (±4.036) and 24.59 (SD ± 3.338) before and after the intervention, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant. Linear regression reported the intervention’s large effect size (Cohen's d = 1.26). Education intervention was significantly associated with improved knowledge of home care after hospital discharge ( β = 6.401, t = 2.856, R2 = 0.257, p -value = 0.005, CI: 1.959–10.844). By making the intervention constant, no other factor contributed to the change. Conclusion The knowledge of nurse midwives on home care after caesarean section is generally low. Providing nurse-midwives with the developed home care guide improves their understanding and ensures the delivery of standardized education. This supports a safe recovery for mothers, which is particularly vital given current high cesarean section rates.