Abstract:
INTRODUCTION : Ultrasound scan is one of the essential assessments that is crucial in the early identification of health
risks during antenatal care. Its accessibility to women in low-and middle-income countries remains a serious challenge
because ultrasound scans are not within the scope of practice for midwives. However, task shifting and extension
of scope of practice aim to train midwives to assess pregnant women through an ultrasound scan. This paper
aims to report the findings of a scoping review on the training of midwives to perform obstetric ultrasound scans
in Africa.
METHODS : The 6-step iterative framework for scoping reviews by Arksey and O’Malley was used to determine
the extent of qualitative and quantitative evidence available on the training of midwives on obstetric ultrasound
scans, which includes specifying the research question, identifying relevant studies, selecting studies, extracting
and charting data, collating, summarising, and synthesising and reporting findings.
RESULTS : A total of 12 articles from eight African countries were included in this scoping review. Three main themes
and 13 sub-themes emerged and they are: obstetric ultrasound scan training, challenges experienced by midwives
from task shifting and extension of scope of practice regarding obstetric ultrasound scan, and the value of task
shifting and extension of scope of practice regarding obstetric ultrasound scan to midwives.
DISCUSSION : Despite the available evidence that the training of midwives on obstetric ultrasound scans is essential
to ensure the accessibility of quality antenatal health services, the training of midwives on obstetric ultrasound
scans in some African countries remains a serious challenge. It is evident from this scoping review results that there
is a need for African countries to incorporate obstetric ultrasound scans as part of the scope of practice of midwives.
Task shifting necessitates prioritising the training of midwives on the use of obstetric ultrasound scans as one
of the steps towards the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 3 targets
by 2030.