An educational intervention to update health workers about HIV and infant feeding

dc.contributor.authorHorwood, Christiane
dc.contributor.authorHaskins, Lyn
dc.contributor.authorGoga, Ameena Ebrahim
dc.contributor.authorDoherty, Tanya
dc.contributor.authorJohn, Vaughn
dc.contributor.authorEngebretsen, Ingunn M.S.
dc.contributor.authorFeucht, Ute Dagmar
dc.contributor.authorRollins, Nigel
dc.contributor.authorSanders, David
dc.contributor.authorTylleskar, Thorkild
dc.date.accessioned2020-05-11T15:05:12Z
dc.date.available2020-05-11T15:05:12Z
dc.date.issued2020-04
dc.description.abstractClinical guidelines are used to translate research findings into evidence‐based clinical practice but are frequently not comprehensively adopted by health workers (HWs). HIV and infant feeding guidelines were revised by the World Health Organization to align feeding advice for HIV‐exposed and unexposed infants, and these were adopted in South Africa in 2017. We describe an innovative, team‐based, mentoring programme developed to update HWs on these guidelines. The intervention was underpinned by strong theoretical frameworks and aimed to improve HWs' attitudes, knowledge, confidence, and skills about breastfeeding in the context of HIV. On‐site workshops and clinical mentoring used interactive participatory methods and a simple low‐tech approach, guided by participants' self‐reported knowledge gaps. Workshops were conducted at 24 participating clinics over three sessions, each lasting 1–2 hr. Evaluation data were collected using a self‐administered questionnaire. Of 303 participating HWs, 249/303 (82.2%) attended all workshops. Achieving high workshop attendance was challenging and “catch‐up” sessions were required to achieve good coverage. Common knowledge gaps identified included antiretroviral therapy adherence monitoring during breastfeeding and management of viral load results (173 participants), management of breast conditions (79), and advice about expressing and storing breastmilk (64). Most participants reported all their knowledge gaps were addressed and anticipated that their practice would change. We describe a feasible, sustainable approach to updating HWs on HIV and infant feeding guidelines and improving skills in breastfeeding counselling in resourceconstrained settings. This approach could be adapted to other topics and, with further evaluation, implemented at scale using existing resources.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentPaediatrics and Child Healthen_ZA
dc.description.librarianam2020en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipThe South African Medical Research Council and the World Health Organisation, Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health.en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/mcnen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationHorwood, C., Haskins, L., Goga, A. et al. 2020, 'An educational intervention to update health workers about HIV and infant feeding', Maternal and Child Nutrition, vol. 16 no. 2, art. e12922, pp. 1-10.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1740-8695 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1740-8709 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1111/mcn.12922
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/74537
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherWiley Open Accessen_ZA
dc.rights© 2019 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.en_ZA
dc.subjectBreastfeedingen_ZA
dc.subjectClinical practice guidelineen_ZA
dc.subjectHealth workeren_ZA
dc.subjectInfant feedingen_ZA
dc.subjectPrimary health careen_ZA
dc.subjectHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV)en_ZA
dc.subjectSouth Africa (SA)en_ZA
dc.titleAn educational intervention to update health workers about HIV and infant feedingen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

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