Educational Impact of the Neonatal Resuscitation Program in Low-Risk Delivery Centers in a Developing Country

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of the American Academy of Pediatrics Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) in improving knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy of nurse midwives in low-risk delivery clinics in a developing country. Study design We used the content specifications of the NRP material applicable to college-educated nurse midwives working in low-risk clinics in Zambia to develop performance and self-efficacy evaluations focused on principles of resuscitation, initial steps, ventilation, and chest compressions. These evaluations were administered to 127 nurse midwives before and after NRP training and 6-months later. Results After training, written scores (knowledge evaluation) improved from 57% +/- 14% to 80% +/- 12% (mean +/- SD; P < .0001); performance scores (skills evaluation) improved the most from 43% +/- 21% to 88% +/- 9% (P < .0001); self-efficacy scores improved from 74% +/- 14% to 90% +/- 10% (P < .0001). Written and performance scores decreased significantly 6 months after training, but self-efficacy scores remained high. Conclusions As conducted, the NRP training improved educational outcomes in college-educated practicing nurse mid-wives. Pre-training knowledge and skills scores were relatively low despite the advanced formal education and experience of the participants, whereas the self-efficacy scores were high. NRP training has the potential to substantially improve knowledge and skills of neonatal resuscitation. (J Pediatr 2009;154:504-8)