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INTRODUCTION: Globally, evidence suggests that one-third of nulliparous women experience delay in the first stage of labor with an increased risk of poor maternal and neonatal outcomes. With this study, we explore how clinical challenges related to prolonged labor are perceived by nurse-midwives and doctors in Tanzania. METHODS: A qualitative study with group interviews of either nurse-midwives (7 interviews) or doctors (2 interviews). A total of 37 respondents, among them 32 registered nurse-midwives and 5 doctors participated, all with experience from labor wards. A qualitative content analysis was performed. The study setting comprised one zonal consultant university hospital and one regional referral hospital in Northern Tanzania. RESULTS: Clinical challenges were expressed in relation to: 1) various ways of understanding prolonged labor, manifested by variations in expected duration of labor and the usage of different terms to describe prolonged labor; 2) assessing progress in labor, the partograph being described as an important tool but also a template defining a too narrow normal; 3) appropriate intervention at the appropriate time, the respondents reflect on the correct time for artificial rupture of membranes, oxytocin augmentation and cesarean section; 4) monitoring fetal heart rate, distrust in the monitoring equipment with experiences of surprisingly poor neonates; and 5) working as a team, where the perception of urgency varies and distrust is present. CONCLUSIONS: Nurse-midwives and doctors in Tanzania face major challenges related to diagnosing prolonged labor, monitoring fetal heart rate and providing high quality health services as a team.

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BACKGROUND: Tanzania has a relatively high maternal mortality ratio of 410 per 100,000 live births. Severe postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a major cause of maternal deaths, but in most cases, it is preventable. However, most pregnant women that develop PPH, have no known risk factors. Therefore, preventive measures must be offered to all pregnant women. This study investigated the effects of multi-professional, scenario-based training on the prevention and management of PPH at a Tanzanian zonal consultant hospital. We hypothesized that scenario-based training could contribute to improved competence on PPH-management, which would result in improved team efficiency and patient outcome. METHODS: This quasi-experimental, pre-vs. post-interventional study involved on-site multi-professional, scenario-based PPH training, conducted in a two-week period in October 2013 and another 2 weeks in November 2014. Training teams included nurses, midwives, doctors, and medical attendants in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. After technical skill training on the birthing simulator MamaNatalie®, the teams practiced in realistic scenarios on PPH. Each scenario was followed by debriefing and repeated scenario. Afterwards, the group swapped roles and the observers became the participants. To evaluate the effects of training, we measured patient outcomes by determining blood transfusion rates. Patient data were collected by randomly sampling Medical birth registry files from the pre-training and post-training study periods (n = 1667 and 1641 files, respectively). Data were analyzed with the Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U-test, and binary logistic regression. RESULTS: The random patient samples (n = 3308) showed that, compared to pre-training, post-training patients had a 47% drop in whole blood transfusion rates and significant increases in cesarean section rates, birth weights, and vacuum deliveries. The logistic regression analysis showed that transfusion rates were significantly associated with the time period (pre- vs. post-training), cesarean section, patients tranferred from other hospitals, maternal age, and female genital mutilation and cutting. CONCLUSIONS: We found that multi-professional, scenario-based training was associated with a significant, 47% reduction in whole blood transfusion rates. These results suggested that training that included all levels of maternity staff, repeated sessions with realistic scenarios, and debriefing may have contributed to reduced blood transfusion rates in this high-risk maternity setting.

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BACKGROUND: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. In Tanzania, PPH causes 25% of maternal deaths. Skilled attendance is crucial to saving the lives of mothers and their newborns during childbirth. This study is a follow-up after multi-professional simulation training on PPH in northern Tanzania. The purpose was to enhance understanding and gain knowledge of important learning features and outcomes related to multi-professional simulation training on PPH. METHODS: The study had a descriptive and exploratory design. After the second annual simulation training at two hospitals in northern Tanzania, ten focus group discussions comprising 42 nurse midwives, doctors, and medical attendants, were carried out. A semi-structured interview guide was used during the discussions, which were audio-taped for qualitative content analysis of manifest content. RESULTS: The most important findings from the focus group discussions were the importance of team training as learning feature, and the perception of improved ability to use a teamwork approach to PPH. Regardless of profession and job tasks, the informants expressed enhanced self-efficacy and reduced perception of stress. The informants perceived that improved competence enabled them to provide efficient PPH management for improved maternal health. They recommended simulation training to be continued and disseminated. CONCLUSION: Learning features, such as training in teams, skills training, and realistic repeated scenarios with consecutive debriefing for reflective learning, including a systems approach to human error, were crucial for enhanced teamwork. Informants' confidence levels increased, their stress levels decreased, and they were confident that they offered better maternal services after training.

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BACKGROUND: Severe shortages of qualified health workers and geographical imbalances in the workforce in many low-income countries require the national health sector management to closely monitor and address issues related to the distribution of health workers across various types of health facilities. This article discusses health workers' preferences for workplace and their perceptions and experiences of the differences in working conditions in the public health sector versus the church-run health facilities in Tanzania. The broader aim is to generate knowledge that can add to debates on health sector management in low-income contexts. METHODS: The study has a qualitative study design to elicit in-depth information on health workers' preferences for workplace. The data comprise ten focus group discussions (FGDs) and 29 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with auxiliary staff, nursing staff, clinicians and administrators in the public health sector and in a large church-run hospital in a rural district in Tanzania. The study has an ethnographic backdrop based on earlier long-term fieldwork in Tanzania. RESULTS: The study found a clear preference for public sector employment. This was associated with health worker rights and access to various benefits offered to health workers in government service, particularly the favourable pension schemes providing economic security in old age. Health workers acknowledged that church-run hospitals generally were better equipped and provided better quality patient care, but these concerns tended to be outweighed by the financial assets of public sector employment. In addition to the sector specific differences, family concerns emerged as important in decisions on workplace. CONCLUSIONS: The preference for public sector employment among health workers shown in this study seems to be associated primarily with the favourable pension scheme. The overall shortage of health workers and the distribution between health facilities is a challenge in a resource constrained health system where church-run health facilities are vital in the provision of health care in rural areas and where patients tend to prefer these services. In order to ensure equity in distribution of qualified health workers in Tanzania, a national regulation and legislation of the pension schemes is required.

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BACKGROUND: The focus on the determinants of the quality of health services in low-income countries is increasing. Health workers' motivation has emerged as a topic of substantial interest in this context. The main objective of this article is to explore health workers' experience of working conditions, linked to motivation to work. Working conditions have been pointed out as a key factor in ensuring a motivated and well performing staff. The empirical focus is on rural public health services in Tanzania. The study aims to situate the results in a broader historical context in order to enhance our understanding of the health worker discourse on working conditions. METHODS: The study has a qualitative study design to elicit detailed information on health workers' experience of their working conditions. The data comprise focus group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews (IDIs) with administrators, clinicians and nursing staff in the public health services in a rural district in Tanzania. The study has an ethnographic backdrop based on earlier long-term fieldwork in the same part of Tanzania. RESULTS: The article provides insights into health workers' understanding and assessment of their working conditions. An experience of unsatisfactory working conditions as well as a perceived lack of fundamental fairness dominated the FGDs and IDIs. Informants reported unfairness with reference to factors such as salary, promotion, recognition of work experience, allocation of allowances and access to training as well as to human resource management. The study also revealed that many health workers lack information or knowledge about factors that influence their working conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The article calls for attention to the importance of locating the discourse of unfairness related to working conditions in a broader historical/political context. Tanzanian history has been characterised by an ambiguous and shifting landscape of state regulation, economic reforms, decentralisation and emerging democratic sentiments. Such a historic contextualisation enhances our understanding of the strong sentiments of unfairness revealed in this study and assists us in considering potential ways forward.

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