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Experiences of Using Misoprostol in the Management of Incomplete Abortions: A Voice of Healthcare Workers in Central Malawi

Complications after abortion are a major cause of maternal death. Incomplete abortions are common and require treatment with surgical or medical uterine evacuation. Even though misoprostol is a cheaper and safer option, it is rarely used in Malawi. To improve services, an intervention was performed...

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Autores principales: Chakhame, Bertha Magreta, Darj, Elisabeth, Mwapasa, Mphatso, Kafulafula, Ursula Kalimembe, Maluwa, Alfred, Chiudzu, Grace, Malata, Address, Odland, Jon Øyvind, Odland, Maria Lisa
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9565130/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36231358
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912045
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author Chakhame, Bertha Magreta
Darj, Elisabeth
Mwapasa, Mphatso
Kafulafula, Ursula Kalimembe
Maluwa, Alfred
Chiudzu, Grace
Malata, Address
Odland, Jon Øyvind
Odland, Maria Lisa
author_facet Chakhame, Bertha Magreta
Darj, Elisabeth
Mwapasa, Mphatso
Kafulafula, Ursula Kalimembe
Maluwa, Alfred
Chiudzu, Grace
Malata, Address
Odland, Jon Øyvind
Odland, Maria Lisa
author_sort Chakhame, Bertha Magreta
collection PubMed
description Complications after abortion are a major cause of maternal death. Incomplete abortions are common and require treatment with surgical or medical uterine evacuation. Even though misoprostol is a cheaper and safer option, it is rarely used in Malawi. To improve services, an intervention was performed to increase the use of misoprostol in post-abortion care. This study explored healthcare providers’ perceptions and experiences with misoprostol in the Malawian setting and their role in achieving effective implementation of the drug. A descriptive phenomenological study was conducted in three hospitals in central Malawi. Focus group discussions were conducted with healthcare workers in centres where the training intervention was offered. Participants were purposefully sampled, and thematic analysis was done. Most of the healthcare workers were positive about the use of misoprostol, knew how to use it and were confident in doing so. The staff preferred misoprostol to surgical treatment because it was perceived safe, effective, easy to use, cost-effective, had few complications, decreased hospital congestion, reduced workload, and saved time. Additionally, misoprostol was administered by nurses/midwives, and not just physicians, thus enhancing task-shifting. The results showed acceptability of misoprostol in post-abortion care among healthcare workers in central Malawi, and further implementation of the drug is recommended.
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spelling pubmed-95651302022-10-15 Experiences of Using Misoprostol in the Management of Incomplete Abortions: A Voice of Healthcare Workers in Central Malawi Chakhame, Bertha Magreta Darj, Elisabeth Mwapasa, Mphatso Kafulafula, Ursula Kalimembe Maluwa, Alfred Chiudzu, Grace Malata, Address Odland, Jon Øyvind Odland, Maria Lisa Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Complications after abortion are a major cause of maternal death. Incomplete abortions are common and require treatment with surgical or medical uterine evacuation. Even though misoprostol is a cheaper and safer option, it is rarely used in Malawi. To improve services, an intervention was performed to increase the use of misoprostol in post-abortion care. This study explored healthcare providers’ perceptions and experiences with misoprostol in the Malawian setting and their role in achieving effective implementation of the drug. A descriptive phenomenological study was conducted in three hospitals in central Malawi. Focus group discussions were conducted with healthcare workers in centres where the training intervention was offered. Participants were purposefully sampled, and thematic analysis was done. Most of the healthcare workers were positive about the use of misoprostol, knew how to use it and were confident in doing so. The staff preferred misoprostol to surgical treatment because it was perceived safe, effective, easy to use, cost-effective, had few complications, decreased hospital congestion, reduced workload, and saved time. Additionally, misoprostol was administered by nurses/midwives, and not just physicians, thus enhancing task-shifting. The results showed acceptability of misoprostol in post-abortion care among healthcare workers in central Malawi, and further implementation of the drug is recommended. MDPI 2022-09-23 /pmc/articles/PMC9565130/ /pubmed/36231358 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912045 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Chakhame, Bertha Magreta
Darj, Elisabeth
Mwapasa, Mphatso
Kafulafula, Ursula Kalimembe
Maluwa, Alfred
Chiudzu, Grace
Malata, Address
Odland, Jon Øyvind
Odland, Maria Lisa
Experiences of Using Misoprostol in the Management of Incomplete Abortions: A Voice of Healthcare Workers in Central Malawi
title Experiences of Using Misoprostol in the Management of Incomplete Abortions: A Voice of Healthcare Workers in Central Malawi
title_full Experiences of Using Misoprostol in the Management of Incomplete Abortions: A Voice of Healthcare Workers in Central Malawi
title_fullStr Experiences of Using Misoprostol in the Management of Incomplete Abortions: A Voice of Healthcare Workers in Central Malawi
title_full_unstemmed Experiences of Using Misoprostol in the Management of Incomplete Abortions: A Voice of Healthcare Workers in Central Malawi
title_short Experiences of Using Misoprostol in the Management of Incomplete Abortions: A Voice of Healthcare Workers in Central Malawi
title_sort experiences of using misoprostol in the management of incomplete abortions: a voice of healthcare workers in central malawi
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9565130/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36231358
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912045
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