Management of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting-Related Obstetric Complications: A Training Evaluation

Kim Nordmann, Ana Belén Subirón-Valera, Mandella King, Thomas Küpper and Guillermo Z. Martínez-Pérez
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Kim Nordmann: Institute of Occupational & Social Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany
Ana Belén Subirón-Valera: Department of Physiatrics and Nursing, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Mandella King: Saint Joseph’s Catholic Hospital, Monrovia 1000, Liberia
Thomas Küpper: Institute of Occupational & Social Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany
Guillermo Z. Martínez-Pérez: African Women’s Research Observatory, 08009 Barcelona, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-12

Abstract: Although female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is a prevalent practice in Liberia, healthcare workers lack the capacity to provide adequate care for FGM/C survivors. Therefore, Liberian nurses, physician assistants, midwives and trained traditional midwives were trained in sexual, obstetric and psychosocial care for FGM/C survivors in 2019. Through questionnaires, we assessed knowledge acquisition, trainee attitudes towards FGM/C care and acceptability to implement WHO-endorsed recommendations. The questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics for quantitative data and an inductive approach for qualitative data. A total of 99 female and 34 male trainees participated. Most trainees perceived FGM/C as harmful to women’s health, as a violation of women’s rights and showed a willingness to change their clinical practice. While 82.8% ( n = 74/90) perceived their role in advocating against FGM/C, 10.0% ( n = 9/90) felt that they should train traditional circumcisers to practice FGM/C safely. The pre-training FGM/C knowledge test demonstrated higher scores among physician assistants (13.86 ± 3.02 points) than among nurses (12.11 ± 3.12 points) and midwives (11.75 ± 2.27 points). After the training, the mean test score increased by 1.69 points, from 12.18 (±2.91) points to 13.87 (±2.65) points. The trainings successfully increased theoretical knowledge of FGM/C-caused health effects and healthcare workers’ demonstrated willingness to implement evidence-based guidelines when providing care to FMG/C survivors.

Keywords: female genital mutilation; female genital cutting; training evaluation; nurses; midwives; obstetric complications; Liberia; Sub-Saharan Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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