Continuous Professional Development in Long Acting Reversible Contraception for Nurses and its influence on Services provided to women at Mbagathi County Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Health professionals maintain, improve and broaden their knowledge and skills in a way that helps them develop qualities and competencies during practice. Continuous Professional Development (CPD) in nursing enhances competencies grounded in evidence base as new knowledge emerges in health care, and is therefore a valuable tool for implementing best practices. Advances in reproductive health seek to reduce risk of maternal morbidity and mortality that could be as a result of women not spacing births or having unmet needs for family planning. This study sought to evaluate the influence of CPD in provision of Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC), and to identify challenges in provision of service by nurses at Mbagathi County Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya. A cross sectional study design was used on a population of nurses working at Mbagathi County hospital, in units that provide reproductive health services. Sixty six nurses were eligible to for the study and were therefore purposively selected due to their numbers of eligibility so as to allow every one of them to participate in the study. Data was collected using a semi structured questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was conducted in MS excel and chi square test in epi-info version 7. The response rate was 98%, where 58(88%) questionnaires were analysed. The mean age of the nurses was 33.5 (SD± 7.5). The outcome of this study showed significant association between CPD and provision of LARC: OR: 7.47, at 95 % CL: CI: 1.82-30.65 and P-Value -0.003. Inadequate supplies and equipment were the major challenges in provision of LARC. Continuous Professional Development in Long Acting Reversible Contraception influenced service delivery in provision of contraceptive method. The study recommends improved provision of commodities and supplies for family planning, improved knowledge and skills on LARC, and targeted updates in family planning practices for effective service delivery.