An E-Learning Program for Continuing Midwifery Education on Handling High-Risk Abuse Cases: A Pretest-Posttest Design

Area of Science:

• Perinatal Nursing
• Child Abuse Prevention
• Medical Education Technology

Background:

• Midwives and nurses in Japan lack basic education on child abuse prevention.
• Perinatal healthcare professionals need enhanced skills for identifying and managing abuse risks.
• Existing nursing education inadequately addresses abuse prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and assess an e-learning program for obstetric midwives and nurses.
• To improve knowledge and efficacy in child abuse prevention and high-risk case management.
• To evaluate the program's usefulness in enhancing perinatal professionals' capabilities.

Main Methods:

• A single-group pre-post design was utilized with e-learning as the intervention.
• Seventy-one obstetric midwives and nurses participated in the study.
• Paired t-tests analyzed pre- and post-intervention knowledge and efficacy scores.

Main Results:

• Post-test scores for knowledge and efficacy significantly surpassed pre-test scores.
• A large effect size (d = 1.71) indicated a substantial improvement.
• The e-learning program demonstrated high usefulness in enhancing participants' skills.

Conclusions:

• The developed e-learning program effectively increases knowledge and efficacy in child abuse prevention for perinatal nurses and midwives.
• This program addresses a critical gap in current nursing education regarding abuse prevention.
• The e-learning initiative is recommended for widespread adoption in Japan to bolster abuse prevention efforts in perinatal care.