Postpartum sterilization by operating-room nurses in Thailand.

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Health
• Surgical Nursing
• Contraceptive Surgery

Background:

• Postpartum sterilization is a critical contraceptive method.
• Physician availability can limit access to sterilization procedures.
• Exploring alternative healthcare providers is essential for expanding services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance of experienced operating room nurses as operators in postpartum sterilization.
• To compare nurse-led sterilization outcomes with physician-led procedures.
• To assess the safety and client satisfaction of nurse-performed sterilization.

Main Methods:

• A training project was conducted from 1977-1978.
• Over 1000 postpartum sterilization clients were operated on by nurses.
• A comparison group of approximately 300 physician-sterilized clients was included.
• Clinical and attitudinal follow-up assessments were performed.

Main Results:

• Nurses achieved comparable success rates to physicians in postpartum sterilization.
• No serious complications were reported in either the nurse-operated or physician-operated groups.
• Minor infections were routinely managed in both groups.
• Client satisfaction was virtually unanimous across both groups.
• Clients in both groups returned to routine activities rapidly.

Conclusions:

• Nurses can effectively perform postpartum sterilization with comparable outcomes to physicians.
• The use of nurses in performing contraceptive surgery is supported by these findings.
• Nurses represent a readily available and trainable workforce to increase contraceptive surgery service coverage.
• Expanding the role of nurses is a high-priority strategy for improving reproductive health services.