An evaluation of skills acquisition on the WHO/UNICEF Breastfeeding Management Course using the pre-validated Breastfeeding Support Skills Tool (BeSST).
OBJECTIVE
To test the hypothesis that midwives who had completed the 20-hour WHO/UNICEF Breastfeeding Management Course would score significantly higher on a validated, quantitative measure of breast-feeding support skills, the Breastfeeding Support Skills Tool (BeSST), than a control group of midwives who had not undertaken the course.


METHODS
Breast feeding support skills were assessed using a between-subjects design conducted in midwives who had not attended the course and at two weeks following the 20 hour course.


METHODS
Two groups, consisting of 13 pre- and 15 post-course midwives, were compared. The research was carried out at four hospital sites in the UK, three of which had undertaken the 20 hour course and one which had not adopted the course.


RESULTS
Scores on the BeSST were significantly higher in the post-course group (mean = 29.9) than in the pre-course group (mean = 19.8), t (23.39) = 2.94, P < 0.01.


CONCLUSIONS
It is clear that breast-feeding support skills, as demonstrated by the BeSST, are significantly improved two weeks following the 20-hour WHO/UNICEF Breastfeeding Management Course.


CONCLUSIONS
By demonstrating the effectiveness of the 20-hour course in teaching breast-feeding support skills, additional hospitals may be encouraged to adopt the course and thereby contribute further to the advancement of optimum breast-feeding practices. Furthermore, this approach to assessment may be transferred to other areas of midwifery practice enabling the effective evaluation of courses and assessment of student learning.
Moran
V H
VH
Department of Midwifery Studies, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK.
Bramwell
R
R
Dykes
F
F
Dinwoodie
K
K
D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007318:Inservice Training; D008875:Middle Aged; D008880:Midwifery / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards*; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education; D015397:Program Evaluation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D006113:United Kingdom; D014480:United Nations; D014944:World Health Organization