Residency curriculum improves breastfeeding care.
OBJECTIVE
Multiple studies have revealed inadequacies in breastfeeding education during residency, and results of recent studies have confirmed that attitudes of practicing pediatricians toward breastfeeding are deteriorating. In this we study evaluated whether a residency curriculum improved physician knowledge, practice patterns, and confidence in providing breastfeeding care and whether implementation of this curriculum was associated with increased breastfeeding rates in patients.


METHODS
A prospective cohort of 417 residents was enrolled in a controlled trial of a novel curriculum developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics in conjunction with experts from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Academy of Family Physicians, and Association of Pediatric Program Directors. Six intervention residency programs implemented the curriculum, whereas 7 control programs did not. Residents completed pretests and posttests before and after implementation. Breastfeeding rates were derived from randomly selected medical charts in hospitals and clinics at which residents trained.


RESULTS
Trained residents were more likely to show improvements in knowledge (odds ratio [OR]: 2.8 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.5-5.0]), practice patterns related to breastfeeding (OR: 2.2 [95% CI: 1.3-3.7]), and confidence (OR: 2.4 [95% CI: 1.4-4.1]) than residents at control sites. Infants at the institutions in which the curriculum was implemented were more likely to breastfeed exclusively 6 months after intervention (OR: 4.1 [95% CI: 1.8-9.7]).


CONCLUSIONS
A targeted breastfeeding curriculum for residents in pediatrics, family medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology improves knowledge, practice patterns, and confidence in breastfeeding management in residents and increases exclusive breastfeeding in their patients. Implementation of this curriculum may similarly benefit other institutions.
Feldman-Winter
Lori
L
Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Cooper University Hospital, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Camden, NJ 08103-1438, USA. winter-lori@cooperhealth.edu
Barone
Lauren
L
Milcarek
Barry
B
Hunter
Krystal
K
Meek
Joan
J
Morton
Jane
J
Williams
Tara
T
Naylor
Audrey
A
Lawrence
Ruth A
RA
D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding; D003479:Curriculum; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007224:Infant Care / Q000592:standards*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*