title: Rural origin and exposure drives Ghanaian midwives reported future practice.
abstract: A primary cause of Ghana's higher than global average maternal mortality rate is limited access to maternal care in rural areas. To date, few studies have examined how rural background/training of midwives impacts their future willingness to work in remote areas. The purpose of this paper is to describe the relationship between Ghanaian student midwife place of origin and rural training on their willingness to choose a future rural practice location. A cross-sectional computer-based survey was completed by 238 final year Ghanaian midwifery students from two public midwifery training schools located in urban Ghana between October and December 2009. The relationship between rural exposure and willingness to work in rural Ghana was analyzed using independent t-test, chi-square, and bivariate logistic regression. Participants who experienced a rural rotation (OR: 1.51, 95% CI: 0.71, 3.22) and those born in a rural area (OR: 2.24, 95% CI: 0.74, 6.75) resulted in greater odds ratio to choose rural practice following graduation. This study indicates an association between midwifery students' place of origin and training and their willingness to practice in a rural area after graduation.
authors.forename: Jody R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Lori
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Livingston
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eagle
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rominski
authors.forename: Emmanuel Kweku
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Nakua
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Agyei-Baffour
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002321:Career Choice; D004493:Education / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008880:Midwifery / Q000193:education*; D011247:Pregnancy; D036301:Qualitative Research; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult