Maternal and neonatal mortality rates reflect global health issues that must continue to be addressed (United Nations, 2015). The global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) was estimated around 216 per 100,000 live births in 2015 (World Health Organization [WHO], 2015). Among those deaths, 99% occurred in developing countries (WHO, 2015). The MMR in Rwanda is estimated around 290 per 100,000 live births (The World Bank Group, 2017). As of 2016, the global neonatal mortality rate [NMR] was estimated around 19 per 1,000 live births (United Nations Children’s Fund, 2017). In Rwanda, the reported NMR is 17 per 1,000 live births (The World Bank Group, 2017). Many neonatal deaths result from preventable causes such as birth asphyxia and substandard intrapartum care provided by health professionals to mothers and their babies in Rwanda (Musafili et al., 2017; Wilmot, Yotebieng, Norris, & Ngabo, 2017).
Clinical mentorship, an approach consisting of on-site teaching-learning opportunities for health professionals, whereby an experienced health provider supports the professional development of a less experienced health provider (Decicco, 2008), can be an effective way of assisting nurses and midwives to update their clinical knowledge and skills. Improved knowledge and skills can lead to better patient care and outcomes. In that regard, the government of Rwanda supports mentorship programs in clinical settings for nurses and midwives who provide maternal and neonatal healthcare in order to decrease maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.
The Training, Support, and Access Model (TSAM) for maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) in Rwanda is a four-year (2016-2020) $10.5 million-dollar health development project that was funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) in 2015. The TSAM project aims at contributing to the reduction of maternal, neonatal, and child mortality in the Northern and Southern provinces of Rwanda. To this end, a clinical mentorship program for health professionals was initiated in 2017. As of May 2019, about 80 nurses and midwives working in ten district hospitals (DHs) have participated as mentees in the TSAM mentorship program.
Purpose:
The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study is to explore nurses’ and midwives’ lived experience of participating as mentees in the TSAM mentorship program in Rwanda.
Methods:
Data was collected using semi-structured individual interviews, audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and translated from Kinyarwanda to English as required. van Manen 's (1997) proposed guidelines for thematic analysis were used for this study.
Results:
Participants shared the structural factors that influenced their participation as mentees in the mentorship program and the ways in which they applied newly developed or honed professional competencies from the mentee experience into their practice.
Conclusion:
Policy, education, and health system considerations regarding mentorship programs for nurses and midwives aimed at improving maternal and neonatal care in Rwanda and similar resource-limited settings are being developed to put forward based on findings from this study.