@article{16ef43073d4544299c384ed582307c9b,
title = "“I was relieved to know that my baby was safe”: Women{\textquoteright}s attitudes and perceptions on using a new electronic fetal heart rate monitor during labor in Tanzania",
abstract = "To increase labor monitoring and prevent neonatal morbidity and mortality, a new wireless, strap-on electronic fetal heart rate monitor called Moyo was introduced in Tanzania in 2016. As part of the ongoing evaluation of the introduction of the monitor, the aim of this study was to explore the attitudes and perceptions of women who had worn the monitor continuously during their most recent delivery and perceptions about how it affected care. This knowledge is important to identify barriers towards adaptation in order to introduce new technology more effectively. We carried out 20 semi-structured individual interviews post-labor at two hospitals in Tanzania. A thematic content analysis was used to analyze the data. Our results indicated that the use of the monitor positively affected the women{\textquoteright}s birth experience. It provided much-needed reassurance about the wellbeing of the child. The women considered that wearing Moyo improved care due to an increase in communication and attention from birth attendants. However, the women did not fully understand the purpose and function of the device and overestimated its capabilities. This highlights the need to improve how and when information is conveyed to women in labor.",
keywords = "(Electronic) fetal heart rate monitoring, Health literacy, Informed consent, Labor care, Labor monitoring, Laboring women{\textquoteright}s attitudes, Low-resource setting, Moyo, Tanzania, Wireless fetal heart rate monitor",
author = "{Rivenes Lafontan}, Sara and Johanne Sundby and Ersdal, {Hege L.} and Muzdalifat Abeid and Kidanto, {Hussein L.} and Mbekenga, {Columba K.}",
note = "Funding Information: The authors wish to thank the women who participated in the study as well as staff and administration at the two hospitals where the data was collected. The study was supported by the Laerdal Foundation and the Research Council of Norway through the Global Health and Vaccination Program (GLOBVAC), project number 228203. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results. Funding Information: Twenty mothers were recruited to participate in the study and all participants were interviewed once. Recruitment was done through convenience sampling [15]. The mothers were approached before discharge from the post-natal ward and informed about the study by two members of the research team at both hospitals. All the women who were asked to participate in the study accepted. The recruitment was conducted by the Tanzanian research assistant with assistance from nursing staff at the maternity wards. The inclusion criteria to participate in the study were that Moyo had been used during the most recent delivery, that there had been a positive fetal outcome, and that the women were multiparous. The study was conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki [16]. All participants received oral and written information about the purpose of the study before giving their written consent to participate. The Safer Births studies are approved by the Norwegian Regional Ethics Committee (REK Vest; Ref: 2013/110/REK vest) and the Tanzanian National Institute for Medical Research (Ref: NIMR/HQ/R.8a/Vol.IX/388). The first author obtained a research permit to carry out the study from the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology, COSTECH, (No. 2016-396-NA-2016-277). The study obtained ethical approval from all relevant entities, both at the institutions where the study was carried out and at the local government. Funding Information: Acknowledgments: The authors wish to thank the women who participated in the study as well as staff and administration at the two hospitals where the data was collected. The study was supported by the Laerdal Foundation and the Research Council of Norway through the Global Health and Vaccination Program (GLOBVAC), project number 228203. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.",
year = "2018",
month = feb,
day = "9",
doi = "10.3390/ijerph15020302",
language = "English",
volume = "15",
journal = "International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health",
issn = "1661-7827",
publisher = "Frontiers Media S.A.",
number = "2",
}
