SynthesisHealth policy and planning2019
The effectiveness of training in emergency obstetric care: a systematic literature review.
Synthesis in Health policy and planning, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
71 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 139 citations in OpenAlex.
- Implementation strategies for WHO guidelines to prevent, detect, and treat postpartum hemorrhage.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Interventions to Improve the Reproductive Health of Undocumented Female Migrants and Refugees in Protracted Situations: A Systematic Review.Global health, science and practice · 2022Pooled it
- Multi-professional simulation-based team training in obstetric emergencies for improving patient outcomes and trainees' performance.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Death audits and reviews for reducing maternal, perinatal and child mortality.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Mono-Professional Simulation-Based Obstetric Training in a Low-Resource Setting: Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Trial.JMIR medical education · 2025Trial
- An evaluation of the effectiveness of an updated pre-service midwifery curriculum integrated with emergency obstetric and newborn care in Kenya: a cluster randomised controlled trial.BMC medical education · 2024Trial
- Experiences, barriers and perspectives of midwifery educators, mentors and students implementing the updated emergency obstetric and newborn care-enhanced pre-service midwifery curriculum in Kenya: a nested qualitative study.BMC medical education · 2024Trial
- The impact of the Safe Delivery Application on knowledge and skills managing postpartum haemorrhage in a low resource setting: a cluster randomized controlled trial in West Wollega region, Ethiopia.Reproductive health · 2023Trial
- Effects of the Helping Mothers Survive Bleeding after Birth training on near miss morbidity and mortality in Uganda: A cluster-randomized trial.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2021Trial
- Effect of a quality improvement package for intrapartum and immediate newborn care on fresh stillbirth and neonatal mortality among preterm and low-birthweight babies in Kenya and Uganda: a cluster-randomised facility-based trial.The Lancet. Global health · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Global, regional, and national burden of maternal hemorrhage from 1990 to 2021, with projections to 2050: Insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2026Article
- Midwives' Perspective on Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness Structure: A Qualitative Study.International journal of community based nursing and midwifery · 2026Article
- Improving maternity and neonatal care in England: protocol for a formative evaluation of the implementation of the core competency framework to enhance multi-professional practice.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Structural Quality of Institutional Delivery Services at Public Health Facilities in North-West Ethiopia: A Mixed Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Strategies to improve outcomes of obstetric emergencies in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review.PloS one · 2026Article
- Preparedness of emergency care providers to manage obstetric haemorrhage in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa: A mixed-methods study.Journal of the colleges of medicine of South Africa · 2026Article
- Impact of a long-term mentorship program for childbirth providers on quality of care: A cluster randomized controlled trial.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Understanding Antecedents and Attributes in the Context of Upward Referral for Obstetric Emergencies: A Grounded Theory Study.F1000Research · 2026Article
11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Providing quality emergency obstetric care (EmOC) reduces the risk of maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity. There is evidence that over 50% of maternal health programmes that result in improving access to EmOC and reduce maternal mortality have an EmOC training component. The objective was to review the evidence for the effectiveness of training in EmOC. Eleven databases and websites were searched for publications describing EmOC training evaluations between 1997 and 2017. Effectiveness was assessed at four levels: (1) participant reaction, (2) knowledge and skills, (3) change in behaviour and clinical practice and (4) availability of EmOC and health outcomes. Weighted means for change in knowledge and skills obtained, narrative synthesis of results for other levels. One hundred and one studies including before-after studies (n = 44) and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (n = 15). Level 1 and/or 2 was assessed in 68 studies; Level 3 in 51, Level 4 in 21 studies. Only three studies assessed effectiveness at all four levels. Weighted mean scores pre-training, and change after training were 67.0% and 10.6% for knowledge (7750 participants) and 53.1% and 29.8% for skills (6054 participants; 13 studies). There is strong evidence for improved clinical practice (adherence to protocols, resuscitation technique, communication and team work) and improved neonatal outcomes (reduced trauma after shoulder dystocia, reduced number of babies with hypothermia and hypoxia). Evidence for a reduction in the number of cases of post-partum haemorrhage, case fatality rates, stillbirths and institutional maternal mortality is less strong. Short competency-based training in EmOC results in significant improvements in healthcare provider knowledge/skills and change in clinical practice. There is emerging evidence that this results in improved health outcomes.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.