Educational Needs Assessment among Midwives in Obstetric and Delivery Wards for Accreditation at Educational Hospitals Affiliated With Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences

Background and Objectives: The people educated in midwifery play a remarkable role in achieving the third millennium goals of World Health Organization. Employees’ educational needs should be responded for performance development. Educational need assessment is one of the accreditation requirements in human resources development. This research aimed to assess educational needs among midwives in obstetric and delivery wards at educational hospitals affiliated with Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences. Material and Methods: This research was a descriptive-analytic and cross-sectional study. Study population included midwives working in obstetric wards in educational hospitals affiliated to Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. Study was conducted using census method. Data gathering instrument was a questionnaire in which respondents' demographic and educational needs' in general, special and medication domains were collected. Instrument validity was confirmed by content analysis and Chronbachs' α was calculated 0.89. Data were analyzed using mean, standard variation and non-parametric statistic tests in SPSS 21. Results: Educational needs in medication domain was estimated very high (4.03±1.22), and were calculated high in general (3.76±0.74) and special (0.9±3.7) domains. Managing side effects in medicines (4.11±0.87), CPR (4.31±1) and neonatal resuscitation (1.03±4.29) were the most needed education courses in medication, general and special domains, respectively Conclusion: More attention should be paid to midwives’ educational needs in order to upgrade their knowledge and skills along with obstetric services improvement. Identifying midwives' occupational needs, based on valid and evident findings, is a prerequisite for education quality improvement.