RESUMEN
PURPOSE: Emergency medical service (EMS) providers often care for pregnant women at risk for out-of-hospital delivery and born-before-arrival neonates. As the increase in mortality and morbidity from out-of-hospital delivery is well established, this study sought to determine whether a delivery and neonatal care education program could impact the knowledge and practice of EMS providers. METHODS: EMS providers working in the southeast Gyeonggi province in South Korea received an education program for out-of-hospital delivery and neonatal care. The program consisted of a pretest, didactic, mannequin training, and posttest. Six months after the education program a follow-up survey was administered. A paired t-test was then used to compare pretest and posttest scores. Overall, 56 EMS providers completed the study. RESULTS: The pretest average score was 80.4 and the posttest average score was 92.9 (p<0.001). The percentage of correct answers on each question was relatively and equally elevated in the posttest, regardless of the participant's certification. Participants expressed their satisfaction with the education program and this appraisal was maintained in the 6-month follow-up survey. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that EMS providers can benefit from a didactic and training session regarding out-of-hospital delivery and neonatal care. Further studies are needed, however, to develop the reliability and validity of the test and to determine its clinical applications.