Impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the postpartum experience of women living in Eastern Canada during the early pandemic period: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To (1) compare changes in parenting self-efficacy, social support, postpartum anxiety, and postpartum depression in Canadian women before and during the early COVID-19 pandemic; (2) explore how women with a newborn felt during the pandemic; (3) explore ways that women coped with challenges faced. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used. Prior to the pandemic, an online survey was conducted with women who an infant 6 months old or less in one of the three Eastern Canadian Maritime provinces. A similar survey was conducted during the pandemic in mid-2020. RESULTS: Pre-COVID, 561 women completed the survey, and 331 women during the pandemic. There were no significant differences in parenting self-efficacy, social support, postpartum anxiety, and depression between the cohorts. Difficulties that women reported because of COVID-19 restrictions included lack of support from family and friends, fear of COVID-19 exposure, feeling isolated and uncertain, negative impact on perinatal care experience, and hospital restrictions. Having support from partners and families, in-person/virtual support, as well as engaging in self-care and the low prevalence of COVID-19 during the summer of 2020 helped women cope. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Women identified challenges and negative impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although no differences in psychosocial outcomes were found. Consideration of public health policy during the postpartum period for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is needed. CONCLUSION: While there were no significant differences in psychosocial outcomes, there were still challenges and negative impacts that women identified.

Operationalizing integrated needs-based workforce planning at Nova Scotia Health in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This paper documents Nova Scotia Health's progress in operationalizing integrated needs-based workforce planning as part of its ongoing response to the pandemic. A multidisciplinary workforce planning team with representation spanning key portfolios was created to facilitate the organization's response to the pandemic. Analyses applied early in Wave 3 of the pandemic showed large projected shortages in several professions and identified which services would likely be scarcest among the available workforce relative to patient need. Based on these results, the workforce planning team recommended and supported operational teams in implementing a multi-faceted set of interventions aimed at increasing the availability of individuals with these competencies. These interventions collectively yielded an adequate supply of additional competent personnel to meet the needs of COVID-19 inpatients across the province through the third wave of the pandemic. Lessons learned are proving critical to maintaining core operations during Wave 4 of the pandemic.

Implementing Essential Coaching for Every Mother during the COVID-19 pandemic: A pre-post intervention study.

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this project was to evaluate the preliminary impact of Essential Coaching for Every Mother on maternal self-efficacy, social support, postpartum anxiety, and postpartum depression. The secondary objective was to explore the acceptability of the Essential Coaching for Every Mother program provided during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A prospective pre-post study was conducted with first-time mothers in Nova Scotia, Canada, between July 15 and September 19, 2020. Participants completed a self-report survey at enrollment (after birth) and 6 weeks postpartum. Various standardized measures were used, and qualitative feedback on the program was also collected. Paired t tests were carried out to determine changes from baseline to follow-up on psychosocial outcomes, and qualitative feedback was analyzed through thematic analysis. RESULTS: A total of 88 women enrolled. Maternal self-efficacy increased between baseline (B) and follow-up (F) (B: 33.33; F: 37.11, P = 0.000), whereas anxiety (STAI) declined (B: 38.49; F: 34.79, P = 0.004). In terms of acceptability, 89% of participants felt that the number of messages was just right, 84.5% felt the messages contained all the information they needed relative to caring for a newborn, and 98.8% indicated they would recommend this program to other new mothers. CONCLUSIONS: Essential Coaching for Every Mother may play a role in increasing maternal self-efficacy and decreasing anxiety, although future work with a control group is needed to delineate the true effects of the program. Overall, mothers were satisfied with the Essential Coaching for Every Mother program and would recommend it for other mothers, during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Core competencies and challenges among nurses transitioning into positions of leadership - a Caribbean perspective.

PURPOSE: Nurses are a significant part of the professional workforce, but leaders may be promoted without the requisite competencies. This study aims to explore the perspectives of nurse managers about the core competencies necessary for promotion as leaders in health. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This was a mixed-methods study that targeted nurses (N = 126) who were promoted in four Caribbean countries over the past five years. A 30-item questionnaire was used for quantitative data collection and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Interviews yielded the qualitative data, which were analyzed using open coding and thematic analysis. Ethical approvals were received from ethics committees at the university and country level. FINDINGS: Most participants were female (n = 112), had 15 or more years' experience (n = 71) and an associate degree/diploma in nursing (n = 62). Leadership was the most important competency required of nurse leaders in spite of their position within the organization, followed by team building and motivation. Challenges to the transitioning into leadership positions included the prevailing culture and a lack of a systematic approach to building capacity in leadership. There was also between-group statistical significance, as determined by one-way ANOVA for delegation, motivation and leadership as core competencies based on occupations roles. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Notwithstanding the importance of the findings from this research, there were some limitations. While the researchers considered implementing this study in eight Caribbean countries, approvals were received for only four countries. This will affect the ability to generalize the findings to the wider Caribbean countries. One of the strengths of this research was the use of mixed methods for data collection. However, the qualitative component of the findings may be limited by the number of focus groups conducted, notwithstanding the richness of the data collected. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The findings can be used as a framework from which the health system in developing countries can begin to examine practical solutions to developing 21st century leadership competencies in nursing. While there may be remanence of the colonial past in the way systems function, the complexity of health systems requires leadership that is rooted in competence that is multidimensional. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This paper provides an important contribution to the literature on leadership and competencies from the perspective of low- to middle-income resource settings. The qualitative component of the research added richness to the nuances and understanding of the phenomenon of competencies for nurse leaders.