Clinical Competency During Undergraduate Midwifery Training in Malawi: A Concept Analysis.

Background: The purpose of midwifery education is to produce clinically competent midwives. However, clinical training in Malawi faces multiple challenges, and the concept of Clinical Competency (CC) has not been analysed in this context. This article analyses CC during undergraduate midwifery training in Malawi to elucidate its attributes, antecedents, consequences, and empirical referents. Methods: A literature search was performed on data bases, Google Scholar, PubMed, and CINAHL, using the following terms: clinical competency, midwifery competency, nursing competency, nursing and midwifery competency. Published articles were retrieved and clinical competency analysis was guided by Walker and Avant's strategy. Results: CC attributes were knowledge, skills, attitudes, performance level, professionalism, and entrustable professional activity. Antecedents included motivation, role models, learning environment and personal traits. The consequences of CC include confidence, client safety, and quality of care. CC can be measured through a combination of four strategies: observing a student practising it in clinical area, simulation or Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), application through written essays or case presentations, and knowledge-based assessment. Conclusion: CC is a multidimensional concept and its definition and defining attributes are contextual. Similarly, clinical competencies are a major determinant of educational decisions such as curriculum nucleus, length of clinical placement, teaching strategies, and student assessment methods. However, CC and its attributes have not been fully utilised in Malawi, especially in clinical teaching and student clinical assessments. There is a need to adequately prepare midwifery educators, clinical staff, and students to deliver quality clinical competencies consistent with competency-based education. Adoption of different assessment strategies and development of valid and reliable tools is necessary to comprehensively measure CC among midwifery students in Malawi.

In-vitro inhibitory effect of maternal breastmilk components on rotavirus vaccine replication and association with infant seroconversion to live oral rotavirus vaccine.

BACKGROUND: Despite contributing to a significant reduction in rotavirus associated diarrhoea in highly burdened low- and middle-income countries, live attenuated, oral rotavirus vaccines have lower immunogenicity and efficacy in these settings in comparison to more developed countries. Breastmilk has been implicated among factors contributing to this lowered oral vaccine efficacy. We conducted in-vitro experiments to investigate the inhibitory effects of maternal antibody and other non-antibody components in breastmilk on rotavirus vaccine strain (Rotarix) multiplication in MA104 cell culture system and assessed associations with in-vivo vaccine seroconversion in vaccinated infants. METHODS: Breastmilk samples were collected from mothers before routine rotavirus vaccination of their infant at 6 weeks of age. For each sample, whole breastmilk, purified IgA, purified IgG and IgG and IgA depleted breastmilk samples were prepared as exposure preparations. A 96 well microtitre plate was set up for each sample including a control in which only MA104 cells were grown as well as a virus control with MA104 cells and virus only. The outcome of interest was 50% inhibition dilution of each of the exposure preparations calculated as the titer at which 50% of virus dilution was achieved. Samples from 30 women were tested and correlated to vaccine seroconversion status of the infant. HIV status was also correlated to antiviral breastmilk proteins. RESULTS: The mean 50% inhibitory dilution titer when whole breastmilk was added to virus infected MA104 cells was 14.3 (95% CI: 7.1, 22.7). Incubation with purified IgG resulted in a mean 50% inhibitory dilution of 5 (95%CI -1.6, 11.6). Incubating with purified IgA resulted in a mean 50% inhibitory dilution of 6.5 (95% CI -0.7, 13.7) and IgG and IgA depleted breastmilk did not yield any inhibition with a titer of 1.06 (95%CI 0.9, 1.2). Higher milk IgA levels contributed to a failure of infants to seroconvert. HIV was also not associated with any antiviral breastmilk proteins. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Whole breastmilk and breastmilk purified IgG and IgA fractions showed inhibitory activity against the rotavirus vaccine Rotarix™ whilst IgA and IgG depleted breastmilk with non-antibody breastmilk fraction failed to show any inhibition activity in-vitro. These findings suggest that IgA and IgG may have functional inhibitory properties and indicates a possible mechanism of how mothers in rotavirus endemic areas with high titres of IgA and IgG may inhibit viral multiplication in the infant gut and would potentially contribute to the failure of their infants to serocovert. There was not association of HIV with either lactoferrin, lactadherin or tenascin-C concentrations.

Seroepidemiology of hepatitis E virus infection in an urban population in Zambia: strong association with HIV and environmental enteropathy.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection causes major epidemics of infectious hepatitis, with high mortality rates in pregnant women. Recent reports indicate that HEV coinfections with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may have a more protracted course. However, the impact of HEV infections in communities heavily affected by HIV remains poorly studied. We set out to examine age-related seroprevalence in a community where we have previously carried out studies on environmental enteropathy. METHODS: Blood samples from 194 children and 106 adults were examined for immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M antibodies for HEV. HEV data were correlated with HIV status and morphometric analysis of small intestinal biopsies. RESULTS: Seroprevalence rose throughout childhood, from 8% in children aged 1-4 years, to 36% in children aged 10-14 years. In adults, the overall prevalence was 42%, with 28% in HIV-seronegative adults and 71% in HIV-seropositive adults (odds ratio, 6.2; 95% confidence interval, 2.2-18; P = .0001). In adults, villous height and crypt depth measurements showed that HEV seropositivity was associated with worse enteropathy (P = .05 and P = .005, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: HEV infection is common in Zambia. In adults it is strongly associated with HIV status, and also with environmental enteropathy.