A comic based interactive digital intervention to enhance facilitation skills of nurse mentors in public facilities - results of a pilot intervention in Bihar, India.

BACKGROUND: Various trainings are designed to educate nurses to become simulation educators. However, there are no good strategies to sustain their learnings and keep them engaged. We developed a series of 10 interactive digital storytelling comic episodes 'The Adventures of Super Divya (SD)' to strengthen simulation educator's facilitation knowledge, skills, confidence, and engagement. This endline evaluation presents results on the change in knowledge after watching the episodes and retention of that knowledge over 10 months. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this pilot study are to: 1) assess the change in knowledge between the baseline and post-episode surveys; and 2) understand the retention of knowledge between the post-episode and the endline survey. METHODS: A human-centred design was used to create the episodes grounded in the lived experience of nurse simulation educators. The heroine of the comic is Divya, a 'Super Facilitator' and her nemesis is Professor Agni who wants to derail simulation as an educational strategy inside obstetric facilities. Professor Agni's schemes represent real-life challenges; and SD uses effective facilitation and communication to overcome them. The episodes were shared with a group of nurse mentors (NM) and nurse mentor supervisors (NMS) who were trained to be champion simulation educators in their own facilities. To assess change in knowledge, we conducted a baseline, nine post-episode surveys and an endline survey between May 2021 and February 2022. RESULTS: A total 110 NM and 50 NMS watched all 10 episodes and completed all of the surveys. On average, knowledge scores increased by 7-9 percentage points after watching the episodes. Comparison of survey responses obtained between 1 and 10 months suggest that the gain in knowledge was largely retained over time. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that this interactive comic series was successful in a resource limited setting at engaging simulation educators and helped to maintain their facilitation knowledge over time.

Simulation and nurse-mentoring in a statewide nurse mentoring program in Bihar, India: diagnosis of postpartum hemorrhage and intrapartum asphyxia.

Background: Mentoring programs that include simulation, bedside mentoring, and didactic components are becoming increasingly popular to improve quality. These programs are designed with little evidence to inform the optimal composition of mentoring activities that would yield the greatest impact on provider skills and patient outcomes. We examined the association of number of maternal and neonatal emergency simulations performed with the diagnosis of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) and intrapartum asphyxia in real patients. Methods: We used a prospective cohort and births were compared between- and within-facility over time. Setting included 320 public facilities in the state of Bihar, India May 2015 - 2017. The participants were deliveries and livebirths. The interventions carried out were mobile nurse-mentoring program with simulations, teamwork and communication activities, didactic teaching, demonstrations of clinical procedures and bedside mentoring including conducting deliveries. Nurse mentor pairs visited each facility for one week, covering four facilities over a four-week period, for seven to nine consecutive months. The outcome measures were diagnosis of PPH and intrapartum asphyxia. Results:Relative to the bottom one-third facilities that performed the fewest maternal simulations, facilities in the middle one-third group diagnosed 26% (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.26, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.00, 1.59) more cases of PPH in real patients. Similarly, facilities in the middle one-third group, diagnosed 25% (IRR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.50) more cases of intrapartum asphyxia relative to the bottom third group that did the fewest neonatal simulations. Facilities in the top one-third group (i.e., performed the most simulations) did not have a significant difference in diagnosis of both outcomes, relative to the bottom one-third group. Results:Relative to the bottom one-third facilities that performed the fewest maternal simulations, facilities in the middle one-third group diagnosed 26% (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.26, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.00, 1.59) more cases of PPH in real patients. Similarly, facilities in the middle one-third group, diagnosed 25% (IRR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.50) more cases of intrapartum asphyxia relative to the bottom third group that did the fewest neonatal simulations. Facilities in the top one-third group (i.e., performed the most simulations) did not have a significant difference in diagnosis of both outcomes, relative to the bottom one-third group. Conclusions: Findings suggest a complex relationship between performing simulations and opportunities for direct practice with patients, and there may be an optimal balance in performing the two that would maximize diagnosis of PPH and intrapartum asphyxia.