Evaluation of antenatal Point-of-Care Ultrasound (PoCUS) training: a systematic review

Bidner, A (通讯作者),Univ South Australia, Dept Allied Hlth & Human Performance, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
2022-12-31
Introduction There is limited access to life-saving antenatal ultrasound in rural and low-resource settings largely due to shortages in skilled staff. Studies have shown healthcare practitioners can be upskilled in PoCUS through focused training, offering a viable solution to this deficit. However, standards for training and competency assessment are unclear and regulation surrounding practice is lacking. We aimed to review published literature examining antenatal PoCUS training programs, comparing teaching approaches and study methodologies. Methods A search of electronic databases EMBASE, MEDLINE and Google Scholar was conducted. Original research articles evaluating antenatal PoCUS training of healthcare professionals worldwide were identified for analysis. Articles with limited detail on the PoCUS training intervention and those describing comprehensive diagnostic training programs were excluded. Evaluations were compared against the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Framework (KEF). Results Twenty-seven studies were included from an initial search result of 484 articles. There was considerable heterogeneity between the PoCUS training programs described. Course duration ranged from 3 hours to 2 years, with 11 of the 27 studies delivering obstetric-exclusive content. 44% trained multidisciplinary groups of health professionals. Long-term follow-up training and skills assessments were lacking in over half of the reviewed studies. Study quality and reporting detail varied, but overall beneficial outcomes were reported with 3/4s of the studies reaching upper KEF levels 3 and 4. Conclusion PoCUS performed by upskilled healthcare professionals offers an attractive solution to the problem of inequitable access to antenatal ultrasound. A review of available literature highlighted a paucity of comparable high-quality studies needed to establish a stronger evidence base for antenatal PoCUS, and a need to standardise training and competency assessment. This review may inform educators, researchers and policy-makers on existing training formats and methodologies to assist in establishing best practice antenatal PoCUS training methods for safe service delivery by remote healthcare professionals.
MEDICAL EDUCATION ONLINE
卷号:27|期号:1
ISSN:1087-2981|收录类别:SSCI
语种
英语
来源机构
University of South Australia; University of Adelaide
资助机构
Hospital Research Foundation
资助信息
This work was part of a larger project, The Healthy Newborn Project, funded by The Hospital Research Foundation.
被引频次(WOS)
1
被引频次(其他)
1
180天使用计数
3
2013以来使用计数
5
出版年
2022-12-31
DOI
10.1080/10872981.2022.2041366
WOS学科分类
Education & Educational Research
学科领域
循证教育学
关键词
Medical education training antenatal obstetrics Point-of-Care Ultrasound (PoCUS) continuing professional development low-resource setting rural remote