Upskilling nursing students in Nepal: Evaluation of an online education module for promoting respectful maternity care

Objective: To explore Nepalese nursing student…s evaluation of an online education module on respectful maternity care. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: A medical college in Chitwan, Nepal. Participants: Forty third-year undergraduate nursing students. Methods: Over a three-week time frame, students undertook three, two-hour online education sessions about respectful maternity care. Students were then invited to complete a purposely designed evaluation survey with 13 Likert-scale and yes/no items, and eight open-ended questions about the quality, relevance, impact, and areas for improvement of the education module. Responses were analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative thematic analysis. Findings: Students considered the education module to be useful and informative about respectful maternity care. More than half (60%) of the students agreed that the online delivery was more convenient than face-to-face, and learning was equivalent to a traditional class (87.5%). Most students (92.5%) reported that respectful maternity care is not explicitly covered in their degree. Students recommended that respectful maternity care be included in the curriculum and similar education offered to staff and women. Three themes from open-ended questions revealed: 1) empowerment through respectful maternity care; 2) motivation to initiate change; and 3) becoming a respectful clinician. Key conclusions and implications for practice: Respect is essential in all areas of maternity care for improved experiences and outcomes for women and babies. Participants considered that the brief intervention improved their understanding of respectful maternity care and were inspired to implement change in their own practice to be more respectful to women. Curricula in all Nepalese institutions that offer preregistration education should customarily include respectful maternity care. Further research about respectful maternity care from the standpoint of women, educators, students, and maternity care providers in Nepal is required.