Maria Lisa Odland
Speeches:
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Objectives: The overall main objective of this study is to improve post abortion care in Malawi by increasing the use of manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) in the treatment of incomplete abortions. More specifically our aim is to investigate if an intervention of training health personnel could increase the safer and cheaper method of MVA by 15%.
Methods: A prospective cross-sectional assessment of the pre/post use of MVA was performed at three public hospitals in Malawi. Health personnel at these hospitals were trained in MVA using theory and practice in April 2016. Two hospitals served as controls. Ethical approval was obtained from Malawian and Norwegian Ethics Committees.
Results: The intervention was successful with an overall increase of 21.3% in the use of MVA after one year. The control hospitals only had 3.0% increase during the same time period.
Conclusion: Training health personnel in using MVA is an efficient way of increasing a safer and cheaper method of treating incomplete abortions in Malawi. However, other factors, such as equipment, is crucial as well.