Continuing professional education in Eritrea taught by local obstetrics and gynaecology residents: Effects on work environment and patient outcomes.

Education and training can improve the quality of health care. We evaluated a course taught by Obstetrics/Gynaecology residents on the work environment and maternal/neonatal outcomes at Orotta Maternity Hospital. Participants were given a Standardised Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) to measure work environment before and after training. Maternal/neonatal outcomes were extracted from hospital logbooks. Neonatal quality indicators were: adverse score index, weighted score index and severity score index. SAQ response rate was 77.6% (45/58) pre-training and 95.6% (43/45) post-training. Mean total SAQ score increased from 3.07 to 3.32 out of 5 points (p < 0.05). Changes in relative risk (RR) were not statistically significant for maternal [maternal death ratio of RR (RRR) =1.08, 95% CI: 0.20-5.84 and blood transfusion RRR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.74 -1.09] or neonatal outcomes (intrapartum death RRR = 1.24, 95% CI: 0.57-2.75, neonatal death RRR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.26-3.24, neonatal transfer RRR = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.81-1.27, and Apgar < 7 at 5 minutes RRR = 1.20, 95% CI: 0.83-1.73). Neonatal quality indicators did not change significantly. Utilising residents to teach staff-developed training within a hospital setting was feasible and may improve the work environment. Impact on maternal/neonatal outcomes is not evident but continued follow-up is important.