Bereavement care education and training in clinical practice: Supporting the development of confidence in student midwives

Abstract Aims To improve the confidence in student Midwives to provide bereavement careto parents following pregnancy loss and perinatal death. Background The one-day interactive Educational Training Workshop in Bereavement Care (ETWBC) was developed for student midwives in their final year of their B.Sc. Midwifery Degree Programme and those completing a Higher Diploma in Midwifery to help improve their confidence to provide bereavement care in clinical practice. Design A longitudinal sequential mixed-methods design was used to evaluate the outcome and processes of participation in the Workshop. This paper reports on the outcome evaluation. Methods Participants completed the study questionnaires at all 3 time points: pre/post workshop and 3 month follow-up. Thirty nine of the 41 student midwives (Higher Diploma and 4th year B.Sc.) participated in the workshop. 97.44% ( n  = 38) of the participants completed all the questionnaires. Results Participation in the ETWBC increased student's midwives confidence (measured using knowledge and skills scales); Bereavement support skills [F(2,72) = 21.150, p p p p Conclusion Participation in the Education Training Workshop on Bereavement Care helped increase student midwives confidence to provide bereavement care to grieving parents and to increase their self-awareness around their clinical practice in this area. The ETWBC is recommended as a brief effective educational intervention for inclusion in Midwifery curricula which could be modified for use with other relevant professional groups.