Challenges of midwifery staff at Tehran hospitals: A qualitative study from the midwifery managers perspective

Abstract

AbstractAimThis study aimed to investigate the challenges faced by midwifery staff working in hospitals from midwifery manager's perspectives and provide suggestions to solve them.DesignDescriptive qualitative study.MethodsThe study was conducted in Tehran in 2021. Data were collected using fifteen semi‐structured interviews conducted with hospitals' clinical midwifery managers over 7 months. The interview data were grouped into three themes: recruitment, development, and maintenance.ResultsThe midwifery workforce would face significant challenges in training hospitals. Lack of suitable patterns of midwifery workforce management, the non‐optimal midwives' utilization and deployment, unclear job boundaries, weak training programs for the midwives' professional development, and unpleasant working atmosphere were the main challenges. A well‐defined task description for midwives to determine their position in all spheres of reproductive health service provision, create training courses based on skill gaps, and focus on improving labour relations and organizational culture are suggested.Patient or Public ContributionMidwifery managers were interviewed. They talked about their experience with midwifery workforce challenges.