Newborn Life Support course: does it make me more confident when resuscitating a newborn?

Abstract

Aim

To describe the effectiveness of the Newborn Life Support (NLS) course in terms of attendees’ knowledge, perceived self-efficacy, and clinical applicability.

Methods

We conducted an electronic survey of NLS course attendees (NLS + group). A control group (NLS–) was recruited via our regional perinatal network. The survey data were analyzed anonymously. Multiple linear regression analysis examined the following: NLS course, job tenure, maternity level, and profession.

Results

The survey completion rate was 62% (200/323) for the NLS + group. Among participants, 84% had participated in neonatal resuscitation since their course. The scores for positive perceived experience for neonatal resuscitation (fluency, security, and quality of care delivered) were higher in the NLS + group than the NLS– group (p<.006). After adjustment, the independent factors associated with a higher positive perceived experience were the NLS course, work in tertiary level maternity ward, and job tenure >5 years. The multiple-choice questions (MCQs) score (n = 10) was 8.2 ± 1.3 (NLS+) vs. 6.7 ± 1.5 (NLS–) (p<.0001). NLS course, medical degree, and work in a tertiary level maternity ward were independently associated with higher knowledge scores.

Conclusions

The NLS course was associated with a positive perceived experience regarding neonatal resuscitation.

Key notes

• Neonatal resuscitation training programs, like the Newborn Life Support (NLS), have been developed to improve the management and outcomes of newborns with poor adaptation at birth.

• The NLS course was associated with better knowledge of, and a positive perceived experience (fluency, safety, and quality of care delivered) regarding, neonatal resuscitation.

• Participation to the NLS course seems to strengthen the perceived self-efficacy in healthcare professionals, which is critical to performing neonatal resuscitation.

Keywords:

• Newborn
•  Life Support (NLS)
• neonatal resuscitation
• perceived experience
• self-efficacy
• knowledge retention

Acknowledgments

The authors want to acknowledge Pr. J. Harambat for his precious help for the statistical analysis. This study received no external funding.

Author contributions

Laurent Renesme: conceptualization, survey draft, and data analysis, writing-original draft preparation.

Maria Merched: Statistical analysis, manuscript reviewing, and editing.

Olivier Tandonnet: survey and manuscript reviewing and editing.

Julien Naud: conceptualization, survey draft, and data analysis, manuscript reviewing and editing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).