Safe Childbirth Through Simulation Initiative
The Safe Childbirth Through Simulation Initiative (SCSI) brings together a diverse global team of healthcare professionals, simulation experts, digital health researchers, and e-learning designers to develop innovative, accessible simulation-based safe c-section training programs for healthcare providers and simulation facilitators.
Our training is designed to enhance team communication, clinical leadership, patient-centered care, and procedural skills, with the incorporation of extended reality (XR) simulations to provide immersive, hands-on training for an enhanced understanding of surgical anatomy and, therefore, surgical safety.
Cesarean sections account for roughly one-fifth of all births worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. While the procedure can be life-saving, it also poses risks.
CGHSR is partnering with Mekelle University in Ethiopia and the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda to develop training modules for healthcare teams involved in providing c-section care for women. Our modules are provided through an asynchronous, virtual learning platform for individual healthcare professionals as well as hands-on, train-the-trainer programs for live team simulation training. Topics will include the following:
- Patient counseling and informed consent
- Clinical decision making
- Team and patient communication inside and outside of the operating room
- Preparation for surgery
- Anatomical and procedural skills
- Management of complications associated with cesarean section
- Aftercare instructions and patient discharge
“Due to the limited number of obstetricians in most low-resource settings, countries have adopted what they call ‘task shifting’ in which non-obstetrician healthcare professionals receive a short-term training in obstetric surgery like c-section. This has provided much needed access to obstetric care, but has also compromised the quality of surgical care for pregnant women, leading to higher surgical mortality and morbidities such as bleeding, injury and infections.”
Global Women’s Health Initiative Director Rahel Nardos, MD, MCR
