Empowering the Health Workforce: Strengthening Maternal and Newborn Care in Kakamega County

The Health Partnership between Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) UK and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) Kakamega, has contributed towards improved motivation, wellbeing, and health workforce management strategies through strengthening workforce capacity to deliver continuous quality improvement (QI) education to maternal and newborn care teams in Kakamega County, Kenya.

The Partnership has built sustainable education and training systems through developing a multi-professional clinical staff team as an educator faculty. This faculty have been upskilled to deliver education and training in quality improvement and core maternal health competencies, which has then been cascaded across the local maternal and newborn care workforce, improving health workforce capability and building health worker confidence.

Quality Improvement (QI)

• Trained six multi-professional staff as education faculty to deliver core competency training in QI
• Trained 90 health workers in the QI Fundamentals programme
• Strengthened referral systems, leading to improved management of high-risk cases

Skills Training

• Delivered training in clinical skills, including maternal emergencies, newborn resuscitation, and pre-eclampsia, increasing capacity in comprehensive emergency obstetric and neonatal care
• Developed leadership skills among the six educators through additional training opportunities

Health Worker Wellbeing

• Enhanced motivation and wellbeing of healthcare workers through structured training and support
• Improved leadership skills amongst education faculty
• Facilitated international exchanges between staff involved in the project, providing opportunities for bi-directional learning and skills development through
  observations and collaborations
• Adapted training content from health worker feedback surveys, ensuring relevance and fostering wellbeing by addressing heath worker training priorities

Sustainability and local ownership

• Adapted training materials to ensure cultural and contextual relevance
• Identified three Kakamega health workers to sustain and deliver QI programmes beyond the project term