Development of a Maternal Health Care Exercise and Pelvic Abdominal Rehabilitation Curriculum for Obstetric Medical Professionals Using a Modified Delphi Process.

Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to develop a maternal health care exercise and pelvic abdominal rehabilitation curriculum for obstetric medical professionals. Maternal health care exercise and pelvic abdominal rehabilitation can effectively prevent and alleviate pelvic-floor-rehabilitation problems in pregnant women and improve their quality of life. However, there is a lack of standardized courses for training obstetric medical professionals.

Methods: This study used the Delphi method to design two rounds of expert consultation. A group of 17 specialists from the fields of gynecology, obstetrics, and rehabilitation, who are involved in clinical teaching and management, participated in the study. Data were collected between October and December 2023.

Results: The effective recovery rates of the two rounds of questionnaires were 85.0% and 94.1%. The expert-authority coefficients were 0.90 and 0.88. The Kendall coordination coefficient was 0.35-0.41. The average importance score for each index ranged from 3.25 to 4.94. The coefficient of variation for each index ranged from 0.07 0.20. Based on the curricular topics, we constructed four first-level indicators, 16 second-level indicators, and 58 third-level indicators of exercise and pelvic and abdominal rehabilitation for obstetric medical professionals.

Conclusion: The training curriculum provides obstetric medical professionals with the basis for obstetric rehabilitation. The training system is clear and coherent, and the content is clear and comprehensive, which enriches global obstetrical rehabilitation education resources. It is helpful to guide and educate on maternal obstetric rehabilitation to improve the quality of life of the women.