Volume 30, Issue 2 pp. 535-558
REVIEW ARTICLE

Core competencies of the midwifery workforce in China: A scoping review

Yuxuan Li BSc, MSc candidate

Yuxuan Li BSc, MSc candidate

Registered Nurse

School of Nursing, Peking University, Beijing, China

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Hong Lu PhD

Corresponding Author

Hong Lu PhD

Professor

School of Nursing, Peking University, Beijing, China

Correspondence

Hong Lu, School of Nursing, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China.

Email: [email protected]

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Yang Zhao PhD

Yang Zhao PhD

Registered Nurse

School of Nursing, Peking University, Beijing, China

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Lihua Ren PhD

Lihua Ren PhD

Associate Professor

School of Nursing, Peking University, Beijing, China

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Linlin Cao MSc

Linlin Cao MSc

Registered Nurse, Nurse-midwife

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China

National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China

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Dong Pang PhD

Dong Pang PhD

Associate Professor

School of Nursing, Peking University, Beijing, China

Health Science Center for Evidence-Based Nursing, Peking University, Beijing, China

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Aihua Wang MSc

Aihua Wang MSc

Librarian

Health Science Library, Peking University, Beijing, China

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First published: 10 December 2021
Citations: 15

Abstract

Aim

This review aims to demonstrate the current core competencies of the Chinese midwifery workforce and to summarize the influencing factors of core competencies.

Background

Midwifery core competencies are crucial to providing high-quality maternal and newborn health care, but little is known about the overall status of the core competencies of the Chinese midwifery workforce.

Evaluation

A scoping review was conducted following the latest Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) scoping review methodology and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist.

Key issues

Forty-one studies were included in this review. Regarding core competency assessment tools, the Midwife Core Competency Scale was used most frequently among 16 identified tools. Generally, the core competencies of the Chinese midwifery workforce were at a moderate or high level, but the competencies in pre-pregnancy, public health care and integrative competence were relatively inadequate. The main factors influencing the core competencies of the midwifery workforce were their working years, educational level and training experience.

Conclusion

This review provides a comprehensive overview of the core competencies of the Chinese midwifery workforce at the national level. Future studies are encouraged to use objective instruments to reflect core competencies and explore the intervenable influencing factors of core competencies.

Implications for Nursing Management

Core competency assessment tools can be used to select the qualified midwifery workforce. Targeted core competency enhancement programmes should be formulated based on the current core competencies level and the factors influencing core competencies.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created in this scoping review.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.