Cervical dilation assessment in dilation simulators

Abstract

Objective

To compare the number of hits of students in cervical dilation assessment in dilation simulators with and without the use of direct visual validation.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study with 40 undergraduate obstetrics students from a public university in São Paulo, who assessed cervical dilatations in blind dilatation simulators, in three stages: in the first, they estimated dilations in the simulators; in the second, they sequentially compared the findings in simulators with a direct visual validation tool using the dominant hand and then the non-dominant hand; and in the third step, they simultaneously compared the estimates found in simulators with direct visual validation with the dominant and non-dominant hands. The outcome was the success of cervical dilation in dilation simulators or not, with a p-value ≤ 0.05 considered statistically significant.

Results

We analyzed 240 assessments and computed the hits of students related to cervical dilatation assessment of simulators. There was an increase in the hit rate of 47.1% with the use of direct visual validation (OR= 4.689; 95%CI: 2.601-8.452; p<0.001).

Conclusion

The use of direct visual validation increases the probability of hits by students in cervical dilation assessment in dilation simulators.

Simulation training; Labor stage, first; Labor, obstetric; Dilatation, midwifery; Obstetric nursing; Physical examination