Midwives’ views and experiences of providing midwifery care in the task shifting context: a meta-ethnography approach

This study aimed to explore the existing knowledge about midwives' views and experiences of providing care for women in the context of task shifting. We conducted a qualitative systematic review using meta-ethnography to describe the views and experiences of midwives on providing care in the context of task shifting. Comparative textual analysis of published qualitative studies involved translation of first-order key concepts and meanings from included studies to generate second-and third-order concepts. A grid was made to identify core findings and compare them reciprocally. Thirty-six qualitative studies met the inclusion criteria. The literature comprised of 32 first key concepts. Eight second-order constructs emerged, and three third-order interpretations were generated. The three overarching themes were: (1) midwives perceived themselves as providing culturally competent and high quality women-centered care; (2) they valued their profession but saw it as complex and challenging; (3) as health professionals, they reported a variety of organizational, cultural, and professional barriers to providing women-centered care. While performing a specific task in the task shifting context, midwives perceived their crucial roles and responsibilities, along with achieved value and reward. However, due to a range of existing barriers, the caring task posed great challenges in completely implementing women-centered care. It is essential for systems to identify and eliminate these barriers early, to consider midwives' emotional well-being, and to develop overall strategies to better support the midwifery workforce. Policy makers and administrators should establish a supportive environment to facilitate midwives to perform women-centered caring tasks in more effective and efficient ways.