Montevideo, November 7, 2022. In the framework of the FIGO 2022 Regional Congress, the Pre-Congress Simulation Workshop: Immediate Post Obstetric Event Contraception (AIPEO) was held on November 2.
This activity was developed in the context of a virtual course of PAHO that consists of a first self-guided part and a second part in a tutored model, which consists of a simulation and final supervised clinical practice. Through this workshop, the aim was to generate groups of professionals to become involved as tutors, favor capacity building and contribute to the strengthening of quality care.
The Sexual and Reproductive Health advisor of the Latin American Center for Perinatology - Sexual and Reproductive Health (CLAP/SMR), Rodolfo Gómez, reported that the course reached more than 30,000 registrants since it was posted on the virtual campus a year ago. "Now we are taking the next steps which are to constitute groups of trained professionals to accompany in the practical implementation of the inclusion of these methods, intrauterine devices and subdermal implants following childbirth or abortion."
The workshop trainers were Dr. Erika Estévez, from the Dominican Republic; Dr. Marianela Guerrero, from Bolivia; Dr. Edgar Velázquez, from Honduras; Dr. Mark Hathaway, from the United States; and CLAP/WR advisor Rodolfo Gómez.
Dr. Estévez highlighted the practice opportunity generated in these workshops "...you teach them to practice so that they build confidence and when they have to place the method they do it more easily," she said. "They develop skills they didn't have before so they can feel more comfortable." In addition, Estévez pointed out that it is important to continue working to provide adequate information since "there are still taboos among doctors regarding long-acting contraceptive methods and it is necessary to change that for adequate planning."
For her part, Dr. Guerrero expressed that "For many participants it was a totally new experience. They had never been to a simulation workshop before. It has been enriching from every point of view because they have been able to see, with maximum fidelity, what a real scenario is and they have been able, themselves, to apply some of the methods that we were explaining in the workshop". "I think that this workshop has motivated a lot of people ... A lot of people have left stimulated and with the desire to enroll in this process".
Both Estévez and Guerrero referred to the importance of continuity and follow-up. "It is essential that these people can effectively take this training to other colleagues in their countries," said Dr. Estévez from the Dominican Republic. It is important to strengthen the network, because it is very important that this multiplies... and that many of the colleagues working at different levels have the capacity to apply a long-acting contraceptive method, such as the intrauterine device, immediately after childbirth. It is really unacceptable that at this point in time a woman continues to have children because there is no health professional in her town who can offer these services. That is the intention, that this multiplies and that there is not a single place on the planet where there is not a doctor trained in AIPEO", she said.
The region already has 62 certified trainers
The workshop was followed by the graduation of the first 62 certified trainers, who will be able to implement the practical part of this course with simulation in medium and low performance models and will also be able to perform clinical practice on patients.
Gómez emphasized that "this has proven to be a successful training model, which was born in the midst of the pandemic, when neither travel nor face-to-face meetings were yet possible, and now we are strengthening it through the incorporation of this group of 62 professionals who received their trainer certification".
He also pointed out that it is important that both the workshop and the graduation took place within the framework of the FIGO Regional Congress because it is necessary to make known what this model consists of. "FIGO is an ally for CLAP on these issues and we know that they can support the countries so that this can continue to multiply so that women receive adequate postpartum and postabortion care," he concluded.
