Enhancing Self-Efficacy in Midwifery Education: A Narrative Review

Background: Self-efficacy, known as human’s reliance on their own capabilities for conductiong specific tasks, is a critical determinant of motivation and behavior. In the context of midwifery education, self-efficacy plays a pivotal role in shaping students' learning experiences, professional development, and clinical performance. This narrative review synthesizes the existing literature on self-efficacy in midwifery education, exploring its theoretical foundations, influencing factors, and the effectiveness of various interventions designed to enhance it. Objective: To provide a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of self-efficacy in midwifery education, including its theoretical underpinnings, the factors that influence it, and the interventions that have been shown to enhance it. Methods: A narrative review was conducted, drawing on a range of empirical studies, theoretical frameworks, and qualitative data. Key databases were searched for relevant articles, and a thematic analysis was performed to identify common themes and insights. Results: The studies demonstrate that various interventions, including planning and coping strategies, simulation-based training, educational workshops, and interprofessional simulations, effectively enhance self-efficacy among healthcare professionals, particularly midwives and student midwives. These interventions led to improvements in diet, physical activity, clinical skills, and patient outcomes, such as reduced BMI and better management of postpartum hemorrhage. Workshops with standardized patients and preceptor role modeling were particularly effective in boosting self-efficacy in sexual health counseling and midwifery hallmark behaviors, respectively. Overall, well-designed interventions play a crucial role in fostering self-efficacy and professional competence in healthcare settings. Conclusion: Self-efficacy is a crucial component of midwifery education, influencing students' learning, professional development, and clinical performance. The review underscores the importance of a supportive learning environment, effective preceptorship, and well-designed educational interventions in enhancing self-efficacy. Future research should focus on developing and evaluating innovative interventions to further strengthen self-efficacy in midwifery students and practitioners.

کلیدواژه ها:

: Self-Efficacy ، Midwifery Education ، Preceptorship ، Simulation-Based Training ، Educational Interventions ، Social Cognitive Theory ، Self-Determination Theory.