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Abstract
This paper explores the link between midwifery tutors’ competency in comprehensive abortion care (CAC) and their attitude toward teaching CAC in Ghana. This study was motivated by the fact that although Ghana recognised that unsafe abortion is the second highest contributor to the country’s maternal mortality ratio and adopted Comprehensive Abortion Care (CAC) with its operational protocols included in Ghana national reproductive health policy including the curriculum of midwifery education to contain the menace, the progress has been slow. In this vein, training of pre-service healthcare professionals (nurses and midwives) should comprehensively articulate the skills in handling comprehensive abortion complications. However, many of these nurses including the midwives tend to develop the skills when in actual practice. Some studies have attributed this to midwifery tutors’ attitude toward CAC especially in Ghana where the society strongly frown over abortion and abortion related services. In view of this, this study seeks to explore how midwifery tutors’ attitude could be improved through enhanced competencies in CAC. The paper used quantitative approach and survey design to conduct the study. The data were collected through questionnaire administration. The unit of analysis is the midwifery tutors and they were selected through a multi-stage sampling technique. A sample size of 311 was used for the investigation. Competency in CAC was assessed on abortion decision support (ADS), abortion laws, basic abortion procedures, Values Clarification and Attitude Transformation (VCAT), and post abortion care (PAC) while attitude was also measured as a construct on a 5-point items. It was found that all the five competency areas have a positive influence on attitude. However, competency in VCAT, PAC and ADS exhibited the strongest positive influence on midwifery tutors’ attitude. It is suggested that regular continuous professional development and in-service training in the competency areas of CAC should be integrated part of the efforts in improving the attitude toward CAC in Ghana.