Nursing Management of Women Admitted for Cesarean Section at the Ngaoundere Regional Hospital, Cameroon

Abstract:

Often lifesaving for both mother and child, caesarean section exposes patients to various postoperative risks. It requires high-quality and multidisciplinary management in which nurses play a central role. This study aimed to describe the nursing activities performed and their reporting rate among patients admitted for caesarean section at the Ngaoundere Regional Hospital. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 80 women hospitalized in the Gynaecology-Obstetrics Department of Ngaoundere Regional Hospital for caesarean delivery. Sociodemographic and clinical data of these women, as well as nursing interventions recorded in their medical files, were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed with Excel 2019.Descriptive statistics like average, and percentages were computed to analyze the data. Results showed that from the first to the third postoperative day, participants received an average of two daily doses of medication via different routes. Additionally, on average, two clinical monitoring activities and one other nursing intervention were performed daily for each patient during these three days. Overall, 80,1% of the 2139 medication doses administered, were reported, and 93% of the2362 monitoring activities were reported, whereas only and 15,4% of other 1280 nursing interventions were documented in patients’ medical records. These results highlight the hight frequency of nursing interventions among caesarean patients and point out documentation challenges. They call for greater engagement of nursing staff and coordinators to improve organization and ensure optimal maternal outcomes.