Currently submitted to: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Jul 21, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Jul 22, 2026 - Sep 16, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Exploring frameworks to develop an online midwifery mentorship programme- A scoping review protocol
ABSTRACT
Background:
As a developing country, South Africa (SA) faces numerous healthcare challenges. One such challenge is the major shortage of human and material resources that inadvertently affects the quality of maternal and neonatal healthcare delivery. Despite a global reduction in maternal deaths reported by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2025), high maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality rates remain a significant concern in the Sub-Saharan African region. The review is part of a larger mixed-methods study addressing research objective 1.
Objective:
The review aims to provide training opportunities for midwifery practitioners through an online medium. Improved clinical skills among practitioners will likely improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes in SA.
Methods:
The review will be guided by the framework of Arksey and O’Malley (2005). The Population, Intervention, Concept and Outcomes (PICO) approach will be applied to develop the research question which is: What frameworks are available for the development of an online mentorship programme to train midwifery practitioners on a global scale? Literature search will strictly adhere to the PRISMA-SCR flowchart to ensure a systematic process. The screening will be conducted in two steps (title and abstract screening; full-text screening) following an inclusion and exclusion criteria. Two reviewers will conduct the screening using the COVIDENCE software application. Duplicate articles will be removed before full-text screening. Conflicts or discrepancies will be discussed through online meetings and consultation with a third reviewer who is one of the research supervisors. Data will be analysed for study characteristics, and the main findings will be presented in categories and themes.
Results:
The results of this scoping review will guide the researchers to identify, adopt, or adapt existing online midwifery mentorship programmes for a South African context. The search will include articles on a global scale guided by the Arksey and O’Malley (2005) framework.
Conclusions:
This review aims to identify a suitable framework to develop an online midwifery mentorship programme to train midwifery practitioners in essential clinical skills through mentorship.
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