Qualitative study identifies barriers and facilitators of clinical midwifery teaching in northern Malawi

Midwifery educators in northern Malawi reported negotiating multiple roles, inadequate clinical teaching space and insufficient clinical supervision as challenges in their clinical teaching work, according to the abstract of a qualitative study. The research also identified availability of clinical and policy guidelines, good clinical preparation and cordial relationships among educators, clinical staff and students as factors participants associated with effective clinical teaching. The study explored educators’ experiences of clinical teaching in a low-resource setting where the abstract notes that limited information was available about their professional and teaching conditions.

Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 participants: 10 midwifery educators from three nursing and midwifery training institutions and teaching hospitals in northern Malawi, and three deans of nursing and midwifery faculties. Content analysis was then used to examine the interview data and identify emerging themes. These findings represent the experiences reported by the study’s participants rather than an estimate of how frequently each challenge occurs across Malawi or elsewhere in the country.

The abstract distinguishes three reported challenges—multiple roles, inadequate clinical teaching space and inadequate clinical supervision—from several reported facilitating conditions, including access to clinical and policy guidelines, good clinical preparation and cordial working relationships. The authors stated that tailored interventions are needed to support midwifery educators in clinical teaching settings and to help translate theory into practice more effectively in clinical areas. They said the findings have implications for midwifery education and practice and could inform policy and practice changes aimed at improving midwifery education in Malawi and similar contexts.

The supplied evidence is an abstract rather than the complete article, so it does not provide the interview questions, the full analysis or participant quotations, and the reported conclusions should be understood as the authors’ interpretation of the qualitative findings.

Subject of Research: Experiences and reported barriers and facilitators in clinical midwifery education in northern Malawi

Article Title: Exploring the experiences of midwifery educators in clinical teaching settings in Northern Malawi

Article References: Chikuni, B. C., Lungu, F., Bvumbwe, T., Mbakaya, B. C., & Funsani, P. (2026). Exploring the experiences of midwifery educators in clinical teaching settings in Northern Malawi. BMC Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-05351-y

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12912-026-05351-y

Keywords: midwifery education, clinical teaching, northern Malawi, qualitative study, semi-structured interviews, midwifery educators, clinical supervision, teaching space, clinical guidelines, nursing and midwifery faculties, Exploring, experiences