Perspectives and attitudes of midwifery educators toward distance education in midwifery care education

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted educational systems, leading to the rapid adoption of distance education. This shift affected midwifery departments in Turkey, raising items about its appropriateness for such a practical discipline. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the attitudes of educators in Turkish university midwifery departments toward distance education during the pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 87 academic midwives in midwifery departments of universities in Turkey from June to December 2020. Data was collected online using a structured survey by a researcher. A survey was developed by trainers based on literature to understand the attitudes and opinions of the trainers towards distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The mean (SD) age of participants was 36.13 (12.92) years and 12.64 (8.83) years of university teaching experience. A majority strongly disagreed that distance education suits midwifery curricula (36.8%), and 77% strongly disagreed with using distance education for practical courses. However, 27.6% were undecided on its suitability for theoretical classes. Conclusion: Most midwifery educators believe that distance education is not entirely suitable for teaching the midwifery curriculum. To increase the effectiveness of distance education, a hybrid education model should be adopted; theoretical courses should be conducted remotely, and practical courses should be conducted face-to-face. Digital simulations and virtual laboratories should be expanded to support practical training. Academicians should be trained on interactive methods to increase student participation, the infrastructure of universities’ distance education systems should be strengthened, and access problems should be resolved.