Nurses and Midwives Council of Malawi, Post office Box 30361, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Department of Health Systems and Policy Department, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Reprod Health. 2021 Nov 14;18(1):229. doi: 10.1186/s12978-021-01282-w.
Preconception care is one of the preventive strategies in maternal and new-born health as recommended by WHO. However, in sub-Saharan Africa there is poor preconception care practices. This study examined knowledge and perceptions of preconception care among health workers and women of reproductive age group in Mzuzu City, Malawi.
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a mixed methods approach. Selection of respondents was done through a multistage and purposive sampling techniques respectively. A total of 253 women of reproductive age from nine townships of Mzuzu City responded to the questionnaire and 20 health workers were interviewed.
A total of 136 (54%) respondents had heard of preconception care. About 57.7% (n = 146) demonstrated a good level of knowledge of preconception care while 42.3% (n = 107) had poor knowledge. About 72% (n = 105) of those with good of knowledge of preconception care, lacked awareness on possibilities of talking to a health care provider on intentions of getting pregnant. About 74.7% (n = 189) of women had a positive perception towards preconception care. Knowledge of preconception care was a good predictor of positive perception (AOR = 2.5; 95% CI 1.2-5.0), however its predictability was influenced by the academic level attained. Those with secondary (AOR = 10.2; 95% CI 3.2-26.2) and tertiary (AOR = 2.3; 95% CI 1.1-4.9) were more likely to have good knowledge of preconception care than those with primary school education level. About 95% (n = 19) of health workers lacked details about preconception care but they admitted their role in preconception care.
Preconception care practice among health workers and women of reproductive age in Mzuzu City was low. However there was positive perception towards preconception care in both parties. There is an opportunity in existing platforms for implementation of interventions targeting identified predictors for increased knowledge and uptake of preconception care.
孕前保健是世界卫生组织推荐的母婴健康预防策略之一。然而，在撒哈拉以南非洲，孕前保健实践很差。本研究调查了马拉维姆祖祖市卫生工作者和育龄妇女对孕前保健的知识和看法。
采用描述性横断面研究方法，采用混合方法。通过多阶段和目的抽样技术分别选择受访者。来自姆祖祖市九个镇区的 253 名育龄妇女对问卷做出了回应，20 名卫生工作者接受了采访。
共有 136 名（54%）受访者听说过孕前保健。约 57.7%（n=146）表现出良好的孕前保健知识水平，而 42.3%（n=107）知识水平较差。在那些对孕前保健有较好了解的人中，约有 72%（n=105）不知道有可能与医疗保健提供者谈论怀孕意向。约 74.7%（n=189）的妇女对孕前保健持积极看法。孕前保健知识是对积极看法的良好预测因素（AOR=2.5；95%CI 1.2-5.0），但其可预测性受到所达到的学历水平的影响。那些具有中学（AOR=10.2；95%CI 3.2-26.2）和高等教育（AOR=2.3；95%CI 1.1-4.9）学历的人比那些具有小学教育水平的人更有可能有良好的孕前保健知识。约 95%（n=19）的卫生工作者缺乏关于孕前保健的详细信息，但他们承认自己在孕前保健中的作用。
姆祖祖市卫生工作者和育龄妇女的孕前保健实践水平较低。然而，双方对孕前保健都有积极的看法。在现有的实施平台上，有机会针对确定的预测因素实施干预措施，以提高对孕前保健的知识和接受程度。
