Knowledge and Skills of Health Care Workers Implementing Integrated Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Strategy in Edo State, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND

The Integrated Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (IMNCH) strategy which advocates for integrated care of mother and newborn requires skilled health care workers (HCWs) for effective implementation. This study assessed the capacity of HCWs in Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities in Edo State to implement the IMNCH strategy.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study involved 333 HCWs drawn from PHC facilities in Edo State using multistage sampling technique. Data was collected by structured self-administered questionnaire and analysed using IBM SPSS version 21.0. Descriptive and inferential statistics were done with level of significance set at p<0.05.

RESULTS

One hundred and seventy-four (52.3%) of the respondents had good knowledge of IMNCH strategy, 223 (67.0%) had good practice of focused antenatal care (FANC) while 92 (27.6%) had good of routine and basic emergency obstetric care (BEOC) including essential newborn care (ENC). Respondents' designation was the only significant predictor of knowledge of IMNCH strategy (aOR=5.03, 95%CI=2.92-8.67, p<0.001). Respondents' designation (aOR=6.50; 95%CI=3.11-13.99, p<0.001) and good knowledge of IMNCH strategy (aOR=0.21, 95%CI=0.12-0.38, p<0.001) were the significant predictors of good practice of FANC. Respondents' designation (aOR=6.13, 95%CI=3.27-11.48, p<0.001) and good knowledge of IMNCH strategy (aOR=0.28, 95%CI=0.14-0.54, p<0.001) were the significant predictors of good practice of routine and BEOC including ENC.

CONCLUSION

The study found overall good knowledge of IMNCH strategy, good practice of FANC but poor practice of routine, basic emergency obstetric and newborn care among HCWs in PHC facilities in Edo State. Engaging more skilled HCWs and continuous professional training of employed staff is recommended for effective implementation of the IMNH strategy.