Department of Health Studies, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Oct 13;23(1):1997. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16770-w.
Tuberculosis (TB) during pregnancy could confer a high risk for maternal and infant morbidity. Literature indicates that the global burden of active TB disease among pregnant women is not well researched. Statistics for South Africa from WHO give an estimated incidence of 360, 000 cases of TB in 2019; 14,000 people became ill with multidrug-resistant TB in 2019, with a rate of 615 per 100,000 population, implying that the cohorts included pregnant women with and without a diagnosis of TB infection. Therefore, the study aims to increase the understanding of the educational needs required to prevent TB complications during pregnancy and the neonatal period in women diagnosed with TB infection.
The study used cross-sectional qualitative and descriptive designs to collect data in the clinical setting of the primary health care services of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The population comprised pregnant women diagnosed with TB infection. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to sample 2 health centers and 5 clinics in each of the three sampled districts. The targeted sample size was 63 and it was achieved even though data saturation was observed. Individual interviews were conducted, audiotaped, and transcribed. Guided by the study questions, a thematic content analysis of the findings was used. Ethical considerations were also observed.
Despite that pregnant women have general knowledge about TB disease, the knowledge and awareness regarding the prevention of TB complications in pregnancy and the neonatal period, information on TB/HIV and COVID-19 co-infections, and participants' knowledge about other non-infectious diseases that may affect the mother with TB infection and foetus showed a deficit.
Pregnant women with TB disease need to be educated on the negative effects of non-adherence to TB treatment during pregnancy and the neonatal period. There is a need to educate pregnant women about the variant signs and symptoms of TB, HIV and COVID-19 infections since there is a misconception that the three diseases are similar. It is important that pregnant mothers diagnosed with TB should start treatment as soon as possible.
孕妇罹患结核病（TB）可能会对母婴发病率造成高风险。文献表明，全球范围内对孕妇活动性结核病的负担研究不足。世界卫生组织（WHO）提供的南非统计数据显示，2019 年有 36 万例 TB 病例；2019 年有 1.4 万人患有耐多药结核病，发病率为每 10 万人中有 615 人，这意味着所纳入的队列包括患有和未患有 TB 感染诊断的孕妇。因此，本研究旨在提高对预防 TB 感染孕妇妊娠和新生儿期并发症所需教育需求的认识。
本研究采用横断面定性和描述性设计，在南非林波波省的初级卫生保健服务的临床环境中收集数据。研究人群包括被诊断为 TB 感染的孕妇。采用非概率目的抽样技术，在三个抽样地区的每个地区选择 2 个卫生中心和 5 个诊所进行抽样。目标样本量为 63 人，尽管观察到数据饱和，但仍达到了目标。进行了个体访谈，录音并转录。根据研究问题，对研究结果进行了主题内容分析。同时也考虑了伦理问题。
尽管孕妇对结核病有一般的了解，但对于预防妊娠和新生儿期 TB 并发症、TB/HIV 和 COVID-19 合并感染的信息，以及关于可能影响患有 TB 感染的母亲和胎儿的其他非传染性疾病的知识，她们的知识和认识仍存在缺陷。
患有结核病的孕妇需要接受教育，了解妊娠和新生儿期不遵医嘱治疗结核病的负面影响。需要教育孕妇注意结核病、HIV 和 COVID-19 感染的变异体征和症状，因为人们存在一种误解，认为这三种疾病是相似的。重要的是，诊断为结核病的孕妇应尽快开始治疗。
