McGuinness Denise, Frazer Kate, Conyard Karl F, Cornally Paula, Cooper Lauren, Vickers Niamh
School of Nursing, Midwifery & Health Systems University College, Dublin, Ireland.
School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, Dublin, Ireland.
PLoS One. 2025 Jan 31;20(1):e0310500. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310500. eCollection 2025.
Breastfeeding theoretical and skills training is important for health care professionals engaging with the mother infant dyad to increase breastfeeding exclusivity and duration. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAPs) of health care professionals following completion of a university professional graduate programme in breastfeeding and lactation. A pre and post-educational study design was used. All students enrolled in a six month programme were invited to complete an online anonymous survey at two time points: January 2023 and July 2023. Ethical approval (LS-C-23-17) was obtained in January 2023. Descriptive statistics were utilised to report percentages and means, and independent T tests were used to report mean differences between variables on knowledge, attitude and practices. All students completed the module. The pre survey participant response rate was n = 55 (92.82%) and the post survey participant response rate n = 33 (60%). Comparison of the pre and post questionnaire report nine statistically significant results following completion of the university breastfeeding and lactation programme. Knowledge scores increased specifically with higher mean knowledge scores for reporting "I am confident with my knowledge about breastfeeding" and statistically significant mean difference of 0.29 following completion of the module (95% CI, 0.13 to 0.45) (t (64) = 3.59, p = 0.001). The programme evaluation identifies the importance of a professional graduate breastfeeding and lactation education programme for interdisciplinary health care professionals increasing knowledge, attitudes and practices and ultimately increasing breastfeeding rates in the short and long term, with improved maternal and child health outcomes.
母乳喂养理论与技能培训对于接触母婴二元组的医护人员来说非常重要，有助于提高纯母乳喂养率和持续时间。本研究的目的是评估医护人员在完成大学母乳喂养与泌乳专业研究生课程后的知识、态度和实践（KAP）情况。采用了教育前后的研究设计。参加为期六个月课程的所有学生被邀请在两个时间点完成一项在线匿名调查：2023年1月和2023年7月。2023年1月获得了伦理批准（LS-C-23-17）。使用描述性统计来报告百分比和均值，并使用独立t检验来报告知识、态度和实践变量之间的均值差异。所有学生都完成了该模块。调查前的参与者回复率为n = 55（92.82%），调查后的参与者回复率为n = 33（60%）。对问卷前后的比较显示，在完成大学母乳喂养与泌乳课程后有九个具有统计学意义的结果。知识得分有所提高，特别是在报告“我对自己关于母乳喂养的知识有信心”方面有更高的平均知识得分，并且在完成该模块后有统计学意义的平均差异为0.29（95%可信区间，0.13至0.45）（t(64)=3.59，p = 0.001）。该项目评估确定了专业研究生母乳喂养与泌乳教育项目对于跨学科医护人员的重要性，该项目可增加知识、态度和实践，最终在短期和长期内提高母乳喂养率，并改善母婴健康结果。
