Knowledge and attitude of healthcare providers towards prenatal screening and diagnosis in a lower-middle income country
Keywords:
prenatal, screening, diagnosis, congenital anomalies, providers, knowledgeAbstract
Background: Prenatal screening and diagnosis ensures antenatal care is targeted at the fetus specific need(s).
Objective: This study aims to assess healthcare providers’ knowledge and attitude towards prenatal screening and diagnosis at University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Methods: A prospective cross-sectional survey of 350 healthcare providers’ (HCPs) in a tertiary hospital. Data was collected using a semi-structured self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 23.0 with level of significance set at p<0.05.
Results: The mean age of the HCPs was 31.5±1.6 years. Nearly all (99.1%) were aware of prenatal screening and diagnosis while medical education (58.6%) was the main source of information. A little over one-third (39.7%) were aware of its complications and ultrasound was the main method identified. All the HCPs strongly agreed that prenatal screening and diagnosis should be offered to all pregnant women, however 91.4% of them indicated their willingness to undergo it.
Conclusion: There is inadequate knowledge about prenatal screening and diagnosis despite their high level of awareness and positive attitude towards it. This indicates the need for training and re-training of HCPs about prenatal screening and diagnosis. Investment in equipment and information dissemination cannot be overemphasized in a lower-middle income country like Nigeria.
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