KNOWLEDGE, SCREENING AND PREVENTION OF PRE-ECLAMPSIA AMONG PREGNANT CLIENTS IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA.

Abstract

Pre-eclampsia increases incidence of maternal and neonatal morbidity and deaths globally especially in the developing countries. This descriptive study evaluated the knowledge of pre-eclampsia, screening services accessed, and prevention practices among pregnant women in Southwestern Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 342 respondents, ethical approvals were obtained from the states' ministries of health and the Health Research Ethics Committee of Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. Findings revealed the majority of the respondents were married (97.4%), were 20–29 years (50.3%), had up to tertiary education (74.9%), were in the third trimester (71.4%), had had more than one pregnancy (50.4%) while only 21.1% booked their pregnancies in the first trimester. The majority displayed poor knowledge (93.3%), poor practice of prevention (76.3%) and obtained poor screening services (65.0%) for pre-eclampsia. The educational level was significantly associated with the knowledge of pre-eclampsia (p = 0.001) and the screening services accessed for prevention (p = 0.001). The level of screening services accessed influenced the knowledge (p = 0.015). In conclusion, the respondents displayed poor knowledge, screening level and prevention of pre-eclampsia. Hence, the need to improve pre-eclampsia awareness with emphasis on early booking, screening and feedback from the laboratory investigations.