Knowledge, Attitude and Practices on the Use of Uterine Tamponade in the Management of Severe Postpartum Hemorrhage in Public Health Facilities of Niger State

Abstract

Background: Obstetric hemorrhage is a contributor to worldwide maternal morbidity and mortality in low-resource countries. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude and practices on the use of uterine tamponade in managing severe postpartum hemorrhage  (PPH) by healthcare personnel.

Method: The study was descriptive and cross-sectional. A self-administered, structured questionnaire was used to collect data on uterine  tamponade from untrained and trained health workers who take deliveries in labour wards of selected health facilities. Respondents  were selected by cluster sampling technique. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Frequencies were determined and chi-square was  used to test the hypothesis. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: The mean age of the respondents was 35 years ± 11.7. Slightly less than half of the respondents 62 (42.5%) had poor knowledge  of uterine tamponade. The majority of respondents 120 (82.2%) had positive attitudes about uterine tamponade. This was associated with  point of service, professional group, and previous training on uterine tamponade insertion (p<0.05). About 70% (46; 69.7%) of  respondents who had managed cases of refractory postpartum hemorrhage, had never conducted uterine tamponade. Reasons include  inadequate knowledge (29; 63.0%) and unavailability of the commodities (9; 19.6%)

Conclusion: Though knowledge about uterine tamponade was poor, attitude towards uterine tamponade in managing severe post- partum hemorrhage was good. However, this did not translate to good practices on the use of uterine tamponade in managing severe  PPH. Training and re-training on the application of uterine tamponade should be conducted and commodities made available in every  health facility.