Knowledge, attitude and practice of preconception care among female National Youth Service Corps Members in Lagos State

Abstract

Background: Maternal and neonatal mortality statistics in Nigeria are poor, and the burden of deaths from preventable causes is on the increase. Preconception care has been documented to reduce maternal mortality. This study was undertaken to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice of preconception care among female National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Lagos State.
Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 370 female corps members without a history of pregnancy. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the participants. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection, and data was analyzed with Epi-Info 7 software. The Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were used to determine the association between socio-demographic characteristics and the outcome variables with level of significance set at p<0.05.
Results: Out of 370 respondents with mean age 21 years ± 8.5), 48.9% had fair knowledge of preconception care, 30.5% and 20.5%had poor and good knowledge respectively. The majority of aware respondents (92.5%) exhibited a positive attitude to preconception care. Good practice was reported among 47.3%, fair practice 35.1% and poor practice by 17.6% of the respondents. A statistically significant association was found between education level (p = 0.047), course of study (p < 0.001) and knowledge. Education level (p= 0.037) and course of  study (p = 0.026) were significantly associated with practice.
Conclusion: Preconception care knowledge was fair among study population; attitude was positive while practice was good. Preconception care health education should be implemented to create awareness among female corps members.