Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Levels Regarding Anaemia Among Pregnant Women in Putrajaya, Malaysia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3923/pjn.2018.578.585Keywords:
Anaemia, attitude, knowledge, practice, pregnant womenAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to determine knowledge, attitude and practice levels regarding anaemia among pregnant women in Putrajaya. This study was also conducted to identify the associations between knowledge, attitude and practice and socio-demographic and antenatal characteristics. Methodology: A total of 370 pregnant women participated in this study. Socio-demographic information and antenatal characteristics and knowledge, attitude and practice in relation to anaemia were collected using questionnaires. The Sysmex Haematology Analyser was used to measure the Full Blood Count (FBC). Results: The mean age and haemoglobin level of respondents were 30.2±4.2 years of age and 12.1±4.8 g dL–1, respectively. The median for the total knowledge score was 84.2 and the mean score for attitude and practice were 72.4±6.7 and 69.9±13.1, respectively. The subjects’ knowledge score was higher among the group of second trimester (p<0.05), the number of children three or more (p<0.01) and a pregnancy distance of one to two years (p<0.001). The attitude score was higher among the working subjects (p<0.05) but there was no significant difference in practice scores according to sociodemographic and antenatal characteristics (p>0.05). Knowledge had a moderate and significant relationship with attitude (r = 0.317, p<0.01) but no significant relationship with practice. Meanwhile, attitude had a significant positive and moderate relationship with practice (r = 0.330, p<0.01). Conclusion: Positive attitude regarding anaemia influences the high level of knowledge and good practice concerning this condition. Increasing the level of awareness of anaemia among pregnant women is seen as an important step in improving knowledge, attitude and practice levels regarding anaemia.
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