Knowledge of postpartum women on puerperal sepsis and associated factors in Choma district, Zambia.
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Date
2020
Authors
Moono, Fuden
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Zambia.
Abstract
Puerperal sepsis is the infection of the genital tract following child birth or abortion. It is a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality and is usually within the first 42 days after child birth/pregnancy termination. Studies have shown that puerperal sepsis is the second cause of maternal morbidity and mortality during puerperium in the resource poor countries. This study aimed at assessing knowledge of postpartum women on puerperal sepsis and associated
factors in Choma district, Zambia. A descriptive cross sectional study design was used to elicit information on knowledge of postpartum women on puerperal sepsis and associated factors. A sample of 246 postpartum women attending postnatal clinics at 6 days and 6 weeks at Macha Mission Hospital and five
selected delivering health centres in Choma district were selected to participate in the study using simple random sampling method. Macha Mission Hospital and five (5) health centres within Choma district were purposively selected because they offer postnatal care services and are big centres (Zonal centres). A pretested interview schedule was used to collect data from the respondents. Data was entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS) version 22 programme. Chi-square was used to test for statistically significant association between knowledge of postpartum women on puerperal sepsis and associated factors. A 95% confidence interval and a P- value of 0.05 were set to check the specificity of the tests. Binary logistic regression was used to check for combined impact of independent variables on knowledge of postpartum women on puerperal sepsis and associated factors. Findings of the study indicated that 60% of postpartum women had low knowledge on puerperal sepsis and associated factors in Choma district. Statistically significant associations
were shown between knowledge of postpartum women on puerperal sepsis and distance to health facility (OR 1.893, 95% CI = [1.071, 3.347]; P= 0.020) and hygiene lessons (OR 2.879, 95% CI = [1.581, 5.243]; P= 0.001). However, there was no statistically significant association between the dependent variable and the other independent variables. The current study revealed that most postpartum women had low knowledge on puerperal sepsis in Choma district. Distance to health facility and hygiene lessons were significantly associated with Knowledge of postpartum women on puerperal sepsis. Therefore, there is need
to improve puerperal sepsis awareness among postpartum women in Choma district.
Description
Thesis of Master of Science in Midwifery, Women and Child Health