Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) of Midwives and Nurses at the 37 Military Hospital towards the Management of Pregnant Women with HIV and AIDS.

Abstract

Background: Pregnant women living with HIV infection are at risk of transmitting the infection to their babies. Most of these transmission occurs during labour, delivery and during breast feeding. In 2018, over 500 deliveries were attended to by healthcare providers at the 37 Military Hospital, out of this number about 6% of these deliveries were to pregnant women living with HIV and AIDS. The Knowledge, attitude and practice of midwives and nurses are very essential in institutionalizing the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and AIDS. This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of Healthcare providers at the 37 Military Hospital in the management of pregnant women with HIV and AIDS. Methods: A quantitative survey was carried out with 222 Midwives and Nurses at the 37 Military Hospital. Data collected from the respondents with the use of the questionnaire was entered into Epi-Data version 3.0 and analysed using Stata version 14. Chi-square analysis was used to establish statistical associations between the dependent variable and the independent variables. Logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with midwives and nurses practices towards management of pregnant women with HIV and AIDS. At a confidence interval of 95%, a p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Overall, knowledge was found to be good among almost all (95%) of the respondents. Majority of the respondents (96%) had good attitude and good practice was found among (93%) of the respondents. It was revealed that there was no significant association between the demographic characteristics and the knowledge and attitudes of healthcare providers in the management of pregnant women with HIV and AIDS. It was, however, revealed that the years of experience (χ2=12.22, p=0.002) and marital status (χ2=10.60, p=0.031) significantly influenced respondents’ practice in the management of pregnant women with HIV and AIDS. Healthcare providers with adequate knowledge of management of pregnant women with HIV and AIDS were 99% more likely to have good practice of management of pregnant women with HIV and AIDS [CI: 0.00-0.05, p=0.000]. Conclusion: It was concluded from the study that Midwives and Nurses at the 37 Military Hospital are practicing various forms of the prevention of mother to-child transmission of HIV and AIDS that meet the recommended procedures and guidelines by the WHO. Recommendations: Health facilities in Ghana ought to collaborate to create nurses’ and midwives’ libraries across the various regions to allow nurses and midwives from different facilities to find updated information on HIV and AIDS in order to add on to their knowledge on pregnant women with HIV and AIDS management.