Knowledge, Attitude and Practices among Health Care Professionals on Screening of Congenital Heart Diseases in Newborns

Rajani HS, Narayanappa D

Abstract

Background: There are no guidelines and recommendations for routine universal newborn screening for congenital heart diseases using pulse oximetry in India. Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge, attitude, practices among health care professionals regarding screening for congenital heart disease (CHD) in newborns. Methods: Email invitations as well as individual emails in the form of questionnaire using Google forms were sent to 500 healthcare professionals in India. The questionnaire consisted of multiple-choice questions. Two reminders for non-responders were sent by email after the initial invitation. Results: Out of 500 e mails sent, a total of 178 responses (35.6%) were received. In terms of work experience, 10.2% of the respondents had more than 20 years, 28.2% had 10 to 20 years, 28.2% had 5 to 10 years, and 33.4% had less than 5 years of experience. 98.7% of them agreed that mortality and morbidity due to CHD in newborns can be reduced by early diagnosis of CHD. In terms protocol followed in their units, 100% opined that all newborns are examined by pediatrician before discharge, only 2.9% reported that newborns get a pulse oximetry screening done and none reported the use of echocardiography for screening. Only 2.3% of the respondents felt that current practice was sufficient in detecting significant CHD. The overall mandate for pulse oximetry screening was 69.2%. Conclusions: Health care professionals agree that current practice is not adequate for detecting significant CHD in newborns. 69.2% in this study recognized that universal routine pulse oximetry screening is mandated in newborns to detect CHD.