Research Article
Obi Andrew Ifeanyichukwu and O
Abstract
Nigeria accounts for 14% of global estimates of maternal mortalities. The role of health care providers remains indispensable to addressing obstetric emergencies by knowledgeable and appropriately skilled obstetric care services. This study was carried out to assess knowledge of birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPACR) and associated factors among health care providers (HCPs) in Benin City, with a view to improving HCPs knowledge for enhanced obstetric service delivery. Materials and Method: A community based analytical cross sectional study was conducted, involving researcher administration of pretested structured questionnaires to 417 consenting HCPs from selected health facilities in Benin City. Data collected was sorted for completeness, coded, entered and analysed using SPSS version 20.0 statistical software with statistical significance set at p˂0.050 and 95% confidence interval. Results: The mean age of respondents studied was 33.8 ± 8.0 (34.2± 6.9 years and 33.6 ± 8.3) years for male and female HCPs respectively. In relation to knowledge of BPACR, 361 (86.6%) HCPs had good knowledge while 56(13.4%) had fair knowledge. Awareness of BP (OR=2.328; 95%CI=1.176-4.609; p=0.015), training received on BP (OR= 0.207; 95%CI=0.077-0.558; p=0.002) and educational status (OR =0.342; 95%CI=0.143- 0.821; p=0.016) were significant predictors identified among HCPs as influencing knowledge on BPACR. Conclusion: Majority of HCPs studied had good knowledge of BPACR. There is need to sustain health care provider knowledge of this strategy through regular training and retraining programs on BPACR for improved maternal and child health service delivery.