Knowledge and attitude towards teenage pregnancy care among nurses in PHCs in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Teenage pregnancy is a public health issue globally. However, little is known about the knowledge and attitude of Primary Health Care (PHC) nurses towards teenage pregnancy care.

Objectives: This study assessed knowledge and attitude towards teenage pregnancy care among Nurses in PHC in Lagos.

Methods: The study adopted a cross- sectional descriptive survey, using a sample of 70 PHC nurses. Yamane Scientific formula was used to calculate sample size for this study. A 95% confidence level and p- value of 0.05 was considered to be significant. Convenient sampling was also used to select the respondents. Six health institutions were randomly selected for the purpose of the study. The respondents completed self-administered semi-structured questionnaire eliciting information on the knowledge and attitude of PHC nurses towards teenage pregnancy care.  Data was analyzed using SPSS 17.0 and presented as  tables using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: majority (61.4%) of the respondents had good knowledge of teenage pregnancy care while (72.9%) had positive attitude towards teenage pregnancy care. There was a statistically significant association between qualification, duration of qualification as a nurse, current position and knowledge of teenage pregnancy as well as duration of qualification as a nurse, and attitude towards teenage pregnancy (p<0.05). However, there was no statistically significant association between qualification, current position and attitude towards teenage pregnancy care (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Knowledge about teenage pregnancy care is influenced by the qualification, years of experience and current position of nurses although there attitudes towards teenage pregnancy care is independent of these factors. There should be opportunities for nurses to attend special trainings, workshops and conferences in order to update their knowledge and skills in teenage pregnancy care.

Keywords: Knowledge, Attitude, Responsibilities, Nurses, Teenage pregnancy