Trends over time in the knowledge, attitude and practices of pregnant women related to COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey from seven low- and middle-income countries

Saleem Jessani, Sarah Saleem, Elizabeth Fogleman, Sk Masum Billah, Rashidul Haque, Lester Figueroa, Adrien Lokangaka, Antoinette Tshefu, Shivaprasad S. Goudar, Avinash Kavi, Fabian Esamai, Musaku Mwenchanya, Elwyn Chomba, Archana Patel, Prabir Das, Manolo Mazariegos, Melissa Bauserman, William A. Petri, Nancy F. Krebs, Richard J. DermanWaldemar A. Carlo, Sherri Bucher, Patricia L. Hibberd, Marion Koso-Thomas, Carla M. Bann, Elizabeth M. McClure, Robert L. Goldenberg

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: To understand trends in the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of pregnant women related to COVID-19 in seven low- and middle-income countries. Design: Multi-country population-based prospective observational study. Setting: Study sites in Bangladesh, the Demographic Republic of Congo (DRC), Guatemala, India (two sites), Kenya, Pakistan and Zambia. Population: Pregnant women in the Global Network's Maternal and Neonatal Health Registry (MNHR). Methods: Pregnant women enrolled in the MNHR were interviewed to assess their KAP related to COVID-19 from September 2020 through July 2022 across all study sites. Main outcome measures: Trends of COVID-19 KAP were assessed using the Cochran–Armitage test for trend. Results: A total of 52 297 women participated in this study. There were wide inter-country differences in COVID-19-related knowledge. The level of knowledge of women in the DRC was much lower than that of women in the other sites. The ability to name COVID-19 symptoms increased over time in the African sites, whereas no such change was observed in Bangladesh, Belagavi and Guatemala. All sites observed decreasing trends over time in women avoiding antenatal care visits. Conclusions: The knowledge and attitudes of pregnant women related to COVID-19 varied substantially among the Global Network sites over a period of 2 years; however, there was very little change in knowledge related to COVID-19 over time across these sites. The major change observed was that fewer women reported avoiding medical care because of COVID-19 across all sites over time.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)149-157
Number of pages9
JournalBJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Volume130
Issue numberS3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2023

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • KAP
  • LMICs
  • pregnant women
  • trends

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Trends over time in the knowledge, attitude and practices of pregnant women related to COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey from seven low- and middle-income countries'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this