Personal characteristics and compliance to health education among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated personal characteristics (individual factors) associated with compliance to health education among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, (UCTH) Calabar, and Cross River State, Nigeria. Level of Knowledge, educational status, age, parity and time’ of pregnant  women were isolated and examined. Three research questions and one hypothesis  were formulated to guide the study. Literature was conceptually, empirically and  theoretically reviewed based on the variables under study. Descriptive design was adopted, and using the convenience sampling technique, a sample size of 140  pregnant women who attended antenatal care from May 2016 to November 2016 was used. A validated and reliability certified (with a correlation coefficient of 0.79) structured questionnaire was used to generate data from respondents.  Questionnaire was administered through face to face interaction and on the spot  collection of completed questionnaire. Data were presented using frequency tables, pie-charts and bar-chart, while chi-square (X2) analysis at 0.05 level of  significance was used to test the hypothesis. The results of the study showed that  individual factors that facilitated compliance were level of knowledge and level of education of the pregnant women; 72.9% of the study participants had adequate knowledge about health education and a greater proportion (62.9%) complied with health education. Chi-square analysis of the hypothesis showed a statistically significant association between level of education and compliance towards health education (X2 cal = 31.56, X2 crit = 7.815, P = 0.05, df = 3). Number of children (parity) and lack of time were the individual factors that hindered compliance. It was therefore recommended that Midwives should intensify efforts in awareness creation on family planning and its benefits, to reduce number of children to give mothers time to take care of themselves. Government of Nigeria and Cross River State in particular should reduce the high cost of education thereby encouraging every  citizen to have basic education thus reduce illiteracy level of women and of its citizens in general.

Keywords: Pregnant women, Antenatal Care Services, Individual factors