Knowledge of public health nurses on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in Riyadh City: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: One of the common causes of maternal mortality is the medical disorder in pregnancy known as hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Since hypertension complicates an estimated 10 percent on all pregnancies, the healthcare professionals’ role is of major public health concern. The knowledge on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs) among public health nurses is an important part of serving the community to address the complication. The primary aim was to assess the level of knowledge of the public health nurses on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Methods: A cross-sectional research design was used to assess the knowledge of nurses working in primary healthcare level regarding HDPs. The purposive sampling was utilized in selecting 280 registered nurses working in primary health centers. The sample was taken using Slovin’s formula with 5% margin of error. The data were analyzed with Spearman rho using SPSS version 23. Significance was determined at 5% level (P-value ≤0.05). Results: The public health nurses were highly knowledgeable (3.29) in the definition of hypertension in pregnancy as well as in appropriate patient positioning for current readings of blood pressure (3.37). Despite the level of knowledge, determining the clinical manifestation of severe pre-eclampsia got the lowest mean (2.59). Conclusion: The nurses working in primary health center have adequate knowledge about hypertensive disorders of pregnancy including assessing, diagnosis and management while need additional knowledge on identifying the clinical manifestation of severe pre-eclampsia.