Knowledge Scores In Group Research Articles

Utilization of local culture "Bapalas Bidan" as a postpartum counseling media on contraception tools

Background: Postpartum contraception is a way to prevent recurrent pregnancies to ensure the health of both mother and baby. Many postpartum mothers think that there will be no pregnancy during amenorrhea in the postpartum period and will use the contraceptive method after the first menstruation. There are still some who do not use contraception. Contraceptive success will be achieved if the counseling and media are effective. Palangka Raya's city has a Bapalas Bidan culture, a ritual in which a newborn baby is declared a midwife's child until the midwife's blessing ceremony is carried out for the baby and the mother. Methods: This research type is a quasi-experimental study with two group comparison pretest-posttest design with counseling intervention and booklets. The research subjects were postpartum mothers who gave birth or were treated at the Midwives Individual Service in Palangka Raya City, amounting to 30 each per treatment and control group. Results: There was a difference in the mean and an increase in the group's knowledge score after receiving counseling through the Bapalas Bidan (p = 0.000). The increase in knowledge was higher in the group that received counseling than in those who did not get counseling. Postpartum mothers who have high knowledge of contraception use contraception more than mothers with low knowledge. The proportion of postpartum mothers who used contraception was more in the group who received counseling (p = 0.018), aged 20-35 years (p = 0.015), had parity ≥3 (p = 0.024), and higher education (p = 0.006). Conclusion: Postpartum mothers who have high knowledge of contraception use contraception more than mothers with low knowledge.

An Unstructured Supplementary Service Data-Based mHealth App Providing On-Demand Sexual Reproductive Health Information for Adolescents in Kibra, Kenya: Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundAdolescents transitioning from childhood to adulthood need to be equipped with sexual reproductive health (SRH) knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that empower them. Accessible, reliable, appropriate, and friendly information can be provided through mobile phone–based health interventions.ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the effectiveness and impact of an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD)–based app in increasing adolescents’ knowledge about contraceptives, gender-based stereotypes, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), abstinence, and perceived vulnerability, and helping adolescents make informed decisions about their SRH.MethodsA randomized controlled trial (RCT) methodology was applied to investigate the potential of a USSD-based app for providing on-demand SRH information. To be eligible, adolescents aged 15 to 19 years residing in Kibra, Kenya, had to have access to a phone and be available for the 3-month follow-up visit. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention (n=146) and control (n=154) groups using sequentially numbered, opaque, sealed envelopes. The primary outcome was improved SRH knowledge. The secondary outcome was improved decision-making on SRH. The outcomes were measured using validated tools on adolescent SRH and user perceptions during the follow-up visit. A paired sample t test was used to compare the changes in knowledge scores in both groups. The control group did not receive any SRH information.ResultsDuring the RCT, 54.9% (62/109) of adolescents used the USSD-based app at least once. The mean age by randomization group was 17.3 (SD 1.23) years for the control group and 17.3 (SD 1.12) years for the intervention group. There was a statistically significant difference in the total knowledge scores in the intervention group (mean 10.770, SD 2.012) compared with the control group (mean 10.170, SD 2.412) conditions (t179=2.197; P=.03). There was a significant difference in abstinence (P=.01) and contraceptive use (P=.06). Of the individuals who used the app, all participants felt the information received could improve decision-making regarding SRH. Information on STIs was of particular interest, with 27% (20/62) of the adolescents seeking information in this area, of whom 55% (11/20) were female. In relation to improved decision-making, 21.6% (29/134) of responses showed the adolescents were able to identify STIs and were likely to seek treatment; 51.7% (15/29) of these were female. Ease of use was the most important feature of the app for 28.3% (54/191) of the responses.ConclusionsAdolescents require accurate and up-to-date SRH information to guide their decision-making and improve health outcomes. As adolescents already use mobile phones in their day-to-day lives, apps provide an ideal platform for this information. A USSD-based app could be an appropriate tool for increasing SRH knowledge among adolescents in low-resource settings. Adolescents in the study valued the information provided because it helped them identify SRH topics on which they needed more information.Trial RegistrationPan African Clinical Trial Registry PACTR202204774993198; https://pactr.samrc.ac.za/TrialDisplay.aspx?TrialID=22623

Assessment of effectiveness of a Structured Teaching Programme on Knowledge of Staff Nurses Regarding Risk Factors and Prevention of Deep Vein Thrombosis in a Selected Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab

The National Institute of health (NIH) estimates that deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are associated with 300,000 to 600,000 hospitalizations per year, the third leading cause of death from cardiovascular disease. Because many of the most effective interventions for preventing deep vein thrombosis are delivered by nurses, nurses can be instrumental in preventing deep vein thrombosis. Serious health consequences and valuable health care resources can be saved with nursing interventions aimed at risk assessment and prevention of DVT.In this context, it was attempted to assess the effectiveness of a structured teaching programme on knowledge of staff nurses regarding risk factors and prevention of deep vein thrombosis. A quasi experimental approach with purposive sampling technique was used in the study. A structured knowledge questionnaire was prepared and was given to 40 staff nurses working in cardiac ICUs and neuro ICUs of a selected hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab. The findings of the study shows that the difference between pre test mean knowledge score of control and experimental group was statistically non significant at p< 0.05 level whereas the difference between post test mean knowledge score of both groups was statistically highly significant at p< 0.001 level. It was thus concluded that the structured teaching programme was effective in raising the knowledge level of staff nurses regarding risk factors and prevention of deep vein thrombosis and there was statistically significant effect of age, professional qualification, total years of experience and type of training institute on knowledge level of staff nurses regarding risk factors and prevention of deep vein thrombosis.

Increasing girls’ knowledge about human papillomavirus vaccination with a pre-test and a national leaflet: a quasi-experimental study

BackgroundAdolescent girls are at an age to be involved in the decision about HPV vaccination uptake and therefore need adequate information about the vaccination. This study assesses to what extent reading an official information leaflet about HPV contributes to girls’ knowledge levels, and to what extent an increase in knowledge is boosted by a pre-test measurement.MethodsParticipants (girls aged 11–14 years) were systematically allocated to group A that completed a pre-test measurement (12 true/false statements) or to group B that did not complete it. Subsequently, both groups read the HPV leaflet and completed the post-test measurement.ResultsThe response rate was 237/287 (83%). Pre-test scores in group A (M = 3.6, SD = 1.81, p < 0.001) were lower than post-test mean knowledge scores (0–10) in group B (M = 4.6, SD = 2.05). Post-test knowledge scores in group A were higher than those in group B [6.2 (SD = 2.06) versus 4.6 (SD = 2.05), p < 0.001]. In the post-test measurement, about a third of both groups knew that vaccinations do not give 100% protection against cervical cancer and that the duration of protection is unknown.ConclusionsReading the information leaflet had a positive effect on knowledge, even more so when boosted by a pre-test measurement. However, knowledge on the degree and duration of protection against cervical cancer remained limited. Focusing girls’ attention on important aspects before they start reading the leaflet (e.g. by including a quiz on the first page) may serve to raise their awareness of these aspects.

Death is not always a failure: outcomes from implementing an online virtual patient clinical case in palliative care for family medicine clerkship

BackgroundThe dying patient is a reality of medicine. Medical students, however, feel unprepared to effectively manage the complex end-of-life (EOL) management issues of the dying patient and want increased experiential learning in Palliative Care.AimsTo address the need for more formal curriculum in EOL care, we developed and implemented an online virtual patient (VP) clinical case in Palliative Care into the 2010–2011 Year Three Family Medicine Clerkship rotation curriculum.MethodsA mixed-method design was used to measure the change in knowledge and perceived preparedness level in EOL care before and after completing the online VP case. A survey collected qualitative descriptions of the students’ educational experience of using this case.ResultsNinety five percent (130/137) of the students voluntarily consented to have their results analyzed. The group knowledge score (n=127) increased significantly from a pre-course average of 7.69/16±2.27, to a post-course average of 10.02/16±2.39 (p<0.001). The students’ self-assessed comfort level increased significantly with all aspects of EOL management from pre-course to post-course (p<0.001). Nearly, 91.1% of the students rated the VP realism as ‘Good to Excellent’, 86% rated the case as educationally beneficial. Nearly 59.3% of students felt emotionally engaged with the VP. Qualitative feedback found that the case content was very useful and realistic, but that the interface was sometimes awkward to navigate.ConclusionsThe online VP case in Palliative Care is a useful teaching tool that may help to address the need for increased formal Palliative Care experience in medical school training programs.

The Effectiveness Of High Levels Of Knowledge Regarding Hiv/Aids In Reducing Discriminatory Attitudes And Behaviour Towards Hiv-Infected People

The primary objective of this study was to assess whether there is a relationship between increasing levels of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and perceptions of discriminatory attitudes and behaviour towards people with HIV/AIDS. Employees (3662) from a large accounting firm were exposed to a survey and a response rate of 41% or 1532 was received. The secondary objective of the study was to determine whether there were any statistically significant differences in the mean difference of knowledge scores of groups created in terms of the different biographical variables. ANOVA’S (to determine the significance of differences between the means), t-tests (two groups only) and F-statistics were used for the analysis. Given the large sample size an F-test is not conclusive and the effect of the difference in sample size needs to be taken into account. For this reason it was also necessary to look at the Partial Eta Squared. Results indicate that respondents are generally knowledgeable about the prevention and transmission of HIV/AIDS and that respondents’ level of knowledge correlates negatively with discriminatory practices.

Does the quality of the diet sheet matter?

AbstractThe aim of the study was to investigate whether the type of dietary advice sheets make a significant difference to metabolic control and/or knowledge of newly diagnosed non‐insulin‐dependent diabetics (NIDDM). Thirty four subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Group A (n = 17) were given “attractive” diabetic dietary advice sheets (incorporating colourful cover and illustrations), and Group B (n = 17) were given “unattractive” dietary advice sheets (the same text but without illustrations). There was no significant difference in age, body mass index, fasting blood glucose, fructosamine or type of drug treatment between the two groups.There was a significant improvement (p&lt;0.01) in the knowledge score of Group A and an improvement in fructosamine and fasting blood glucose levels (p&lt;0.05).“Attractive” dietary advice literature, therefore, may improve theoretical knowledge of the diet and also, possibly, glycaemic control.