Abstract
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Maternal health is imperilled by several risk factors which causes the untimely death of some women. Unsafe abortion which most times result in incomplete abortion is one of the challenges that endangers the health of women especially in low-income countries. This crisis can be subdued and prevented by the effective management of skilled Healthcare workers working in supportive environment. Even though there are existing methods (surgical, medical and curettage) that are employed for the management of incomplete abortion, not all these methods are feasible and effective in all settings. Surgical is mostly used in low-income countries, and manual evacuation is the preferred one. Curettage is still in use due to issues with broken equipment and lack of support from leadership. Medical (misoprostol) management of incomplete abortion is a safe recommended method, but not often used in this setting. Hence there is a need to stimulate a suitable and constructive method for the management of incomplete in a particular setting.
Objectives: This study aims to analyse healthcare workers’ knowledge, attitude, and practice of healthcare workers on the use of misoprostol in the treatment of incomplete abortion in the first trimester.
Methods: A descriptive study with quantitative data collection was conducted in three district hospitals located in the central region of Malawi. In order to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of healthcare workers in the medical treatment for incomplete abortion, a KAP survey was used to gather the baseline (n=80) and endline (n=91) data. A training intervention was organized to train the healthcare workers on the medical treatment of incomplete abortion. The participants involved were 171 healthcare workers (clinical officers, midwives, nurses, and doctors) from three selected facilities. The accumulated data was analysed with SPSS.
Results: Data analysis and interpretation indicated that the healthcare workers were familiar with medical (misoprostol) treatment of incomplete abortion, and their level of knowledge in this treatment option was improved upon by the in-service training. The healthcare workers have built a positive attitude in the medical treatment of incomplete abortion, which would need to be sustained and their knowledge consistently upgraded. The results also showed that the participants are improving their practices in the treatment of incomplete abortion, especially in the provision of family planning services.
Conclusions: Healthcare workers would need their level of knowledge, attitude, and practice with medical (misoprostol) treatment of incomplete abortion further enhanced. This implies that the management of healthcare facilities must prioritise continuing education and provide access to diverse educational resources to facilitate the services they provide.
Keywords: Misoprostol, Incomplete abortion, Healthcare workers, Malawi
