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Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding gestational diabetes mellitus among pregnant women: A cross-sectional study

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International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a serious threat to first-time pregnancy.

Objective

To determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) among pregnant women on antenatal appointment in government approved healthcare facilities in Nigeria and also to establish the significant correlation and association within sociodemographic variables.

Methods

It was a facility-based cross-sectional study, conducted in government-approved healthcare facilities in Nigeria, from January to March, 2023. A total of 1750 pregnant women were sampled and surveyed using convenient sampling technique. Data were collected using an adapted questionnaire “Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Questionnaire” with 0.87 reliability index. Statistical analysis was completed using IBM SPSS version 22. Frequency, percentage, odds ratio statistics, and chi-square test were applied for data analysis. All computations were deemed statistically significant at p value ≤ 0.05.

Results

Out of 1750 eligible participants, 1488 (88.4%) valid responses were analyzed. The study showed that 69% knew about GDM, 65% had positive attitude, and 79% had desirable GDM practice. Statistically, there were strong correlation between KAP regarding GDM and age, marital status, education level, and parity status (odds ratio ≥ 1). Furthermore, the KAP regarding GDM was significantly associated with alcohol consumption, education, parity status, and resident (p value < 0.05), respectively.

Conclusion

Approximately three-quarter of the pregnant women knew about GDM, had positive attitude, and had desirable GDM practice. The KAP regarding GDM was strongly correlated and significantly associated with sociodemographic variables. Facility-based interventions on KAP regarding GDM are paramount to be incorporated in the national health programs to improve knowledge and enhance attitude and GDM practices.

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Data availability

All relevant data and materials are available with the corresponding author and will be provided on request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria

    Uchenna Cosmas Ugwu & Osmond Chukwuemeka Ene

Authors
  1. Uchenna Cosmas Ugwu
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  2. Osmond Chukwuemeka Ene
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Prof. Osmond Chukwuemeka Ene and Dr. Uchenna Cosmas Ugwu. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Dr. Uchenna Cosmas Ugwu, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Uchenna Cosmas Ugwu.

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Ethical approval

Approval was obtained from the ethics committee of the University of Nigeria Nsukka. The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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The participants have consented to the submission of the original article to the journal.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Ugwu, U.C., Ene, O.C. Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding gestational diabetes mellitus among pregnant women: A cross-sectional study. Int J Diabetes Dev Ctries (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13410-023-01252-x

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