The management of iron/folate supplementation for pregnant women by registered nurses/midwives at Katutura and Windhoek Central antenatal clinics

Abstract

Abstract provided by author:

The study focused on the following objectives: a. to determine the knowledge of registered nurses/midwives in the management of iron/folate supplementation for pregnant women, b. to describe the knowledge of clients on iron/folate supplementation, c. to determine the compliance of clients with the use of iron/folate supplements, d. to explore the health education given to clients on iron/folate supplementation, e. to describe the views of registered nurses/midwives on the iron/folate supplementation, f. to describe the views of clients on the iron/folate supplementation

It is a quantitative study and a descriptive and exploratory survey design was used. A questionnaire and interview schedule was utilised to collect the data from sample one, 10 nurses, and sample two, 300 clients, respectively. The systematic and simple random sampling was used for clients depending on the routine at the two clinics

The results indicated that there are shortfalls in the knowledge of registered nurses about anaemia and the management of iron/folate supplementation. Clients also are ill informed and therefore lack knowledge on anaemia and aspects in the iron/folate supplementation. However, both nurses and clients indicated positive views about the effectiveness of the iron/folate supplementation. A majority of registered nurses/midwives reported the non-compliance of the clients with the iron/folate tablets while a majority of clients indicated the opposite

Recommendations based on the findings include the strengthening of in-service training and the development of the iron/folate supplementation program to the standard recommended by the WHO