Effect of Urogenital Infection Educational Program on Women Knowledge and Practices

Abstract

Background: Urogenital infection is generally regarded as a silent epidemic. It is one of the major public health problems among women that causes a considerable proportion of gynecological morbidity and maternal mortality in developing countries. Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of an educational program on women’s knowledge and practices about urogenital infection. Methods: A quasi-experimental research design was utilized in this study and was implemented at El Hadaka Maternity and Children’s Hospital (MCH) in Fayoum, Egypt. A purposive sample consisting of 50 women with ages ranging from 30 to 45 years old was considered for this study. Two tools were used to conduct this study: a structured interview questionnaire consisting of the respondents’ demographic characteristics, knowledge, and practices regarding urogenital infection and a scale that aimed to assess their lifestyle. Results: The results revealed that 96% of the women have unsatisfactory knowledge about urogenital infection during the pre-intervention stage, 94% of them have satisfactory knowledge post-intervention, and 90% of them have satisfactory knowledge at follow-up, with a highly statistically significant difference at p-value < 0.01. The results also showed that 82% of the respondents have unsatisfactory practices at pre-intervention, 96% have satisfactory practices at post-intervention, and 98% of them have satisfactory practices at follow-up, with a highly statistically significant difference at p-value < 0.01. Conclusion: There was a significant improvement in women's knowledge and practices related to urogenital infection post-intervention and at follow-up with a p-value < 0.01. Likewise, a high positive correlation between total lifestyle, level of knowledge, and practices was noted during the pretest with a p-value < 0.01. There is a need to provide different educational programs regarding knowledge and self-care practices for women with urogenital infection in different women's care settings.