Knowledge of preconception care and its association with family planning utilization among women in Ethiopia: meta-analysis

Abstract

Preconception care (PCC) increases the chance of couple’s being healthy and having a healthier baby. It is an important strategy to prevent maternal and perinatal complications. The level of knowledge on preconception care increases its uptake. It is also considered as an input for further intervention of reduction in maternal and neonatal mortality enabling progress towards sustainable development goals (SDGs). Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled knowledge level of PCC and its association with family planning usage among women in Ethiopia. All observational studies regardless of publication status were retrieved. Important search terms were used to search articles in Google scholar, African Journals Online, CINHAL, HINARI, Science Direct, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and PubMed/Medline. Independent critical appraisal of retrieved studies was done using the Newcastle–Ottawa assessment checklist. The meta-analysis was conducted using STATA version 14 software. The I2 statistics were used to test heterogeneity, whereas publication bias was assessed by Begg’s and Egger’s tests. The results of the meta-analysis were explained in the Odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and presented using forest plots. A total of seven articles were included in the current systematic review and meta-analysis. Based on the data retrieved from the articles, 35.7% of women in Ethiopia had good knowledge about preconception care. The subgroup analysis based on region revealed the lowest (22.34%) and highest (45.06%) percentage of good knowledge on preconception care among women who were living in Amhara and Oromia regions, respectively. Moreover, women who utilized family planning services were three and more times (OR 3.65 (95% CI 2.11, 6.31)) more likely to have a good level of knowledge about preconception care. One-third of Ethiopian women had good knowledge about preconception care. Family planning utilization had a positive impact on women’s knowledge of preconception care.

Preconception care in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence and its correlation with knowledge level among women in the reproductive age group

“…In SSA, one-third (33.27%) of women in the reproductive age group had good knowledge about PCC. This finding was aligned with two studies conducted in Ethiopia and Utah 37 , 42 , 43 but lower than a systematic review and meta-analysis conducted of studies from across the world, including Saudi Arabia, China, and Kenya. 13 , 44 – 46 Women’s knowledge of PCC seemed to vary across countries, with some countries reported to have PCC guidelines and routinely practiced PCC.…”

Current state of preconception care in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic scoping review

“…In the same vein, age and good knowledge of PCC showed significant association with utilisation. 20 , 21 The current review aimed to be more inclusive, with no restrictions on setting and PCC provision. As a result, the goal of this review was to systematically map out evidence on the current state of PCC knowledge, utilisation and provision among women and HCWs in SSA in the published literature.…”

Association between preconception care and family planning and previous adverse birth outcomes in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis

“…11 12 In addition, a recent meta-analysis conducted in Ethiopia has found that utilisation of family planning had a positive impact on women's knowledge of preconception care. 26 However, inconsistent findings on the associations of preconception care with utilisation of family planning and previous adverse birth outcomes have not been systematically reviewed in Ethiopia. Thus, this review aims to estimate the pooled association of preconception care with utilisation of family planning and previous adverse birth outcomes in Ethiopia.…”