Maternal health literacy and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Mukono General Hospital, Mukono District Uganda

Abstract

Health literacy is a continuously evolving concept that has been observed to promote health care service utilization and health behaviour during pregnancy. Maternal health literacy (MHL) during pregnancy requires acquisition of cognitive and social skills to be able to validate and use information to promote and maintain health during pregnancy and postpartum. MHL improves the outcome of pregnancy as it ensures quality prenatal care Thus, the present study was conducted to determine MHL and its associated with health literacy levels among pregnant women at the antenatal clinic in Mukono General hospital. Methods This was a cross sectional study that was conducted among 380 pregnant women come to attend antenatal clinic at Mukono General hospital. The interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect the social demographic characteristic of the participants who were randomly selected. A standard Maternal Health Literacy Scale (MaHeLi) was used to measure the level of health literacy among pregnant women. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 21). The odds ratios were used to infer significant associations between variables and the level of health literacy. The independent variables were significant when the p-value was ≥ .05 at confidence interval of 95%. Results. Fifty-nine (59) percent of the participants were scored being literate with a median score of 57(lowest score – 24 and highest score -72). Pregnant women who had prior knowledge on pregnancy were at increased likelihood of being health literate (AOR=2.707, 95% CL =1.684-4.353). Age, marital status, education level, occupation, parity, individual resources and capabilities were not significantly associated with health literacy during pregnancy. Conclusions The level of health literacy among pregnant women in this study was slightly high (just above the average). A significant relationship was found between health literacy and possession of prior knowledge on care during pregnancy. There is need to devise other means to deliver health care information to support the knowledge pregnant women get during the antenatal clinic attendance. Keywords: Health Literacy, pregnancy