The role of clients, midwives and health policy in preventing infectious diseases during pregnancy: Toxoplasmosis, Listeriosis. Cytomegalovirus & Chlamydia trachomatis

Hutton, E.K. [Promotor]Schellevis, F.G. [Promotor]Manniën, J. [Copromotor]Spetten, E.R. [Copromotor

The role of clients, midwives and health policy in preventing infectious diseases during pregnancy: Toxoplasmosis, Listeriosis. Cytomegalovirus & Chlamydia trachomatis

promotiedatum: 26-9-2014 � prom-id: 1138

Maternal cytomegalovirus infection prevention: the role of Dutch primary care midwives.

Objective: to assess the knowledge of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection among Dutch primary care midwives, and clinical approaches to informing women about CMV. Design: cross-sectional study, using self-administered questionnaires. Participants: 330 Dutch primary care midwives. Setting: primary midwifery care practices across the Netherlands. Main outcome: Midwives׳ knowledge of CMV transmission routes and maternal symptoms, and clinical practice behaviours regarding CMV, the information typically provided or reasons for not informing pregnant women about CMV. Findings: the overall median knowledge score was 8.0 out of a maximum possible score of 13.0. Of all participants, 10.6% reported always informing pregnant women about CMV infection prevention and 41.0% reported never informing pregnant women. The main reason indicated for not informing pregnant women was lack of knowledge about preventive methods (45.7%). Conclusion: Dutch primary care midwives have limited knowledge of CMV infection. Improvement in providing education to pregnant women about strategies to prevent CMV is necessary. (aut. ref.

Observational study to assess pregnant women’s knowledge and behaviour to prevent toxoplasmosis, listeriosis and cytomegalovirus.

Background: Toxoplasmosis, listeriosis and cytomegalovirus (CMV) can negatively affect pregnancy outcomes, but can be prevented by simple precautions of pregnant women. Literature suggests that pregnant women are not always adequately informed by their care provider about preventable infectious diseases and most pregnant women have a low level of knowledge regarding these topics. There is not much information about the actual risk behaviour of pregnant women. The purpose of this study was to assess knowledge and risk behaviour related to toxoplasmosis, listeriosis and CMV infection prevention in pregnant women. Methods: A cross-sectional survey among pregnant women from twenty midwifery practices across the Netherlands that participated in the DELIVER study, between October 2010 and December 2010. The questionnaire items covered respondents’ knowledge of preventive practices in general, risk behaviour, and sources of received information. Results: Of the 1,097 respondents (response 66.0%), 75.3% had heard, read or seen information about toxoplasmosis, 61.7% about listeriosis and 12.5% about CMV. The majority reported having heard about these infections from their care providers or read about these in printed media or on the Internet. Respondents showed limited knowledge about preventive practices for toxoplasmosis, listeriosis or CMV infection. Regarding toxoplasmosis, risk behaviour was more prevalent among respondents who had a high level of education, had the Dutch nationality, did not take folic acid during their first trimester, and had ever worked in a children day-care setting. Regarding listeriosis, risk behaviour was more prevalent among respondents who where in their third trimester. Regarding CMV infections, risk behaviour was less prevalent among respondents who were in their third trimester of pregnancy. Conclusion: Of the respondents, a substantial part did not have knowledge about preventive practices to avoid listeriosis, toxoplasmosis and CMV infections during pregnancy. Many pregnant women are appropriately avoiding risk behaviour, without knowing what they are avoiding. Advising pregnant women about behaviours and life-style habits to prevent infectious diseases remains important and information about preventive practices need to be complete and adequate. However, it may be less important to give pregnant women specific infectious diseases information. More attention towards CMV is necessary. (aut. ref.

Chlamydia trachomatis infection during pregnancy: knowledge, test practices, and attitudes of Dutch midwives.

Background: Chlamydia trachomatis infection in pregnancy may lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes. In the Netherlands, testing for C. trachomatis is based on risk assessment. We assessed midwives' knowledge, test practices, assessment of risk behavior, and attitudes regarding testing for C. trachomatis infection during pregnancy. We evaluated the association between midwives' characteristics and their knowledge of C. trachomatis infection in terms of symptomatology and outcomes. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study among primary care midwives in the Netherlands. Between September and November 2011, midwives from all Dutch primary care midwifery practices were invited to complete a questionnaire about C. trachomatis infection. Results: Of the 518 midwives invited to participate in this study, 331 (63.9%) responded. The overall median knowledge score for questions about symptomatology and outcomes was 10 out of a maximum score of 15. The median knowledge score was higher among midwives in urban areas. In total, 239 (72.2%) midwives reported testing pregnant women for C. trachomatis. The primary reason for testing was a request by the woman herself (96.2%), followed by symptoms of infection (89.1%), risk behavior (59.3%), and risk factors for infection (7.3%). Almost 25% of midwives showed positive attitudes towards universal screening for C. trachomatis. Conclusions: Midwives were knowledgeable about symptoms of infection, but less about outcomes. Midwives test pregnant women for C. trachomatis mainly on the women's request. Otherwise, testing is based on symptoms of infection rather than on known risk factors. This may contribute to under-diagnosis and under-treatment, leading to maternal, perinatal, and neonatal morbidity. (aut.ref.

Introducing video recording in primary care midwifery for research purposes: procedure, dataset, and use.

Background: video recording studies have been found to be complex; however very few studies describe the actual introduction and enrolment of the study, the resulting dataset and its interpretation. In this paper we describe the introduction and the use of video recordings of health care provider (HCP)-client interactions in primary care midwifery for research purposes. We also report on the process of data management, data coding and the resulting data set. Methods: we describe our experience in undertaking a study using video recording to assess the interaction of the midwife and her client in the first antenatal consultation, in a real life clinical practice setting in the Netherlands. Midwives from six practices across the Netherlands were recruited to videotape 15-20 intakes. The introduction, complexity of the study and intrusiveness of the study were discussed within the research group. The number of valid recordings and missing recordings was measured; reasons not to participate, non-response analyses, and the inter-rater reliability of the coded videotapes were assessed. Video recordings were supplemented by questionnaires for midwives and clients. The Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) was used for coding as well as an obstetric topics scale. Findings: at the introduction of the study, more initial hesitation in co-operation was found among the midwives than among their clients. The intrusive nature of the recording on the interaction was perceived to be minimal. The complex nature of the study affected recruitment and data collection. Combining the dataset with the questionnaires and medical records proved to be a challenge. The final dataset included videotapes of 20 midwives (7-23 recordings per midwife). Of the 460 eligible clients, 324 gave informed consent. The study resulted in a significant dataset of first antenatal consultations involving recording 269 clients and 194 partners. Concusion: video recording of midwife-client interaction was both feasible and challenging and resulted in a unique dataset of recordings of midwife-client interaction. Video recording studies will benefit from a tight design, and vigilant monitoring during the data collection to ensure effective data collection. We provide suggestions to promote successful introduction of video recording for research purposes. (aut.ref.

What information do Dutch midwives give clients about toxoplasmosis, listeriosis and cytomegalovirus prevention? An exploratory study of videotaped consultations.

Objective: To assess information provided by midwives about methods to prevent toxoplasmosis, listeriosis and cytomegalovirus, and whether the amount of provided information varied according to clients’ and midwives’ characteristics. Methods: Intake consultations with 229 clients in four midwifery practices were videotaped between August 2010 and April 2011. Videotaped intake consultations, where infectious disease prevention were discussed, were evaluated, using a specifically designed nine-item scoring tool. Midwives and clients filled in a questionnaire about their background characteristics. Multilevel linear regression analysis was performed to establish associations between the amount of information provided and clients’ and midwives’ characteristics. Results: In total 172 consultations with fifteen midwives were suitable for analyses. Information about not eating raw or undercooked meat and not consuming unpasteurized dairy products was provided most often. Information about not sharing eating utensils with small children and thoroughly reheating all ready-to-eat foods were rarely provided. More information was provided when the client was a primigravidae or the consultation lasted longer than 50 min. Conclusion: Information on infectious disease prevention given to pregnant women by primary care midwives was insufficient; especially for cytomegalovirus prevention. Practice implications: A guideline for professionals on preventable infectious diseases may be useful to inform pregnant women properly. (aut.ref.

Glycine-arginine-alpha-ketoisocaproic acid improves performance of repeated cycling sprints

Objective: antenatal counselling for congenital anomaly tests is conceptualised as having both Health Education (HE) and Decision-Making Support (DMS) functions. Building and maintaining a client–midwife relation (CMR) is seen as a necessary condition for enabling these two counselling functions. However, little is known about how these functions are fulfilled in daily practice. This study aims to describe the relative expression of the antenatal counselling functions; to describe the ratio of client versus midwife conversational contribution and to get insight into clients׳ characteristics, which are associated with midwives׳ expressions of the functions of antenatal counselling. Design: Exploratory video-observational study. Participants and setting: 269 videotaped antenatal counselling sessions for congenital anomaly tests provided by 20 midwives within six Dutch practices. Measurements: we used an adapted version of the Roter Interaction Analysis System to code the client–midwife communication. Multilevel linear regression analyses were used to analyse associations between clients׳ characteristics and midwifes׳ expressions of antenatal counselling in practice. Findings: most utterances made during counselling were coded as HE (41%); a quarter as DMS (23%) and 36% as CMR. Midwives contributed the most to the HE compared to clients or their partners (91% versus 9%) and less to the DMS function of counselling (61% versus 39%). Multilevel analyses showed an independent association between parity and shorter duration of antenatal counselling; (β=−3.01; p<0.001). The amount of utterances concerning HE and DMS during counselling of multipara was less compared to nulliparous. Key conclusions: antenatal counselling for congenital anomaly tests by midwives is focused on giving HE compared to DMS. The relatively low contribution of clients during DMS might indicate poor DMS given by midwives. Counselling of multipara was significantly shorter than counselling of nulliparous; multiparae received less HE as well as DMS compared to nulliparous women. Implications for practice: our findings should encourage midwives to reflect on the process of antenatal counselling they offer with regards to the way they address the three antenatal counselling functions during counselling of nulliparous women compared to multiparae. (aut.ref.