Evaluation of knowledge and management practices of hypertension in pregnancy among health care workers in Moshi urban, Tanzania.

Background Hypertensive diseases of pregnancy are considered to be common causes of maternal deaths world wide [1]. Almost all of these deaths (99%) occurred in developing countries [3]. Most maternal deaths could be prevented by access to emergency obstetric care and skilled attendance during pregnancy, childbirth and at immediate postnatal period. Hypertension in pregnancy is among the few direct causes of maternal deaths that can be detected and prevented during pregnancy. Purpose This study gives information about the level of knowledge and practice of health providers on hypertension in pregnancy. The information is important for health managers of maternal and newborn programs because it shows where resources and efforts should be directed in order to improve outcomes of pregnancies with hypertension in developing countries. We looked at the WHO's guidelines regarding hypertension in pregnancy and saw if they where followed in a developing country like Tanzania. Our objective was to assess level of knowledge and management practices of hypertension in pregnancy among HCW in Moshi urban district, Northern Tanzania Methods The study was a cross-sectional facility based study. It was conducted at 2 primary health care clinics with antenatal and delivery services in Moshi, Tanzania. A structured questionnaire was used to gather the needed information. This tool was used to determine the difference of knowledge amongst health workers regarding education, experience and socioeconomic factors as age, sex and educational region. In addition we had an observation checklist for practices and an inventory checklist for supplies, drugs and equipment. Results In total, 34 HCW were included in the study. Nearly 65% HCW knew that the blood pressure is high in pregnant woman when is > 140/90 mmHg. In total, 56% of the participants had adequate knowledge of the definition of pre-eclampsia. About 18% of the HCW had adequate knowledge on how to manage hypertension during pregnancy according to the guidelines recommended by the WHO. Only 20,6% of the HCWs had adequate knowledge regarding management of pre-eclampsia according to the WHO guidelines. Around 60% of the HCW had adequate knowledge regarding management of eclampsia. We observed 99 antenatal visits and 66,7% of the pregnant women got their BP measured. None of the pregnant women were checked for proteinuria. Both clinics had functional weighing machines and BP machines. Conclusions Our overall conclusion is general lack of knowledge and supplies, but to support this conclusion there is need for more and thorough studies. Our results were interesting; however the limitations are too many to land on a conclusion based on our analyses