In a disaster pregnant women and children are at a higher risk than other population, because they have special physical and psychosocial needs which require continued care despite the community circumstances. Therefore, it is essential a presence of an experienced health worker, who is more aware of disaster planning and preparedness to serve the needs of the pregnant women and children. Objectives are to assess the knowledge, preparedness and associated factors of Public Health Midwives in 3 mostly affected MOH areas on maternal and child care during disasters. Methods: Between July to September 2016, all PHM in 3 MOH areas, (total of 78) were selected for the study to collect data by a self-administered questionnaire. The participants were surveyed of their personal information, information about their field, history of disasters occurred in their field, knowledge on maternal and child care in disasters, level of disaster preparedness and trainings received on disaster management. The knowledge and preparedness were analyzed in relation to the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the participants. Results: The study results revealed that only 47.3% of PHMs were having a good knowledge on maternal and child care during disasters and especially they need to improve the knowledge in natal care, new-born care and infant care. Relatively they had a good knowledge on antenatal care and child care. There was no significant association between the age, educational level, field experience, MOH area and facing of disasters in the past with the knowledge, which reflects that every one should have a good knowledge in disasters in spite of any circumstances. The preparedness for disasters among the study population was 33.8% and most of them didn’t think of the possible disasters that can happen in their fields and didn’t have a response plan. The level of preparedness was not significantly associated with other factors like age, educational level, field experience, MOH area or previous exposure to disasters. 58.1% of the participants were not learned about disaster management in any instance in their service period and 94.6% not participated in any training programme. Conclusion & Recommendation: The PHM in 3 MOH areas should be promoted to get further educational qualifications to upgrade their knowledge. They should be encouraged to gain more knowledge and preparedness on disasters by giving service appreciation and awards for that field.
Published in | European Journal of Preventive Medicine (Volume 10, Issue 1) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.18 |
Page(s) | 40-47 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Disasters, Disaster Preparedness, Maternal & child Care During Disasters, Reproductive Health in Disasters, Infant Feeding in Emergencies, Grass Root Health Care Worker
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APA Style
Lasantha Krishan Hirimuthugoda, Gajaman Kankanamge Vasirirasu, Nihal Kumara Randombage, Kodagoda Pathiranage Jayanetti Kumara, Chintaka Vajirapani Sri Rangodage. (2022). The Knowledge and Preparedness of Public Health Midwives of Most Affected MOH Areas in Kalutara on Maternal and Child Health During Disasters. European Journal of Preventive Medicine, 10(1), 40-47. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.18
ACS Style
Lasantha Krishan Hirimuthugoda; Gajaman Kankanamge Vasirirasu; Nihal Kumara Randombage; Kodagoda Pathiranage Jayanetti Kumara; Chintaka Vajirapani Sri Rangodage. The Knowledge and Preparedness of Public Health Midwives of Most Affected MOH Areas in Kalutara on Maternal and Child Health During Disasters. Eur. J. Prev. Med. 2022, 10(1), 40-47. doi: 10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.18
AMA Style
Lasantha Krishan Hirimuthugoda, Gajaman Kankanamge Vasirirasu, Nihal Kumara Randombage, Kodagoda Pathiranage Jayanetti Kumara, Chintaka Vajirapani Sri Rangodage. The Knowledge and Preparedness of Public Health Midwives of Most Affected MOH Areas in Kalutara on Maternal and Child Health During Disasters. Eur J Prev Med. 2022;10(1):40-47. doi: 10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.18
@article{10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.18, author = {Lasantha Krishan Hirimuthugoda and Gajaman Kankanamge Vasirirasu and Nihal Kumara Randombage and Kodagoda Pathiranage Jayanetti Kumara and Chintaka Vajirapani Sri Rangodage}, title = {The Knowledge and Preparedness of Public Health Midwives of Most Affected MOH Areas in Kalutara on Maternal and Child Health During Disasters}, journal = {European Journal of Preventive Medicine}, volume = {10}, number = {1}, pages = {40-47}, doi = {10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.18}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.18}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ejpm.20221001.18}, abstract = {In a disaster pregnant women and children are at a higher risk than other population, because they have special physical and psychosocial needs which require continued care despite the community circumstances. Therefore, it is essential a presence of an experienced health worker, who is more aware of disaster planning and preparedness to serve the needs of the pregnant women and children. Objectives are to assess the knowledge, preparedness and associated factors of Public Health Midwives in 3 mostly affected MOH areas on maternal and child care during disasters. Methods: Between July to September 2016, all PHM in 3 MOH areas, (total of 78) were selected for the study to collect data by a self-administered questionnaire. The participants were surveyed of their personal information, information about their field, history of disasters occurred in their field, knowledge on maternal and child care in disasters, level of disaster preparedness and trainings received on disaster management. The knowledge and preparedness were analyzed in relation to the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the participants. Results: The study results revealed that only 47.3% of PHMs were having a good knowledge on maternal and child care during disasters and especially they need to improve the knowledge in natal care, new-born care and infant care. Relatively they had a good knowledge on antenatal care and child care. There was no significant association between the age, educational level, field experience, MOH area and facing of disasters in the past with the knowledge, which reflects that every one should have a good knowledge in disasters in spite of any circumstances. The preparedness for disasters among the study population was 33.8% and most of them didn’t think of the possible disasters that can happen in their fields and didn’t have a response plan. The level of preparedness was not significantly associated with other factors like age, educational level, field experience, MOH area or previous exposure to disasters. 58.1% of the participants were not learned about disaster management in any instance in their service period and 94.6% not participated in any training programme. Conclusion & Recommendation: The PHM in 3 MOH areas should be promoted to get further educational qualifications to upgrade their knowledge. They should be encouraged to gain more knowledge and preparedness on disasters by giving service appreciation and awards for that field.}, year = {2022} }
TY - JOUR T1 - The Knowledge and Preparedness of Public Health Midwives of Most Affected MOH Areas in Kalutara on Maternal and Child Health During Disasters AU - Lasantha Krishan Hirimuthugoda AU - Gajaman Kankanamge Vasirirasu AU - Nihal Kumara Randombage AU - Kodagoda Pathiranage Jayanetti Kumara AU - Chintaka Vajirapani Sri Rangodage Y1 - 2022/02/28 PY - 2022 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.18 DO - 10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.18 T2 - European Journal of Preventive Medicine JF - European Journal of Preventive Medicine JO - European Journal of Preventive Medicine SP - 40 EP - 47 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-8230 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.18 AB - In a disaster pregnant women and children are at a higher risk than other population, because they have special physical and psychosocial needs which require continued care despite the community circumstances. Therefore, it is essential a presence of an experienced health worker, who is more aware of disaster planning and preparedness to serve the needs of the pregnant women and children. Objectives are to assess the knowledge, preparedness and associated factors of Public Health Midwives in 3 mostly affected MOH areas on maternal and child care during disasters. Methods: Between July to September 2016, all PHM in 3 MOH areas, (total of 78) were selected for the study to collect data by a self-administered questionnaire. The participants were surveyed of their personal information, information about their field, history of disasters occurred in their field, knowledge on maternal and child care in disasters, level of disaster preparedness and trainings received on disaster management. The knowledge and preparedness were analyzed in relation to the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the participants. Results: The study results revealed that only 47.3% of PHMs were having a good knowledge on maternal and child care during disasters and especially they need to improve the knowledge in natal care, new-born care and infant care. Relatively they had a good knowledge on antenatal care and child care. There was no significant association between the age, educational level, field experience, MOH area and facing of disasters in the past with the knowledge, which reflects that every one should have a good knowledge in disasters in spite of any circumstances. The preparedness for disasters among the study population was 33.8% and most of them didn’t think of the possible disasters that can happen in their fields and didn’t have a response plan. The level of preparedness was not significantly associated with other factors like age, educational level, field experience, MOH area or previous exposure to disasters. 58.1% of the participants were not learned about disaster management in any instance in their service period and 94.6% not participated in any training programme. Conclusion & Recommendation: The PHM in 3 MOH areas should be promoted to get further educational qualifications to upgrade their knowledge. They should be encouraged to gain more knowledge and preparedness on disasters by giving service appreciation and awards for that field. VL - 10 IS - 1 ER -