Knowledge of preconception care among healthcare providers working in public health institutions in Hawassa, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Preconception care (PCC) is an evidence-based health promotion intervention to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes. Nevertheless, it is one of the missing elements within the continuum of maternal and child healthcare. Despite the WHO’s recommendation, most of the developing countries have not yet started implementing preconception care. OBJECTIVE: To determine the knowledge level of healthcare providers about PCCand to identify predictors of effective knowledge of preconception care. METHOD: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among 634 healthcare providers (HCP) working in public health institutions of Hawassa. A pilot-tested and validated self-administered survey tool was used to collect data from individual healthcare providers who were selected randomly using a multistage sampling technique. The data entry and analysis were conducted using SPSS version 20 software. Frequency, proportions, means and standard deviations were used to describe the data. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were implemented to determine the predictors of HCP’s PCC knowledge. RESULTS: Only a few (31%) of the healthcare providers demonstrated a good level of knowledge on preconception care. The odds of having good PCC knowledge was high among HCPs working in hospitals (AOR = 1.8, 95% C.I. 1.3–2.6), HCPs using their smart phone to access clinical resources (AOR = 1.4, 95% C.I. 1.1–2.0), among those HCPs ever have read PCC guideline prepared by organization outside of Ethiopia (AOR = 1.9, 95% C.I. 1.4–2.7), among those who claimed practicing PCC (AOR = 3.4, 95% C.I. 2.0–5.9), and among those who earn salary of ≥ 146.0 $(AOR = 1.5, 95% C.I. 1.1–2.1). CONCLUSION: There is an unacceptably low level of knowledge about PCC among most of the healthcare providers in public health facilities in Ethiopia. The predictors identified in this study can be used to enhance the knowledge of healthcare providers about preconception care.