Nutritional knowledge, attitude and practices among pregnant females in 2020 Shenzhen China: A cross-sectional study

The theory of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) can well explain the whole process of pregnant females' practice to obtain balanced nutrition. However, the process of KAP works very differently in populations with different sociodemography. This study aims to investigate the sociodemographic determinants associated with pregnant females' nutritional KAP and find a way to locate the vulnerable pregnant females who would benefit most from intervention. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on pregnant females' KAP regarding food nutrition at the University of Chinese Academy of Science Shenzhen Hospital from December 2020 to February 2021. A total of 310 pregnant females aged 18–40 years were interviewed. And we assessed the influence of sociodemographic factors on KAP and built a model for screening the vulnerable group who would benefit most from intervention. The results showed that on nutritional knowledge and practice, only 15.2% and 47.3% were above 0.6 respectively, while 91% were above 0.75 on attitude. Age, Husband's Education Degree, Monthly Income of Family, Nutritional Knowledge and Nutritional Attitude were statistically significant predictors of the vulnerable group. There was a gap between knowledge (3.8% were good or above) and attitude (91% were good or above), attitude and practice (16.8% were good or above). Age, household registry, education level, monthly income, and nutrition knowledge were associated with nutrition practices. This study highlights that nutritional education interventions targeting certain populations may improve the conversion rate of nutrition practices, and presents a predictive model to locate the vulnerable group.