KNOWLEDGE OF ESSENTIAL NEWBORN CARE AMONG FINAL YEAR NURSING AND MIDWIFERY STUDENTS IN LIRA CITY, A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71020/jwhr.v3i1.78Keywords:
Knowledge, Essential Newborn care, Nursing and Midwifery, Lira CityAbstract
Background:
Nearly 7000 newborns die every day from preventable causes like prematurity, birth asphyxia, and neonatal sepsis. Essential newborn care (ENC) seeks to lower this mortality in developing nations, This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of ENC among Lira City's final-year nursing and midwifery students.
Methodology:
A cross-sectional study was employed involving 275 final year student nurses and midwives. Institutions and participants were randomly sampled, and data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Participants who scored 75% were regarded as having good knowledge, 50-74%, moderate knowledge, and ≤ 49%, poor knowledge. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the knowledge of Essential Newborn Care.
Results:
The study involved more females, 57.1%, than males, 42.9%, the majority of whom were aged 22-26 years, and 80.0% were single. Overall, there was adequate knowledge (95.27%) of ENC. Students at certificate and Diploma levels were 31.289 [AOR= 31.289; P= 0.001; 95%CI; 4.262- 259.986] and 217.929[AOR= 217.929; P< 0.001; 95%CI; 19.312-2459.259] times respectively, more likely to have good knowledge than Bachelor's students. Whereas there was adequate knowledge, 54.2% on cord care, 50.2% were unaware that something was applied to the cord. The majority (91.3%) had adequate knowledge of breastfeeding, with 81.1% being aware that EBF is done for 6 months. Despite 96.0% being aware that babies are supposed to be vaccinated at birth, 61.6% and 72.4% were unaware that the Oral Polio and Hepatitis B vaccines, respectively, are given at birth. There was good knowledge, 98.9% and 79.6% on eye care and neonatal resuscitation, respectively.
Conclusion:
Generally, participants had adequate knowledge of ENC; however, there were knowledge gaps in cord care, as many did not know what to apply to the cord.
Recommendation:
Enhance teaching techniques to improve students’ knowledge levels on Essential Newborn Care.
References
Arach, A. A. O., Tumwine, J. K., Nakasujja, N., Ndeezi, G., Kiguli, J., Mukunya, D., Odongkara, B., Achora, V., Tongun, J. B., Musaba, M. W., Napyo, A., Tylleskar, T., & Nankabirwa, V. (2021). Perinatal death in Northern Uganda: incidence and risk factors in a community-based prospective cohort study. Glob Health Action, 14(1), 1859823. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2020.1859823
https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2020.1859823
Arba, A., & Zana, Z. (2020b). Knowledge of essential newborn care and associated factors among nurses and midwives: a cross-sectional study at public health facilities in Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia, 2019. International journal of pediatrics, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/3647309
Asiime, J. B., Nyegenye, W., & Muyingo, E. (2020). Trends and determinants of neonatal mortality in Uganda: analysis of the Uganda demographic and health surveys. African Population Studies, 34(1).
Bakar, S. A., & Joho, A. A. (2023). Assessing Essential Newborn Care Knowledge, Skills
And Associated Factors among Nurses/Midwives in Zanzibar: A Cross-Sectional Study. East African Health Research Journal, 7(1), 58-66. https://doi.org/10.24248/eahrj.v7i1.709
De Graft-Johnson, J., Vesel, L., Rosen, H. E., Rawlins, B., Abwao, S., Mazia, G., Bozsa, R.,
Mwebesa, W., Khadka, N., Kamunya, R., Getachew, A., Tibaijuka, G., Rakotovao, J. P., & Tekleberhan, A. (2017). Cross-sectional observational assessment of quality of newborn care immediately after birth in health facilities across six sub-Saharan African countries. BMJ Open, 7(3), e014680. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014680 https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014680
Galadima, A. N., Zulkefli, N. A. M., Said, S. M., & Ahmad, N. (2021). Factors influencing childhood immunisation uptake in Africa: a systematic review. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11466-5
Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research
https://doi.org/10.1177/001316447003000308
Activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30(3), 607-610.
Maheswary, M., Harmandeep, H., Surbhi, S., Goldy, G., Komal, K., Khan, K., Shikha, S.,
Mamta, M., Pooja, P., & Raveena, R. (2021). A Descriptive Study to Assess the Knowledge regarding essential newborn care among the nursing students of selected colleges in Jalandhar, Punjab, with a view to developing an Instructional Module 2019-2020. International Journal of Advances in Nursing Management, 235-237. https://doi.org/10.52711/2454-2652.2021.00053
MoES. (2022). Health Training Institutions in Uganda. https://www.education.go.ug/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/HEALTH-TRAINING-INSTITUTIONS.docx-EDITED.pdf
Nampijja, D., Kyoyagala, S., Najjingo, E., Najjuma, J. N., Byamukama, O., Kyasiimire, L., Kumbakumba, E., & Kabakyenga, J. (2023). Newborn care knowledge and practices among caregivers of newborn babies attending a regional referral hospital in Southwestern Uganda. medRxiv, 2023.2009. 2028.23296303.
Office, W.-W., Sobel, H., Murray, J., & Silvestre, M. (2018). Early Essential Newborn Care
Clinical practice pocket guide WHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Early essential newborn care: Clinical practice pocket guide.
Prentice, S., Nassanga, B., Webb, E. L., Akello, F., Kiwudhu, F., Akurut, H., Elliott, A. M., Arts, R. J., Netea, M. G., & Dockrell, H. M. (2021). BCG-induced non-specific effects on heterologous infectious disease in Ugandan neonates: an investigator-blind randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 21(7), 993-1003. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30653-8
Sintayehu, Y., Desalew, A., Geda, B., Shiferaw, K., Tiruye, G., Mulatu, T., & Mezmur, H. (2020). Knowledge of basic neonatal resuscitation and associated factors among midwives and nurses in public health institutions in eastern Ethiopia. International Journal of General Medicine, 225-233. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S255892
UNICEF. Child Mortality Estimates. Secondary Child Mortality Estimates 2015. http://www.childmortality.org/index.php?r=site/index.
United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), Report 2023
WHO. (2022a). Newborn mortality. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/levels-and-trends-in-child-mortality-report-2021
WHO. (2022b). Newborn Mortality. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/levels-and-trends-in-child-mortality-report-2021
WH.Organization. Essential newborn care: report of a technical working group. 2000.
W.H.O, Standards for improving the quality of care for small and sick newborns in health facilities. 2020.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Joshua Anguyo, Emmanuel Madira
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in any of our journals retain the copyright to their work but agree to grant Burundi Publishing the right of first publication. All articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This promotes transparency and fosters wide dissemination of the research.
