Knowledge and Attitude Towards Preconception Care and Associated Factors Among Health Care Providers in North Wollo Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia, 2020

Abstract Introduction: preconception care is provision of biomedical, behavioral, and social health interventions to reproductive age women and their partners before pregnancy to improve maternal and child health. Its package was developed in 2012. Preconception care not well studied in Ethiopia particularly in the study area. Objective: The aimed to assess the level of knowledge and attitude towards preconception care and associated factors among healthcare providers in North Wollo Zone, 2020. Methods: institution based cross sectional study on 536 health care providers was conducted. Multi stage sampling technique was used. Simple random sampling technique was employed to select the health institutions and study participants. Data were collected; structured, pre tested and self-administered questionnaire. Binary logistic regression used to compute descriptive statistics. P-value < 0.05%, OR with 95% CI used for presence and strength of significant association. Result: This study revealed that 49.1% and 44.2% of health care providers had good knowledge and favorable attitude towards preconception care, respectively. Variables; higher monthly salary [AOR 1.9: 95% CI: 1.1-3.2)], midwifery as profession [AOR: 2.1(95% CI: 1.1-3.7)], library in the institution [AOR: 2.6 (95% CI: 1.2-5.8)], ever heard about preconception care [AOR: 5.6 (95% CI: 3.0 - 10.4)] on knowledge and degree & above educational status [(AOR: 2.1 (95% CI: 1.4-3.1)], good knowledge [AOR: 2.3 (95% CI: 1.3-3.3)] and ever read guideline [AOR: 2.0 (95% CI: 1.2-3.3)] on favorable attitude of preconception care were significantly associated factors respectivelyConclusion and recommendation: nearly half of the participants had poor knowledge and unfavorable attitude on preconception care due to mentioned factors and can be averted by making the institutions to have library, health care providers should to read about preconception care.