Effect of Structured Teaching Programme on Knowledge regarding Preconception Care among Reproductive women under Mukalmua Block PHC, Nalbari district, Assam

Background: Preconception care is a set of interventions that aim to identify and modify biomedical, behavioral, and social risks to a woman’s health or pregnancy outcome through prevention and management. The main goal of preconception care is to provide health promotion, screening and interventions for women of reproductive age to reduce the risk factor that might affect future pregnancies. Methodology: The research approach used for the study was quantitative evaluative research approach. The conceptual framework for the study was based on ‘General Systems Theory’ developed by Ludwig von Bertalanffy and modified by JW Kenny. A pre-experimental one-group pre-test post-test research design was used to evaluate the knowledge regarding preconception care among reproductive women. Multistage random sampling technique was used to select 60 reproductive women. Structured interview schedule was used to evaluate the knowledge regarding preconception care among reproductive women. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the study data. Result: Findings revealed that out of 60 reproductive women; in the pre-test, majority 39(65%) of the participants had moderately adequate knowledge; 16(26.7%) of the participants had inadequate knowledge and only 5(8.3%) of the participants had adequate knowledge whereas in post-test, majority 53(88.3%) of the participants had adequate knowledge, only 7 (11.7%) had moderately adequate knowledge and none of them had inadequate knowledge regarding preconception care. The mean posttest knowledge scores 18.40 was significantly higher than the mean pre-test knowledge score 8.37 with mean difference 10.03 and 't' value 26.69 for df 59 at p< 0.05 level of significance. Socio-demographic variables such as educational status and use of contraceptive methods were found to be statistically significant at p<0.05 with pre-test level of knowledge regarding preconception care among reproductive women.