Lack of knowledge in health professionals: a barrier to providing information to patients?

OBJECTIVE: To assess obstetricians' and midwives' knowledge of routine prenatal screening tests for fetal abnormality and factors associated with such knowledge. DESIGN: Questionnaire assessment of antenatal clinic staff. SETTING: Six hospitals within the United Kingdom (four district general hospitals in London, one district general hospital in Wales, and one teaching hospital in Wales), offering routine prenatal screening tests. SUBJECTS: 29 obstetricians and 97 midwives were invited to participate, of whom 21 and 70 respectively responded to the questionnaire. MAIN MEASURES: Knowledge of prenatal tests, according to 19 item multiple choice questionnaire, reluctance to disclose uncertainty, and clinical experience. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 72% (91/126). In all, 43% of midwives and 14% of obstetricians obtained correct responses on fewer than half the items. Reluctance to disclose uncertainty to patients was associated in obstetricians with having less knowledge about prenatal testing (r = -0.50; p < 0.025, Pearson product moment correlation) and in midwives with more clinical experience (r = 0.43; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Lack of knowledge and greater clinical experience seem to be important barriers to providing patients with information about prenatal screening tests.