Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 330-335 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Women and Birth |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Aug 2016 |
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The attitudes of healthcare professionals towards women using illicit substances in pregnancy: A cross-sectional study. / Fonti, Siobhan; DAVIS, Deborah; FERGUSON, Sally.
In: Women and Birth, Vol. 29, No. 4, 01.08.2016, p. 330-335.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - The attitudes of healthcare professionals towards women using illicit substances in pregnancy: A cross-sectional study
AU - Fonti, Siobhan
AU - DAVIS, Deborah
AU - FERGUSON, Sally
PY - 2016/8/1
Y1 - 2016/8/1
N2 - Aim To assess the attitudes of healthcare professionals towards women who use substances in the maternity setting. Background Illicit drug use in pregnancy leads to poor maternal and neonatal outcomes. Early access to antenatal care has been shown to improve outcomes however women who use substances in pregnancy have statistically low attendance rates to appointments. Fear of stigma from healthcare professionals is a commonly stated reason for not accessing maternity health services or not disclosing substance use to care givers, however little research has been conducted which assesses stigma from a healthcare perspective. Methods A cross-sectional quantitative research design was implemented using a previously validated attitudinal survey tool to assess the attitudes of healthcare practitioners and final year midwifery students. Ethics approval was sought and granted by the relevant institutions. A total of 147 completed questionnaires were returned. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and parametric testing was undertaken. Results Participants had largely positive or neutral attitudes towards women who use substances in pregnancy. Most participants agreed or strongly agreed that the care they provide to can make a real difference to outcomes. Midwifery students had significantly lower mean attitude scores, showing more positive attitudes, than any other group tested. Conclusion This research provides useful insight into the attitudes of healthcare professionals. While larger scale research is needed, the positive findings of this study may work towards reducing fear of stigma as a barrier to care for women.
AB - Aim To assess the attitudes of healthcare professionals towards women who use substances in the maternity setting. Background Illicit drug use in pregnancy leads to poor maternal and neonatal outcomes. Early access to antenatal care has been shown to improve outcomes however women who use substances in pregnancy have statistically low attendance rates to appointments. Fear of stigma from healthcare professionals is a commonly stated reason for not accessing maternity health services or not disclosing substance use to care givers, however little research has been conducted which assesses stigma from a healthcare perspective. Methods A cross-sectional quantitative research design was implemented using a previously validated attitudinal survey tool to assess the attitudes of healthcare practitioners and final year midwifery students. Ethics approval was sought and granted by the relevant institutions. A total of 147 completed questionnaires were returned. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and parametric testing was undertaken. Results Participants had largely positive or neutral attitudes towards women who use substances in pregnancy. Most participants agreed or strongly agreed that the care they provide to can make a real difference to outcomes. Midwifery students had significantly lower mean attitude scores, showing more positive attitudes, than any other group tested. Conclusion This research provides useful insight into the attitudes of healthcare professionals. While larger scale research is needed, the positive findings of this study may work towards reducing fear of stigma as a barrier to care for women.
KW - Healthcare practitioners attitudes
KW - Illicit drugs
KW - Pregnancy
KW - Stigma
KW - Substance use
KW - Attitude of Health Personnel
KW - Cross-Sectional Studies
KW - Prenatal Care/organization & administration
KW - Humans
KW - Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology
KW - Pregnancy Complications/epidemiology
KW - Health Personnel/statistics & numerical data
KW - Adult
KW - Female
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
KW - Social Stigma
KW - Australia
UR - http://www.mendeley.com/research/attitudes-healthcare-professionals-towards-women-using-illicit-substances-pregnancy-crosssectional-s
U2 - 10.1016/j.wombi.2016.01.001
DO - 10.1016/j.wombi.2016.01.001
M3 - Article
VL - 29
SP - 330
EP - 335
JO - Australian journal of midwifery : professional journal of the Australian College of Midwives Incorporated
JF - Australian journal of midwifery : professional journal of the Australian College of Midwives Incorporated
SN - 1871-5192
IS - 4
ER -