Awareness and Knowledge About Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Among Antenatal Women

• Main Authors: Sangeetha Thomas, Ruopfuvinuo Pienyu, Santhosh Kareepadath Rajan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: PsychOpen 2020-05-01
• Series: Psychology, Community & Health
• Subjects: gestational diabetes mellitus; awareness; knowledge; sources of knowledge; antenatal women
• Online Access: https://pch.psychopen.eu/index.php/pch/article/view/287

[Aim] The study examined the awareness and knowledge about gestational-diabetes-mellitus (GDM) among antenatal-women and found its influential factors through three phases. [Method] The sample for phase I was 523 antenatal women. In phases II and III, 33 participants who were identified to be aware of GDM from Phase I were included. Measures used were Gestational-Diabetes-Knowledge-Questionnaire (GDKQ) and an open-ended questionnaire. [Results] Age and “number of Pregnancies to date” significantly predicted awareness. Kruskal-Wallis H test indicated that antenatal-women differed in their ‘knowledge' across the trimesters. Mann-Whitney U showed a difference in ‘knowledge' among participants, ‘with' and ‘without' a history of diabetes. Electronic and print-media were identified to be the significant sources of knowledge. [Conclusion] The study highlights the importance of implementing methods that enhance the awareness and knowledge of GDM among the antenatal women.