Repercussions of the COVID-19 Response in Pregnant Women in Western Uganda: Knowledge, Behavior, and Emotional State after the First Lockdown in 2020

Stefanie Theuring, Agnes Kengonzi, Lorena Hafermann, Carolin Herrmann, Steven Ndugwa Kabwama and John Rubaihayo
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Stefanie Theuring: Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, 13353 Berlin, Germany
Agnes Kengonzi: School of Health Sciences, Mountains of the Moon University, Fort Portal P.O. Box 837, Uganda
Lorena Hafermann: Institute of Biometry and Clinical Epidemiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Carolin Herrmann: Institute of Biometry and Clinical Epidemiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Steven Ndugwa Kabwama: School of Public Health, Makerere University, Kampala 7062, Uganda
John Rubaihayo: School of Health Sciences, Mountains of the Moon University, Fort Portal P.O. Box 837, Uganda

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 15, 1-13

Abstract: Limited research exists on pregnant women’s knowledge, attitudes, and behavior concerning COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa. We performed a cross-sectional study among 648 pregnant women in Fort Portal, Uganda, after the first lockdown starting in June 2020. Structured interviews were conducted at three different facilities during routine antenatal care, assessing sociodemographic background, knowledge of COVID-19, prevention behavior adherence, and psycho-emotional stress levels. We performed descriptive analyses and examined associated factors using multivariable logistic regression. In Fort Portal Region, 32.8% of pregnant women had a higher knowledge regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, while all women at least heard of COVID-19. 88.6% of the women showed low self-reported prevention behavior adherence. More than one third of the pregnant women experienced high psycho-emotional stress related to the pandemic (39.8%). The odds for psycho-emotional stress were increased among the age group 21–30 years (AOR 1.97; 95% CI 1.18–3.35) compared to women under the age of 21, and decreased in single or divorced women compared to women in partnerships (AOR 0.42; 0.22–0.77) and in women having less COVID-19-related knowledge (AOR 0.40; 0.27–0.58). In conclusion, prevention behavior adherence seemed challenging, and psycho-emotional stress was ubiquitous among our cohort. To avoid adverse consequences in maternal and neonatal health, campaigns for hygiene but also women’s emotional state should be a major focus of community healthcare in exceptional times such as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Keywords: Uganda; COVID-19; KAP study; knowledge; prevention behavior; emotional stress; pregnant women (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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