Advancing Diagnostic Approaches For Urinary Tract Infections In Pregnancy: A Clinical Intervention Study

Abstract

UTIs in pregnancy are a common clinical problem that has significant consequences to maternal renal health and pregnancy outcomes, especially when they are diagnosed late or incorrectly. Although there are established guidelines in the diagnosis, any knowledge gap in the field of diagnosis in pregnant women could result in under-recognition and subsequent delay in clinical involvement. The study aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being, by promoting improved maternal health care outcomes through enhanced education of future healthcare providers The study aimed to assess the baseline diagnostic knowledge of urinary tract infections in pregnant women and assess the efficacy of a structured educational intervention in enhancing this diagnostic knowledge. The study was a pre- post intervention, questionnaire-based study that was carried out on 110 pregnant women who were aged between 24 and 35 years and received antenatal care. A well-established Likert-scale questionnaire was used to evaluate the level of knowledge of the participants regarding symptoms, risk factors, diagnostic strategies, and management techniques at the beginning and end of a systematic learning activity centred around evidence-based diagnostic techniques. The results of pre-intervention showed uneven knowledge levels, specifically in the area of haematuria, diagnostic criteria and urgency to receive treatment. The post-intervention analysis revealed that there were significant improvements in all areas, and the mean knowledge scores increased significantly and theSre were large effect sizes that showed that the intervention had a strong educational impact. The results reveal the importance of patient-centred educational interventions in the form of structured strategies as a form of complementary diagnostic supportive activity in antenatal care.