Factors Influencing Syphilis Infection in Pregnant Women
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Abstract
This case-control study aimed to determine predictive powers of age, substance abuse, number of sexual partners, knowledge about syphilis, social support, depressive symptoms, and intimate partner violence on syphilis infection in pregnant women. The sample consisted of 196 pregnant women who received antenatal care at hospitals in Bangkok districts and divided into the case group (n = 50) with syphilis infection and the control group (n = 146) without syphilis infection. Data were collected by using: 1) the Personal Data Questionnaire, 2) the Knowledge about Syphilis Questionnaire, 3) the Medical Outcomes Study: Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS), 4) the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), and 5) the Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS). The reliabilities of the second-fifth questionnaire were .78, .94, .92, and .82, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and multiple logistic regression analysis.
The findings revealed that age, substance abuse, number of sexual partners, knowledge about syphilis, social support, depressive symptoms, and intimate partner violence could significantly predict 50.50% (R2 = .505) of syphilis infection in pregnant women. The findings of this study suggested that midwives should assess risk factors among pregnant women aged 18 - 24 years who had multiple sexual partners, used substances, or were abused by intimate partners to reduce adverse outcomes from syphilis infection during pregnancy.
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