Knowledge and Perceived Threat of Zika Virus Disease among Pregnant Women

Abstract

This descriptive research aimed to 1) study the level of knowledge, perceived threat of Zika virus disease among pregnant women, and 2) study the relationship between knowledge and perceived threat of Zika virus disease in pregnant women.  Sample was 108 pregnant women who attended the antenatal care department, Trang Hospital during March - May 2019. The research tool was a questionnaire consisting of 4 parts: 1) general information, 2) knowledge of Zika virus disease 3) perceived severity of Zika virus disease, and 4) perceived susceptibility of Zika virus disease. The questionnaire was checked for content validity by a panel of experts. The validity index (CVI) was 0.93. Its reliability was tested using KR-20 in the part of knowledge, and Cronbach's alpha coefficient in the part of perceived threat yielding   values of .64 and .74, respectively. Data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and Pearson's Product Moment Correlation. The study found that

1. The majority of the sample (94.4%) had knowledge about Zika virus disease at a low to moderate level. When classified by item, it was found that the top three most wrong answers were 1) Zika virus disease can be transmitted from mother to fetus (10.70%), 2) Most patients with Zika virus disease have severe symptoms that may lead to death (20.20%), and 3) exposure to blood and secretions such as saliva and nasal mucus of patients with Zika virus disease can cause the disease (23.80%).

2. Perceived threat of Zika virus disease, namely perceived severity and perceived susceptibility were at a high level (M=4.13, SD=.569 and M=3.53, SD=.529 respectively).

3. Knowledge of Zika virus disease did not correlate with perceived severity (r=0.005, p>.05), and perceived susceptibility of Zika virus disease (r=-0.034, p>.05).

The findings from this study can be further used to provide knowledge, and promote perceived threat among pregnant women.