Factors affecting knowledge and practice of hypertension and medication use in hypertensive pregnant women / Fedora Anand Shah, Nurul Ashikin Jamludin and Akmal Hisyam Arshad

Hypertension in pregnant women is one of the public health concerns globally and its management requires a consideration of benefits outweighing the risk of treatment. Patients’ knowledge and practices regards to the disease and medication is crucial in ensuring the reduction in morbidity and mortality rate in the mother and foetus. This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge and practice of hypertension and its management, the medication use and factors associated with a good level of knowledge and practice in pregnant women with hypertension. This study was a cross-sectional, observational study, using a selfadministered questionnaire, involving a total of 70 pregnant women who were attending antenatal checkup in Hospital Al-Sultan Abdullah (HASA), UiTM Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. Majority of the participants had poor knowledge regarding hypertension during pregnancy (55.71%) but adopted good practice (74.29%) on the disease management. Majority of participants showed a good level of knowledge (68.6%) and practice (82.86%) on the medication use during pregnancy. Pharmacists were the major (35.7%) source of information in seeking information on the medication followed by doctors and online resources. Factors such as higher age, higher education, and having more children are linked to a high level of knowledge on medication use. Good practices in medication use are associated with high education, employment, and having one to three children. Factors related to good knowledge of the disease and its management include being over 30 years old and living in an urban area. In contrast, paticipants who is over 30 years old is associated with good practices in disease management. It is evident that most participants exhibited good knowledge and practice regarding medication use during pregnancy, despite significant knowledge gaps related to hypertension. This research may project a refine guideline for a comprehensive and targeted patient education aiming good maternal health outcomes.