Assessing Australian women's knowledge and knowledge preferences about long-term health after hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a survey study

Heike Roth; Caroline S E Homer; Grace LeMarquand; Lynne M Roberts; LIsa Hanley; Mark Brown; Amanda Henry

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042920

Assessing Australian women's knowledge and knowledge preferences about long-term health after hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a survey study

BMJ Open. 2020 Dec 17;10(12):e042920. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042920.

Authors

Heike Roth¹, Caroline S E Homer^{2

3}, Grace LeMarquand⁴, Lynne M Roberts^{4

5}, LIsa Hanley⁶, Mark Brown^{7

8}, Amanda Henry^{2

4

5

9}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia heike.roth@student.uts.edu.au.
² Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
³ Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁵ Women's and Children's Health, Saint George Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁶ Maternity Consumer, Saint George Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁷ Renal Medicine, Saint George Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁸ St George & Sutherland Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁹ The George Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Abstract

Objectives: To (1) assess women's current knowledge regarding long-term cardiovascular health after hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (2) elicit women's preferred educational content and format regarding health after hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Design and setting: A custom-created online survey exploring Australian women's knowledge about long-term health after hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, distributed through consumer groups and social media.

Participants: 266 women with (n=174) or without (n=92) a history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: (1) Proportion of women identifying long-term health risks after hypertensive disorder of pregnancy using a 10-point risk knowledge score with 0-4 'low', 4.1-7.0 'moderate' and 7.1-10 'high'. (2) Exploration of preferred content, format and distribution of educational material post hypertensive disorder of pregnancy.

Results: Knowledge scores about health after hypertensive disorder of pregnancy were moderate in groups with and without a history of the disorder. Knowledge was highest regarding risk of recurrent hypertensive disorders in a subsequent pregnancy, 'moderate' for chronic hypertension and heart attack, 'moderate' and 'low' regarding risk of heart disease and 'low' for diabetes and renal disease. Only 36% of all participants were aware that risks start within 10 years after the affected pregnancy. The majority of respondents with a history of hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (76%) preferred receiving information about long-term health 0-6 months post partum from a healthcare provider (80%), key organisations (60%), social media (47%) and brochures/flyers (43%).

Conclusions: Women's knowledge regarding health risks after hypertensive disorder of pregnancy was 'moderate', although with important disease-specific gaps such as increased risk of diabetes. Most women wanted to be informed about their long-term health from a healthcare provider.

Keywords: hypertension; maternal medicine; primary care.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Australia
Female
Humans
Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced*
Pamphlets
Pregnancy
Surveys and Questionnaires
Women's Health