Assessment of Self-Reported Practice Regarding Kangaroo Mother Care Among Nurses in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria, there is a high prevalence of preterm and low birth weight infants, with 16% of new-borns being low birth weight and 12% born preterm. This could be as a result of their practice regarding mother care. Hence, this research study assessed self-reported practice regarding kangaroo mother care among nurses in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study specifically investigated nurses' self-reported practices of kangaroo mother care; and determined factors influencing nurses' practice of kangaroo mother care. The research design utilised was a descriptive survey design. The population for this study comprised nurses working at the neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) of the selected health facilities in Lagos State. Convenient sampling technique was used to select the 130 nurses working at the neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) of the selected health facilities. The survey instrument was the Kangaroo Care Questionnaire (KCQ) which was modified and adapted for local language use. The instrument was presented to experts of Tests and Measurement, and Nursing Education to ascertain the face and content validity of the instrument and confirm relevance to the area of research. The number of copies of questionnaire distributed were 130 but 125 were returned giving a response rate of 96.2%. The data collected were analysed using SPSS version 20 via descriptive statistics. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of the respondents 73(58.4%) never practiced KMC, 33(26.4%) reported sometimes practicing KMC and 19(15.2%) indicated they regularly practice KMC. The practice of KMC is limited due to factors such as fear of impending technological aspects of neonatal care, inadequate staffing and facilities and family reluctance to engage in this practice. It was recommended among others that Government, through the Ministry of Health, should address the challenge of inadequate human resources and facilities which impede KMC implementation. Keywords: Nurse, Self-Reported Practice, Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), ...