The Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Regarding Deep Vein Thrombosis Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women: The Mediating Effect of Attitude.
Mei Xu, Longfeng Fang, Yaguai Wu and 1 others
PMID 41236147WHAT IT FOUND
Pregnant and postpartum women knew little about DVT, especially fertility treatment and heparin prevention, yet most accepted prescribed drugs.
Nurses should teach these gaps and address drug fears, not assume information alone changes practice.
Key findings
01Pregnant and postpartum women had mean DVT knowledge scores of 4.19 out of 11, attitude scores of 36.38 out of 50, and practice scores of 26.68 out of 35.
02Key knowledge gaps were seen for IVF-related DVT risk (16.42% correct), low-molecular-weight heparin prevention during pregnancy (26.11% correct), and pregnancy-related hypercoagulability or venous stasis (49.10% correct).
03The model linked higher knowledge to more positive attitude and practice, linked attitude to practice, and linked knowledge to practice partly through attitude.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Single centre in Xiamen, China, with convenience sampling, so the women may not represent other pregnant or postpartum populations. All measures were self-reported questionnaires, so answers may reflect what participants thought was correct rather than actual behaviour. The questionnaire was self-developed and not standardised, so some important DVT knowledge or practice items may have been missed. The cross-sectional design measured knowledge, attitude and practice at one time, so it cannot show that knowledge or attitude caused safer practice. This was a survey, not an intervention study, so it cannot show that nurse-led teaching would improve DVT prevention.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. No funding source or sponsor is reported in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the mediation finding as proof that teaching women about DVT will change their behaviour. The study measured self-reported knowledge, attitude and practice at one time, so it cannot show that changing attitude causes safer practice.