Preconception Care in Sub Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis on Prevalence and Its Correlation With Knowledge Level Among Women in Reproductive Age Group

Abstract

\n BackgroundThe aim of the preconception care (PCC) is to promote the health of women in the reproductive age before the conception in order to reduce preventable poor pregnancy outcomes. Although there are several published primary studies from Sub Saharan African (SSA) countries on PCC, they do not quantify the extent of PCC Utilisation, Knowledge level about PCC and the association between them among women in the reproductive age group in this region. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled utilisation of PCC, Pooled knowledge level about PCC and their association among women in the reproductive age group in Sub Saharan Africa.MethodsDatabases including PubMed, Science Direct, Hinari, Google Scholar and Cochrane library were systematically searched for literature. Additionally, the references of appended articles were checked for further possible sources. The Cochrane Q test statistics and I2 tests were used to assess the heterogeneity of the included studies. A random-effect meta-analysis model was used to estimate pooled the prevalence of PCC, knowledge level of PCC and their correlation among reproductive aged women in Sub-Saharan African countries.ResultsOf the identified 1593 articles, 20 studies were included in the final analysis. The pooled utilisation of PCC and good knowledge level towards PCC among women of reproductive age group in Sub Saharan Africa were found to be 24.05% (95% CI: 16.61, 31.49) and 33.27% (95% CI: 24.78, 41.77), respectively. Women in the reproductive age group with good knowledge level were two times more likely to utilize the PCC than the women with poor knowledge level in Sub Saharan Africa (OR: 2.35, 95% CI: 1.16, 4.76). Conclusion\ufeffIn SSA Countries, the utilisation of PCC and knowledge towards PCC were low. Additionally, the current meta-analysis found good knowledge level to be significantly associated with utilisation of PCC among women in the reproductive age. These findings indicate that, it is imperative to launch programs to uplift knowledge level about PCC utilisation among women in reproductive age group in SSA countries.