title: A radio-education intervention to improve maternal knowledge of obstetric danger signs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether a radio-education intervention (REI) is associated with improved maternal knowledge of pregnancy danger signs (PDS) in Nicaragua.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional pilot study used pretests and posttests to evaluate whether an REI was associated with improved knowledge of PDS among 77 pregnant and postpartum women in Nicaragua.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total number of PDS identified by study participants increased from 130 before the intervention to 200 after the intervention, an increase of 53.8% (Wilcoxon signed-rank test (z) = -4.18; P < 0.00001). The three PDS for which participant knowledge increased significantly after the intervention were 1) swelling of the face and hands, 2) convulsions, and 3) vaginal bleeding. Participants who 1) reported having a sister who had experienced a pregnancy complication, 2) lived in an urban setting, and 3) had more than a sixth-grade education were significantly more likely to score higher on posttests related to knowledge of PDS than those without those attributes (90.9% versus 56.9% [Χ² (degrees of freedom) = 4.60 (1); P = 0.043; n = 76]; 75% versus 45.9% [Χ² = 6.8 (1); P = 0.009; n = 77]; and 62.5% (12+ years education) versus 79.3% (6-12 years) versus 50.0% (0-6 years education) versus 25.0% (no education) [Χ² = 8.11 (1); P = 0.044; n = 77] respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Exposure to the REI was associated with a significant increase in the ability to identify PDS. Further studies should establish whether this increase in knowledge of PDS is associated with increases in use of maternity care services and decreases in delays in seeking care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America, kari.radoff@bmc.org.
authors.forename: Kari A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Radoff
authors.forename: Amy J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Levi
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D011845:Radio; D055815:Young Adult