The Impact of Development in Nursing Practice on Prenatal Care for Newly Pregnant Women under the Udonthani Model Classifying Pregnancy 2022 Standards,Kut Chap District, Udon Thani Province

Abstract

This action research seeks to investigate the influence of nursing practice advancements on prenatal care for newly pregnant women following the Udonthani Model's Pregnancy Classification Standards for 2022 in antenatal care services at Kut Chap District Health Coordinating Committee, Udonthani Province. Data collection is scheduled to take place between September and November 2023. The sample comprises two groups: 1) 15 professional nurses offering antenatal services and 2) 32 pregnant women seeking their first prenatal care during the study period.

            The research tools encompass the assessment of nursing activities provided to service recipients and a questionnaire that assesses the Knowledge, attitude, social support, and behavior before and after offering services to newly pregnant women at the antenatal clinic. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, which involved frequency distribution, percentage, minimum and maximum values, mean, standard deviation. The inferential statistics for comparing mean scores. Knowledge and skills before and after development were assessed using a Paired t-test. The data reliability was evaluated using Alpha Cronbach's Coefficient which a value at 0.86.

            The research findings revealed that, following the implementation of nursing practice activities, the average scores for knowledge, attitude, social support, and self-care behavior of pregnant women significantly increased compared to before the activities. These improvements were statistically significant at the 0.05 level. In terms of specific nursing practice activities in antenatal care, some were not performed as frequently. Notably, the following activities had lower completion rates: clarifying guidelines for caring for pregnant women according to risk categories at 46.77%, notification of home visit plans during pregnancy at 40.0%, assessment and recording of breast and nipple examinations at 33.44%, recommendation of antenatal care procedures and services at 13.44%, and notification of postpartum home visit plans at 6.44%.

The findings from this study emphasize the importance of promoting, monitoring, and evaluating nursing practice guidelines for antenatal care for newly pregnant women, following the Udonthani Model's Pregnancy Classification Standards for 2022. It is recommended that a range of diverse and ongoing strategies be employed to facilitate development in this regard. These strategies can be adapted and implemented in various healthcare contexts and institutions, including hospitals.