Knowledge and Attitude of Staff Nurses about Post Abortion Care Services.

Objective: To study the knowledge and attitude of staff nurses about Post abortion care in
Obstetrics and Gynecology department at Assiut University Hospital. Background: Abortion
have great contribution to the women's morbidity, abortion nurses are responsible for providing
complex physical and psychological care to abortion patients. They require comprehensive and
specialized knowledge regarding anatomy and physiology, abortifacient and analgesic
pharmacology, surgical procedures, and psychological care processes. However, even though
women seeking abortions are certainly entitled to high quality, multifaceted nursing care, A lot of
women face multiple barriers that prevent them from accessing abortion services or encountering
an abortion nurse at all or finding nurses having good awareness about the proper Post Aborting
Care (PAC) services. Material and Methods: A structured questionnaire used to evaluate the
knowledge and attitude of nurses toward PAC services. The data collected in six months by
distributing questionnaire among staff nurses working in Obstetrics and Gynecology department
at Assiut University Hospital. Descriptive statistics were used to present and correlate attitude
statements and some demographic variables. Results: One hundred and ten completed the
questionnaire out of 200. All were female nurses. Their knowledge regarding abortion were
categorized into three levels; basic, junior and senior according to training. Their knowledge
about abortion were similar. The overall findings indicated that the nurses attitudes regarding
abortion, agreed that the male responsible for the pregnancy should be involved in the decision,
favored governmental regulation of abortions, and supported that abortion is indicated in
situations when the female's health was at risk or if the female had been raped. Some of the
findings are similar to other studies, particularly those that have involved a sample comprised of
nursing students. This study is different from existing studies as it is the first that studied
baccalaureate nursing students, it includes a predominately female sample, and it encompasses a
larger age span in its sample Conclusion: Nurses have major role towards improving women‘s
access to safe abortion care and eradicating unsafe abortion. Nursing care, a fundamental
component of post- abortion care services, has been shown to affect the safety and accessibility of
women's health following abortion.