Knowledge and practices of health workers on the prevention of anemia in pregnancy in Burkina Faso

Introduction: Anemia in pregnancy remains a major public health problem in low-income countries. The quality of human resources is essential for effective interventions. The objective of this study was to assess knowledge and practices of health professionals and community health workers on the prevention of anemia in pregnancy in Burkina Faso. Methods: It is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Data was gathered using a structured questionnaire for health professionals and community health workers in the Cascades region. Results: A total of 124 health professionals and 77 community health workers were enrolled. Knowledge of health professionals on the prevention of anemia in pregnancy was "sufficient" in 25% of cases and that of community health workers was "acceptable" in 33.8% of cases. Neither the number nor the variety of in-training topics and information received were associated with the knowledge level of the agents on the prevention of anemia. Hospital health professionals (AOR = 6.7, 95% CI: 1.3-34.5) and those trained in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (AOR = 3.0, 95% CI) 1.0-8.0) as well as community health workers who were in school (OR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.3-4.0) had the highest levels of knowledge. But, skilled health professionals (midwives) were rather concentrated in hospitals and not in peripheral health centers that were supposed to promote essential measures to prevent anemia in pregnancy. Conclusion: The prevention of anemia in pregnancy remains a challenge in Burkina Faso, partially because of the low level of knowledge and practices in peripheral health centers and in the community. Improving the knowledge and practices of peripheral healthcare providers through better in-training curricula could help reduce anemia in pregnancy prevalence.