Health Professionals' Knowledge and Attitudes About Neonatal Bathing and Factors Affecting Them: A Cross-Sectional...

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Neonatal Care
• Health Professional Education

Background:

• Newborn bathing is a fundamental early care practice.
• Health professionals' knowledge and approach are crucial for educating parents.
• Effective knowledge transfer ensures proper infant care initiation and continuation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the knowledge and attitudes of health professionals concerning newborn bathing.
• To identify factors influencing health professionals' understanding and practices of newborn bathing.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive, cross-sectional study involving 140 neonatology health professionals.
• Data collected via a custom-designed "Knowledge and Attitudes Form on Newborn Bathing" (21 items).
• Statistical analyses performed, with significance set at p < 0.05 and 95% confidence interval.

Main Results:

• 74.3% of health professionals exhibited sufficient knowledge about newborn bathing.
• Significant differences in knowledge adequacy were linked to gender, occupation, education, institution, clinic, and work duration.
• Consensus on first bath practices varied, with wipe/sponge baths (80%) and water-only baths (68.6%) being common recommendations.

Conclusions:

• Health professionals generally possess adequate knowledge for newborn bathing.
• Factors such as demographics and professional background influence knowledge levels.
• Future research should focus on the efficacy of knowledge transfer to parents and parental adherence to bathing guidelines.