Healthcare workers knowledge attitudes and practices regarding labor analgesia in Shaanxi Province China

Awareness of labor analgesia among healthcare workers (HCWs) may be suboptimal. To evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of HCWs regarding labor analgesia. This cross-sectional study enrolled HCWs (obstetricians, anesthesiologists, midwives, and nurses) at hospitals in Shaanxi Province (October 2022 to December 2022). The questionnaires designed for the HCWs contained four dimensions (demographic information, knowledge, attitude, and practice). Factors associated with dimension scores were identified by multivariate logistic regression analysis. The analysis included 402 HCWs. The average knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were 7.3 ± 1.1 points (possible range, 0-9 points), 33.0 ± 4.7 points (possible range, 8-40 points), and 11.8 ± 2.7 points (possible range, 3-15 points), respectively, for the HCWs. Specific deficits in knowledge, attitudes, and practices were identified for the HCWs. Factors independently associated with higher knowledge scores and higher attitude scores for HCWs included working as an anesthetist and working in an institution offering labor analgesia (P < 0.05). Attitude scores > 70% of the maximum and working in an institution with a standardized labor analgesia protocol were associated with a higher practice score for HCWs (P < 0.05). These findings may facilitate the design of targeted education/training programs to raise awareness about labor analgesia.