Antenatal group education for pregnant asylum seeker in the netherlands

Pregnant asylum seekers face increased risks of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. Group antenatal education may improve access and engagement. We aimed to assess the preliminary impact of implementing antenatal group education sessions for pregnant asylum seekers, focusing on their effects on health literacy and satisfaction with care.

We conducted a prospective quasi- experimental cohortstudy with pregnant asylum seekers older than 18 years. Participants followed two sessions of group interactive care education next to regular care, while the comparison group received standard obstetric care. Knowledge on perinatal issues, the Dutch healthcare system, and satisfaction of care were tested before and after participating in the sessions. The implementation was assessed following the RE-AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance).

Participation in the antenatal group education sessions was associated with an increase in knowledge scores within the intervention group. However, no significant difference was found relative to the comparison group. Satisfaction with care also did not differ significantly between groups. Reach and Adoption showed good results, while Implementation was hampered by the frequent relocations.

A relatively small sample size and high loss to follow-up because of frequent relocations have influenced the results of this study.