Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2026

A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
Maternal knowledge and clinically relevant care gaps in preterm infant care in Gaza, Palestine: a cross-sectional
Mohammed Abdeljawad1, Ahmed Najim2,3, Hamza Abdeljawad1
1Faculty of Health Professions, Al-Quds University, Abu Dis, Palestine.
Background:
Mothers of premature infants need practical knowledge to support feeding, thermal care, infection prevention, phototherapy safety and discharge preparation. Evidence on domain-specific maternal knowledge in resource-constrained neonatal settings remains limited. This study assessed maternal knowledge of premature infant care in Gaza and explored clinically relevant item-level knowledge gaps to inform future education priorities.
Methods:
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 170 mothers of premature infants admitted to neonatal departments in four government hospitals in the Gaza Strip. A 30-item interviewer-administered questionnaire assessed knowledge across thermoregulation, feeding, phototherapy, and infection and skin care. Descriptive, bivariate and adjusted regression analyses were conducted, with exploratory item-level analyses used to identify clinically relevant knowledge gaps.
Results:
Overall knowledge was moderate, with a mean score of 64.1% (SD = 22.3), but 53 mothers (31.2%) had poor knowledge. Knowledge differed across domains (p < 0.001), with feeding the weakest domain (53.6%) and infection and skin care the highest by observed percentage score (73.8%). In the parsimonious adjusted model, not receiving specialist premature-care antenatal follow-up was associated with lower odds of higher knowledge (adjusted OR = 0.44, 95% CI 0.20-0.97, p = 0.042). Item-level findings showed clinically relevant gaps in feeding tolerance, nil per os (NPO) management, nasogastric tube (NGT) feeding, phototherapy safety, handling practices and umbilical cord care.
Conclusions:
Although overall maternal knowledge was moderate, this masked clinically important gaps in practical caregiving domains, particularly feeding, phototherapy safety, handling practices and umbilical cord care. Given the cross-sectional design, findings should not be interpreted causally. These findings may inform the development and future evaluation of domain-specific education tools for antenatal counselling, bedside teaching and discharge preparation in similar constrained neonatal settings.
More Related Videos
11:50Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Published on: January 7, 2020
05:04A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect
Published on: September 22, 2023
Related Concept Videos
Development of the Oral Microbiota
Development of Human Microbiota
Parental Care