The Factors Affecting the Level of Women’s Awareness of Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness in the Lake Zone, Tanzania: A Cross-sectional Study

The concept of birth preparedness and complication readiness (BP/CR) has continuedto generate interest in the last decade. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of published data regardingthis subject in Tanzania and the Lake Zone in particular. This study aimed to determine the factorsaffecting the level of awareness of BP/CR among Tanzanian women in the Lake Zone. Between May and June 2016, a cross-sectional study on 737 postnatal or pregnant womenwas conducted in the Lake Zone Tanzania. A systematic random sampling technique was employedto select the study participants. A structured questionnaire adopted from the Johns Hopkins Programfor International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics (JHPIEGO) questionnaire was used tocollect the data. Data analysis was carried out through SPSS (v.21) using statistical tests includingdescriptive Statistics, Chi-square tests and Multivariate logistic regression. A significance level of 5%was considered. The odds of the occurrence of events were assessed using Odds Ratios (OR) at a 95%confidence interval (CI). The majority of women were multigravida (512=69.5%) with up to three living children(409=80%). Awareness of danger signs and BP/CR was low at 40% and 35%, respectively. Predictorsof the level of awareness on BP/CR were multi-gravidity (P=0.04), awareness of at least three dangersigns (p