The Effect of Instructional Guidelines on Pregnant Women’s Perception Regarding Urinary Tract Infection

Background: Urinary tract diseases (UTIs) are the foremost predominant diseases in pregnancy, counting for about 20% of all pregnancies. Moreover, they are responsible for 10% of all hospitalizations during pregnancy. Aim: The study aimed to evaluate effect of instructional guidelines on pregnant women’s perception regarding urinary tract infection. Design: A quasi-experimental research design was used at this study. Setting: The study was conducted in Obstetric and Gynecological clinic in El Hussein Hospital Al-azar University. Sample: A purposive sample of ninety-six pregnant women with urinary tract infection. Tools: The study utilized two assessment tools: a Structured Interviewing Questionnaire and Likert scale of women attitudes for pregnant women regarding urinary tract infection (UTI). Results: The findings of the study indicated that prior to the application of instructional guidelines, more than two-thirds of the pregnant women had an unsatisfactory level of knowledge about UTI. However, after the application of the guidelines, more than three-thirds of them demonstrated satisfactory knowledge. Similarly, nearly three-quarters of the participants held a negative attitude towards UTI before the guidelines, whereas after the guideline's application, more than three-thirds of them displayed a positive attitude. Conclusion: Based on these results, it can be concluded that the instructional guidelines effectively improved both the knowledge and attitude of the pregnant women towards UTI, thereby supporting the research hypothesis. Recommendations: The study recommends the implementation of routine screening for UTIs in all pregnant women during each trimester of pregnancy, including bacteriuria examination and urine culture, to ensure early diagnosis and appropriate treatment