Unang yakap program: knowledge, attitudes, and practices among rural health workers in the Province of Guimaras.

Background: A major cause of infant and maternal mortality in the country has been observed to be due to inadequacies in childbirth and newborn care services. In response, the Department of Health (DOH) launched the Unang Yakap Program (Essential Newborn Care Protocol) in 2009. An evaluation of knowledge, attitude and practices of rural health workers on the Unang Yakap Program was done, four years after its national implementation.

Objective: To determine the knowledge, attitude and practices of rural health unit physicians, nurses and midwives in the Province of Guimaras on the Unang Yakap Program of the DOH.

Methods: This is descriptive, correlational study using a 45-item questionnaire to quantify knowledge, attitude and practices administered between June-October 2013. Significant differences between the level of knowledge, attitude and practices and the demographic profile of the participants were determined using Mann-Witney U test for independent samples and Kruskal-Wallis test while Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to determine significant relationships between the levels of knowledge, attitude and practices of the participants.

Results: The participants had adequate knowledge, moderately favorable attitude, and very satisfactory practices on the Unang Yakap Program. Levels of knowledge, attitude and practices generally showed no significant differences across most demographic variables, except in the number of years of service, which significantly varied in their levels of attitude. The level of practices did not show significant relationship with the level of knowledge. Important gaps of knowledge, attitude and practices were identified, which can be used as basis for future interventions.

Conclusion: The rural health workers in Guimaras had adequate level of  knowledge, moderately favorable  attitude and satisfactory practices on the Unang Yakap Program.

Keywords: Rural health workers, Unang Yakap Program, Essential Newborn Care Protocol, Maternal Health Care.