The Effect of Premarital Counseling on Grooms’ Preconception Health Knowledge and Attitudes

Abstract

The preconception preparation improved the health outcome and quality of the offspring. The early premarital education was giving grooms’ changes in health behavior domains such as knowledge and attitudes. This study aimed to prove the effect of premarital counseling on preconception health knowledge and attitudes among prospective grooms in Padang City. Methods: The quasi-experimental pretestand posttest with a control group design were used. The technique of purposive sampling was used, and the respondents used were 100. The questionnaires, which had validity and reliability, were used in collecting data. Bivariate analysis applied the Mann-Whitney test on SPSS program. Results: The premarital counseling influenced preconception health knowledge in the intervention group than control group (pretest p = 0.79; posttest p = 0.00). The mean knowledge gain score in the intervention group was higher than the control group (intervention=12.10±15.34; control= 0.60±7.23). The premarital counseling did not affect preconception health attitudes (pretest p=0.93; posttest p=0.47). Conclusion: Premarital counseling proved to improve the pre-conception health knowledge of prospective grooms, but it was not proved to increase their preconception health attitudes. Keywords: Premarital Counseling, Knowledge, Attitudes, Groom’s Preconception Health