Training in preconception care focused on primary health care providers: Effects on preconception care knowledge and provision

Objective: To assess the effect of a rapid training intervention on the knowledge of health providers and the provision of preconception care in primary health care services. Methods: Randomized community trial in eight primary health care facilities (four were randomly allocated to the intervention group and four to the control group) in 2020 in Brazil. The intervention consisted of rapid training in preconception health for all health providers in the intervention group. Health providers who had medicine and nursing backgrounds answered structured questionnaires about their knowledge and practices of preconception health-related topics, and reproductive-age women attending the services completed a questionnaire about their experience with preconception care in pre- and postintervention (three months after the intervention) periods. Findings: The level of knowledge among health providers increased after the intervention, but providing information about preconception care and prescribing folic acid showed no significant change, with the exception of screening for future pregnancy intention. Key conclusions and implications for practice: Although the knowledge of health providers on preconception care is a fundamental requirement for its provision in primary health care settings, rapid training focused on preconception health topics was not sufficient to change their practices, with the exception of pregnancy intention screening, which experienced a slight increase after the training. It appears that additional elements, such as the reorganization of primary health care services to prioritize non-pregnant women, the development and implementation of specific guidelines, along with strategies for the dissemination of preconception care awareness, may also play crucial roles for full preconception care implementation in addition to health providers ' knowledge of such issues.