A COMPARATIVE STUDY TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STRUCTURED TEACHING PROGRAMME ON EARLY IDENTIFICATION AND MANAGEMENT OF HIGH-RISK PREGNANCY AMONG WOMEN AT SELECTED RURAL AND URBAN COMMUNITY VISAKHAPATNAM DISTRICT, VISAKHAPATNAM

Nurses are in a unique position to educate and empower women, through the phases of childbirth, for them to achieve a healthy pregnancy with the optimum outcome of a healthy baby. Despite various measures taken to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity, it remains very high in India. Knowledge and awareness about risks associated with pregnancy among women can help them to seek maternal care services and reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured teaching program on knowledge regarding high-risk pregnancy among women in urban and rural communities. Pre-experimental approach was used to achieve the objectives of the study. Samples of 60 patients were selected using a random sampling technique.The data was collected using an interview schedule. Chi-square revealed a non significant association (P<0.05) between knowledge and selected variables. The study revealed that none of the rural women had adequate knowledge of high risk pregnancy when compared with urban women, but after the posttest, a significant increase in knowledge level was found.