| Description |
The purpose of this study was to evaluate and measure the knowledge, judgment, confidence, antepartal information, intrapartal information, and postpartal information obtained by expectant couples though enrollment in hospital prenatal classes. Preparation for Childbirth and Parenting (PCP) classes, given by tow Salt Lake City hospital, was investigated utilizing a pretest-posttest single group design. The sample consisted of 182 subjects, 91 expectant women and their respective partners, who were enrolled in prenatal classes. A total of six individual PCP series, two from one hospital and four from the other, were studied. Data collection continued from June 1, 1978, to July 20, 1978. Two test forms, one for husbands and another for wives, were developed to evaluate the parameters included in this investigation. The same basic tools (questions 1-37) were used for pretesting and posttesting. The husband's and wife's test forms were virtually identical with some slight modification dictated by their individual roles in the child-bearing process. Participants were given a pretest at the beginning of the first prenatal class and a posttest at the end of the last class. The husband's and wife's pre/post test forms contained 37 multiple choice, matching, completion, and short answer questions. The information covered on the pre/post test forms was divided under two separate classification systems of three parameters each. The combination of these yielded six areas which were employed in data analyses: (1) knowledge, (2) judgment, (3) confidence, (4) antepartal information, (5) intrapartal information, and (6) postpartal information. The scores for each of the six parameters, along with the total test score, were computed on the pretests and posttests. Two-tailed t-tests were done comparing the total score and the six parameter scores for the pretest with the posttest. The scores on the posttest were significantly higher, in each of the seven areas measured, beyond the .001 level. The mean raw scores, for each of the seven areas, were also converted to percentiles based on the total points possible in each category. This allowed for a percentile comparison of the pretest with the posttest for all seven score parameters, and for computations of the percentages gained in all areas between the two administrations of the tests. The mean total score was 35% on the pretest and 67% on the posttest, with a gain of 32% between the two measurements. In the first classification systems, the greatest gain was in the confidence score, with a net increase of 42%, which was followed by a 23% increase in the judgment score, and a 15% rise in the knowledge score. Under the second system, the greatest gain was in intrapartum (43%), followed by postpartum (23%), and, lastly, antepartum (17%). Finally, the study compared the performance of wives to husbands with regard to: (1) the pretest scores, and (2) the posttest scores. Two-tailed t-tests on all seven score parameters were included. On the pretest, wives scored significantly higher in knowledge, judgment, and antepartal in information (p < .05). No significant differences existed for the remaining four parameters of the pretest. For the posttest, wives scored significantly higher than husbands only on the knowledge section. Husbands, on the other had, preformed significantly higher than wives in two areas, confidence and intrapartal information. Four areas remained in which no differences existed. These test results suggest that, although husbands began PCP classes knowing less than their wives, they actually gained more during the series with regard to the individual score categories measured.. |
