Skip Navigation


The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access originally published online on December 26, 2007
The European Journal of Public Health 2008 18(3):283-288; doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckm121
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
18/3/283    most recent
ckm121v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kronborg, H.
Right arrow Articles by Harder, I.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kronborg, H.
Right arrow Articles by Harder, I.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Infant, Child and Adolescent Health

Health visitors and breastfeeding support: influence of knowledge and self-efficacy

Hanne Kronborg1, Michael Væth2, Jørn Olsen3,4 and Ingegerd Harder1

1 Department of Nursing Science, Institute of Public Health, University of Aarhus, Denmark
2 Department of Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, University of Aarhus, Denmark
3 Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Public Health, University of Aarhus, Denmark
4 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA

Correspondence: Hanne Kronborg, Institute of Public Health, University of Aarhus, Høegh-Guldbergsgade 6A, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark, tel: +458942 4854, fax: +458942 5500, e-mail: hk{at}nursingscience.au.dk

Received August 2, 2007 , accepted November 15, 2007

Background: Little is known about what influences health visitors’ breastfeeding support. The objective was to describe health visitors’ breastfeeding experiences, beliefs, knowledge and self-efficacy in breastfeeding guidance and determine the impact of a training course on these factors, and how they were reflected in practice. Methods: A randomized intervention study enrolled 52 health visitors in the intervention group and 57 in the comparison group. The intervention group participated in an 18-hour pre-study training course that focused on knowledge about lactation and how to guide the mother to learn the mechanisms of breastfeeding. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires before the intervention and after the follow-up period. One hundred and six (97%) health visitors and 1302 (82%) mothers responded. Results: At baseline no substantial differences were seen between the two groups on years since education, own breastfeeding experiences, beliefs or self-efficacy in breastfeeding guidance except that health visitors in the intervention group, who had completed the course, demonstrated significantly higher scores on knowledge questions (P < 0.01). After the intervention health visitors in the intervention group reported significantly higher self-efficacy in guidance on three of five breastfeeding problems (P < 0.01). Mothers in the intervention group reported having received more support than mothers in the comparison group. Conclusion: An interactive course increased the health visitors’ knowledge of breastfeeding practice. After the intervention period the health visitors in the intervention group had increased their self-efficacy in helping mothers with common breastfeeding problems. The mothers in the intervention group reported more informational and instrumental breastfeeding support.

Keywords: breastfeeding, education, knowledge, public health professional, self-efficacy


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.