بكالوريوس / Bachelor's

This study aims to assess the awareness of obstetric danger signs during pregnancy and the associated factors among pregnant women attending Dongola Maternity Hospital, Northern State, Sudan, from August to December 2026. A descriptive hospital-based cross-sectional study will be conducted among pregnant women attending the antenatal care clinic. Data will be collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured, pre-tested questionnaire covering participants’ socio-demographic characteristics, obstetric history, awareness of obstetric danger signs, and sources of information. The collected data will be analyzed using SPSS to determine the level of awareness, identify the most and least recognized danger signs, and examine the association between awareness and selected socio-demographic and obstetric factors. The findings are expected to identify gaps in awareness and provide baseline information that may help improve health education during antenatal care and support maternal health services in the study area.

Confidentiality and privacy of all participants will be maintained throughout the study. No names, telephone numbers, national identification numbers, or other direct personal identifiers will be collected in the questionnaire. Each questionnaire will be assigned a unique identification code instead of the participant’s name. Interviews will be conducted in a private setting to prevent unauthorized persons from hearing participants’ responses. Completed questionnaires will be stored securely, and electronic data will be protected by a password. Access to the research data will be restricted to authorized members of the research team and the research supervisor, as appropriate. The findings will be presented in aggregate form without identifying individual participants. All data will be used for research purposes only.

This study is expected to involve minimal risk to participants. However, some participants may experience mild psychological discomfort or embarrassment when answering questions about their pregnancy history or their awareness of obstetric danger signs. The interviews may also require a small amount of time, which could cause minor inconvenience. There is also a potential risk of loss of confidentiality if participants’ information is accessed by unauthorized individuals. To minimize these risks, participation will be voluntary, participants may decline to answer any question or withdraw from the study without affecting the healthcare services they receive, interviews will be conducted in a private setting, and all collected data will be kept confidential and stored securely. No invasive procedures or medical interventions will be performed as part of this study.

This study may not provide direct or immediate benefits to the participants. However, the findings may help identify the level of awareness of obstetric danger signs among pregnant women attending Dongola Maternity Hospital and highlight the danger signs that are most and least recognized. The results may also help identify factors associated with awareness and provide useful information for healthcare providers to improve health education during antenatal care. Furthermore, the findings may support the development of appropriate educational interventions to improve pregnant women's awareness of obstetric danger signs and encourage timely healthcare-seeking when complications arise. The study may also provide baseline information for future research on maternal health in Northern State, Sudan.