Development of a system for detecting and screening the risk of pregnant women in the area of Na Yong District, Trang Province.

Abstract

          This research and development project aims to develop a system for screening and assessing risks among new pregnant women with gestational ages under 12 weeks, study the feasibility of the system, and evaluate the outcomes of its implementation. The research consists of four phases: 1) situational analysis and problem identification, 2) system design and development, 3) system pilot testing, and 4) outcome evaluation.The sample groups for each phase were as follows: Phase 1 included 10 pregnant women and 10 healthcare workers; Phase 3 involved 10 healthcare workers; and Phase 4 included 28 pregnant women. The research tools consisted of: 1) in-depth interview guides, 2) a draft system for screening and risk assessment of pregnant women, 3) feasibility and opinion questionnaires on the system, 4) service quality questionnaires, and 5) outcome recording forms. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that delayed antenatal care registration was primarily caused by four factors: (1) maternal factors, (2) antenatal care service process factors, (3) economic factors, and (4) social factors. The developed system focuses on screening and risk assessment for pregnant women, with key components including: Screening, comprising six activities: educational training, promotion of pregnancy testing, proactive public relations, organizing village health volunteers (VHVs) for community outreach, expanding consultation channels, providing after-hours antenatal care registration, and reporting screening results. Risk assessment, consisting of five activities: risk evaluation, health assessment, risk categorization, physical examination, pregnancy examination, and the use of a LINE application. The feasibility assessment score was 2.90 (S.D.=0.32). Regarding outcomes, the rate of first antenatal visits before 12 weeks of gestation increased from 70% to 87.09% after system implementation. Overall user satisfaction with the system was rated at 4.82 (S.D.=0.39). The development of this system helped increase the rate of first antenatal visits before 12 weeks of gestation, demonstrating high potential for scalability and contributing to sustainable improvements in maternal and child healthcare quality.