Lack of knowledge in health professionals: a barrier to providing information to patients?

OBJECTIVE To assess obstetricians' and midwives' knowledge of routine prenatal screening tests for fetal abnormality and factors associated with such knowledge. DESIGN Questionnaire assessment of antenatal clinic staff. SETTING Six hospitals within the United Kingdom (four district general hospitals in London, one district general hospital in Wales, and one teaching hospital in Wales), offering routine prenatal screening tests. SUBJECTS 29 obstetricians and 97 midwives were invited to participate, of whom 21 and 70 respectively responded to the questionnaire. MAIN MEASURES Knowledge of prenatal tests, according to 19 item multiple choice questionnaire, reluctance to disclose uncertainty, and clinical experience. RESULTS The overall response rate was 72% (91/126). In all, 43% of midwives and 14% of obstetricians obtained correct responses on fewer than half the items. Reluctance to disclose uncertainty to patients was associated in obstetricians with having less knowledge about prenatal testing (r = -0.50; p < 0.025, Pearson product moment correlation) and in midwives with more clinical experience (r = 0.43; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Lack of knowledge and greater clinical experience seem to be important barriers to providing patients with information about prenatal screening tests.