Introduction
Preconception care (PCC) is a concept that involves assessing a couple ready to start a family [1]. Preconception care is defined as the implementation of any measures provided to women of childbearing age, irrespective of their current pregnancy status or intentions, to improve the well-being of mothers, newborns, and offspring before conception [2]. World Health Organization (WHO) defines PCC as “... the provision of biomedical, behavioral and social health interventions to women and couples before conception occurs.It aims to improve your health status and reduce behavioral and individual and environmental factors that contribute to poor maternal and child health outcomes…”[3]. This is an important element of mother and child health that is often overlooked, particularly in underdeveloped nations [4]. PCCis one of the recommended preventive methods of the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended preventative methods in maternal and Newborn Health (MNH) and is regarded as practicable for allcountries [5]. MNH continues to be a global health issue. According to WHO, even wherecomprehensive public health programs are in existence and are utilized, women who become pregnant with healthy conditions are still not assured [6]. As a result, specific efforts such as PCC are recommended during the prenatal period or early stages of pregnancy to achieve maximum beneficial health outcomes [5].
Although the WHO recommended the implementation of PCC almost a decade ago, there is still no universal agreement on its role in preventing infant and maternal death and illness [7]. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), PCC services are not routinely practiced [8,9]. For example, an evaluation of maternal health (MH)in SSA in 2011 showed that most countries had inadequate use of PCC due to low socioeconomic background, lack of health care professionals (HCP), lack of formal education, and a misunderstanding about MH [10]. Another study performed in Ethiopia that more than 70% of women in their reproductive ages had an insufficient understanding of PCC [11].
The personnel in the health services professions play a critical role in providing useful information to the general population on PCC [3]. This is especially manifested in their ongoing provision of public awareness on issues related to general health issues and interventions. Unfortunately, evidence from the literature shows that even HCPs who should be informing the general public about PCC seem not to be well informed themselves, to enable them to deliver effective education. For example, available literature in Europe [12], the United States of America (USA) [13], Ethiopia [8], and Egypt [14] revealed that the majority of HCPs who wish to provide PCC services lacked the necessary knowledge of the concept. In addition, a study conducted in Nepal showed that most nursing students did not have adequate knowledge about PCC [15].
In Ghana, there is minimal data to support the effective implementation of PCC interventions [16,17]. Maternal and child mortality and morbidity remain a public health concern in Ghana [18]. It has been further evidenced that 12 out of 100 (12.1%) deaths among women between the ages of 15 to 49 years are pregnancy-related [19]. Despite Ghana being rated as having robust antenatal care, the country has the highest maternal mortality rates (MMR) in the subregion (SSA) [20]. Although the rate of maternal mortality is declining, Ghana could not meet the 2015 MMR and mortality rate targets [18]. Unfortunately, PCC services are not typically included in current reproductive health services [21]. All these factors require the comprehensive implementation of PCC services.
The use of preconception care is related to the higher utilization of MNH services [22]. As such, attention should concentrate on both the beneficiaries and providers of PCC services to identify the major concerns that will drive the use of the service shortly. In the Savannah Region of Ghana, there are limited preconception care services centres and no empirical evidence has been found to address the situation. Students at the tertiary level have been reported to be prone to a variety of lifestyles and environmental risk factors that could lead to poor reproductive results [23,24]. For example, through the influence of peers, audio-visuals, the media etc., these students may engage in sexual activities, but because of their desire to advance on the academic ladder, they may resort to birth control methods. Some of these methods, if not sought by the appropriate professionals, may have consequences on their future ability to deliver. Although existing literature suggests that HCPs [8,12,13,25] and health trainees [15] are lacking in terms of PCC knowledge, their role in ensuring adequate use of PCC remains paramount. Similarly, the need to determine the situation among those who are still in training is crucial. When these health trainees acquire good knowledge