ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2017
Improving health literacy through group antenatal care: a prospective cohort study.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 110 citations in OpenAlex.
- Feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of group antenatal care on maternal health continuum of care and perinatal outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ global health · 2026Pooled it
- Improving maternal health literacy among low-income pregnant women: A systematic review.Narra J · 2024Pooled it
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- Group antenatal care positively transforms the care experience: Results of an effectiveness trial in Malawi.PloS one · 2025Trial
- The impact of group antenatal care on newborns: Results of a cluster randomized control trial in Eastern Region, Ghana.BMC pediatrics · 2024Trial
- Effect of group antenatal care versus individualized antenatal care on birth preparedness and complication readiness: a cluster randomized controlled study among pregnant women in Eastern Region of Ghana.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Trial
- Improving health literacy through group antenatal care: results from a cluster randomized controlled trial in Ghana.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Trial
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- Trial
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- Impact of group prenatal care on key prenatal services and educational topics in Malawi and Tanzania.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2021Trial
- Assessing the impact of group antenatal care on gestational length in Rwanda: A cluster-randomized trial.PloS one · 2021Trial
- An effectiveness-implementation hybrid type 1 trial assessing the impact of group versus individual antenatal care on maternal and infant outcomes in Malawi.BMC public health · 2020Trial
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- Implementation challenges and outcomes of a randomized controlled pilot study of a group prenatal care model in Malawi and Tanzania.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2017Trial
- Introducing a group antenatal care model at the health post level in Ethiopia: a qualitative pilot study.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2026Article
- Scheduling Group Care in Routine Perinatal Care: Identifying Implementation Modifications Across Belgium, Kosovo, and the UK.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Assessing self-management responses to educational interventions in at-risk diabetes population: a cluster-based longitudinal analysis.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Integrating group antenatal care into routine services: a registry-based cohort study in Geita, Tanzania.BMC global and public health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTo examine whether exposure to group antenatal care increased women's health literacy by improving their ability to interpret and utilize health messages compared to women who received standard, individual antenatal care in Ghana.
methodsWe used a prospective cohort design. The setting was a busy urban district hospital in Kumasi, the second most populous city in Ghana. Pregnant women (N = 240) presenting for their first antenatal visit between 11 and 14 weeks gestation were offered participation in the study. A 27% drop-out rate was experienced due to miscarriage, transfer or failure to return for follow-up visits, leaving 184 women in the final sample. Data were collected using an individual structured survey and medical record review. Summary statistics as well as two sample t-tests or chi-square were performed to evaluate the group effect.
resultsSignificant group differences were found. Women participating in group care demonstrated improved health literacy by exhibiting a greater understanding of how to operationalize health education messages. There was a significant difference between women enrolled in group antenatal care verses individual antenatal care for preventing problems before delivery, understanding when to access care, birth preparedness and complication readiness, intent to use a modern method of family planning postpartum, greater understanding of the components of breastfeeding and lactational amenorrhea for birth spacing, and intent for postpartum follow-up.
conclusionGroup antenatal care as compared to individual care offers an opportunity to increase quality of care and improve maternal and newborn outcomes. Group antenatal care holds the potential to increase healthy behaviors, promote respectful maternity care, and generate demand for services. Group ANC improves women's health literacy on how to prevent and recognize problems, prepare for delivery, and care for their newborn.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.