1612 https://oamjms.eu/index.php/mjms/index Scientifc Foundation SPIROSKI, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences. 2022 Oct 01; 10(E):1612-1616. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2022.9601 eISSN: 1857-9655 Category: E - Public Health Section: Public Health Education and Training Studying the Opinions of Medical Workers about Preconception Care Yuliya Podilyakina 1 *, Dusentay Kulov 1 , Zhanna Amirbekova 2 , Rasa Stundžienė 3 , Elena Drobchenko 4 , Tleuzhan Abugalieva 5 1 School of Public Health and Biomedicine, National Join-stock Company “Karaganda Medical University”, Karagandy, Kazakhstan; 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Join-stock Company “Karaganda Medical University”, Karagandy, Kazakhstan; 3 Department of Nursing, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania; 4 Department of Informatics and Biostatistics, National Join-stock Company “Karaganda Medical University”, Karagandy, Kazakhstan; 5Department of Family Medicine, National Join-stock Company “Karaganda Medical University”, Karagandy, Kazakhstan Abstract BACKGROUND: A high level of knowledge of medical personnel and confdence in the ongoing preconception care activities can have a positive impact on public health in general. AIM: The aim of the study was to study the opinion of medical personnel (doctors and nurses) on the methods of preconception care and measures to improve the provision of medical care before conception in Kazakhstan (Karaganda region). METHODS: The data obtained during the study were subjected to statistical processing by the method of variation statistics using the free version of the EPI InfoTM program. The arithmetic mean (M) and standard deviation (±SD) were calculated for quantitative indicators, the data were presented as M ± SD. The Krusk–Wallis test (H test) was used to compare means. Absolute (n) and relative (%) values describe qualitative variables. χ2 was used to compare frequencies and qualitative variables. The critical signifcance level when testing statistical hypotheses was taken as 0.05. In the Karaganda region, a survey was conducted among doctors of the specialty general practitioner, general practitioner/family doctor, obstetrician-gynecologist, and nursing staf. The survey was aimed at identifying the knowledge of health professionals about preconception care and at identifying barriers and factors preventing preconception care. Three hundred and sixty-fve doctors and 375 nurses/ midwives took part in the survey. RESULTS: Medical staf were asked to fll out a questionnaire, which addressed issues related to the ways of providing PC, barriers to the implementation of PC. 40% (n = 292) of respondents noted that preconception care should be carried out by specialists from the family planning ofce. About 24.3% (n = 180) do not conduct conversations on preconception care due to lack of time, knowledge, a clear algorithm for conducting PC, and because they do not consider it their functional duty. CONCLUSION: Measures were proposed to improve the level of provision of preconception training in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Edited by: Ksenija Bogoeva-Kostovska Citation: Podilyakina Y, Kulov D, Amirbekova Z, Stundžienė R, Drobchenko E, Abugalieva T. Studying the Opinions of Medical Workers about Preconception Care. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2022 Oct 01; 10(E):1612-1616. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2022.9601 Keywords: Preconception care; Medical workers; Public responsibility; Implementation *Correspondence: Yuliya Podilyakina, School of Public Health and Biomedicine, National Join-Stock Company, Karaganda Medical University, Karagandy, Kazakhstan. E-mail: podilyakina@inbox.ru Received: 30-Mar-2022 Revised: 19-Aug-2022 Accepted: 23-Sep-2022 Copyright: © 2022 Yuliya Podilyakina, Dusentay Kulov, Zhanna Amirbekova, Rasa Stundžienė, Elena Drobchenko, Tleuzhan Abugalieva Funding: This research did not receive any fnancial support Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist Open Access: This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) Introduction In 2012, the World Health Organization noted that about 15 million babies are born each year as a result of preterm birth [1]. It has been established that many risk factors for perinatal mortality, morbidity, as well as preterm birth and related diseases in adulthood originate in the periconception period – the period before and shortly after conception [2]. Lifestyle changes during the periconception period present opportunities to prevent later risks. Preconception care reduces the risks of developing pathologies on the part of the health of the future ofspring, since it is provided even before risk factors can have a negative impact on the developing fetus. Another factor in favor of preconception care is that the most critical stages of embryonic development – organogenesis and placentation occur in the frst trimester of pregnancy and lifestyle changes already during pregnancy make an insignifcant contribution to the birth of a healthy child than a competent approach in preparing for pregnancy [3]. There are quite a few studies that note the impact of an unhealthy lifestyle before or during pregnancy (alcohol, smoking, psychoactive substances, etc.) on the course of pregnancy and the birth of a healthy child [4], [5]. Preconception health professionals (general practitioners, obstetricians, midwives, and other health professionals) can signifcantly infuence the use of opportunities to prepare couples for pregnancy [6], [7]. In the Republic of Kazakhstan, preconception counseling is provided by obstetrician-gynecologists, general practitioners/family doctors, nursing staf, and specialists in family planning ofces [8]. Since 2002