The Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Mothers Regarding Acute Respiratory Tract Infection in Children

Jafari Farhad^1*, Aminzadeh Malihe², Azami Fatemeh³ and Samadpour Mahmood⁴

¹Health and Social Medicine, School of Medicine- Shahed University, Tehran, Iran. ²Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran. ³Bachelor of Midwifery- MsC of medicinal plants- Ministry of Agriculture, Tehran, Iran ⁴MD, Tehran, Iran.

ABSTRACT: Control of acute respiratory infections (ARI) is a major problem of public health in developing countries. Effective health education programs are required to be designed in accordance with knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of society. The purpose of this study was to investigate the KAP of mothers in children's acute respiratory infections. This was a cross-sectional study conducting on 255 mothers. The data were collected through using interviewer-administered questionnaire in Dec 2010. The most common treatment adopted by mothers for ARI in children was syrups and cold pills (22%). The mean value of mother's practice and the mean scores of their knowledge and attitude were high. Performance score of mothers with young children with ARI and last source of their information and knowledge and attitude scores were correlated with mother's age and nationality (Persian or Afghan). Significant relationship was not found between the mother's attitude and performance. On the other hand, attitude and performance were not related to the mother's education level and occupation. The knowledge and attitude of mothers were high and their practice was good toward ARI. Since mothers practice is related to their source of information, the designing of educational programs with regard to mothers practice is useful to improving their practice.

KEYWORDS: Knowledge; attitude and practice; Acute respiratory infections; Health education

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