Knowledge and Attitude of Mothers towards Risk Factors for Acute Respiratory Infections among Hospitalized Under-five Children in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are the fourth major cause of morbidity and mortality among under-five children (U5-C) globally. However, essential information on mothers’ belief about risk factors that could predispose U5-C to these infections is scanty in Nigeria. Therefore, this study assessed the level of knowledge and attitude of mothers towards risk factors that contribute to the acquisition of ARIs among U5-C in Ibadan. A hospital-based case-control design was employed for this study. Two hundred and twenty U5-C each with ARI (cases) and 220 without ARI (controls) were selected from children visiting Oni memorial Children Hospital and University College Hospital, Ibadan. A pretested six-section questionnaire was administered to mothers in order to elicit information on their knowledge and attitude towards the different risk factors of ARIs among children under-five. Mean ages of mothers of cases and controls were 28.8±5.6 and 30.4±6.6 years respectively (p>0.05). Mean knowledge score among cases was 17.9±2.9 compared to 17.1±2.6 among controls (p>0.05). Mean attitude score among cases was 27.8 ± 4.4 compared to 28.5±4.6 among controls (