Mothers' perceptions and practices of acute respiratory infection in children: impact of health education intervention

ABSTRACT

The study utilizes one of the quasi experimental designs, which is the time series design. 145 mothers who had children below five years were recruited from the Outpatient Clinic of El-Manawat Rural Hospital at Giza Governorate. A semistructured interview guide and pre- post- tests were used in data collection. Structured health education sessions included signs of ARI and management of the condition were conducted, using face to face health education. Poor diagnostic ability compounded by a limited knowledge of the appropriate management of ARI was revealed. Mothers' knowledge were measured at 3 points of time First before the intervention [pretest]; second, after conducting the intervention [post-test 1]; and third, after a period of 3 months [post-test 2]. Statistical significant difference between pre- and post-test was found. Statistically insignificant difference found between post-test [1] and post-test [2] indicated the retained knowledge in mother's mind. Despite no correlation between demographic characteristics and pre- post-test scores