Knowledge and practice of management of acute respiratory infection among mothers of under five years children in rural Nepal

Abstract

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) accounts for nearly one-fifth of childhood deaths worldwide, with approximately two million children under five dying each year. ARI in Nepal continues to be one of the major causes of childhood morbidity and mortality. A community based cross-sectional study was conducted to identify the knowledge and practices of ARI case management in rural community people. This was community based cross sectional study carried out in Bacchauli Village Development Committee (VDC) of Chitwan District of Nepal.  A total of 132 mothers were interviewed with pre-tested, semi-structured interview schedule in the study using proportionate random sampling technique. For collecting data, selected households were visited by 22 June to 30 July 2011. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 18. More than two fifth (41%) of study the mothers were 20 to 24 years-old age group and most (90.9%) of them were housewives. Almost all (94%) study population had known about ARI, and they reported as ARI when chill coughs (78%), followed by running nose (71%) and sore throat (39%). Most (90%) of them reported pneumonia as a serious disease and only 48% had knowledge about its sign of seriousness. Most of mothers(90% )reported that they provided supportive treatment at home while only 7% reported that they provided  modern medicines by themselves and commonly used supportive treatment was Tulasi leaf (ocimum tenuiflorum).  Majority (56%) of mothers take their child nearby health post for treatment and (26%) visit private nursing home. The mothers of Tharu community lack knowledge on symptoms of severity of ARI, its management and timely seeking health care. This study suggests that community based awareness program should be conducted on ARI.