Mothers and childhood pneumonia: what should the focus of public campaigns be?

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dc.contributor.authorEkure, EN
dc.contributor.authorEsezobor, CI
dc.contributor.authorBalogun, MR
dc.contributor.authorMukhtar-Yola, M
dc.contributor.authorOjo, OO
dc.contributor.authorEmodi, IJ
dc.contributor.authoret al
dc.date.accessioned2022-08-11T12:16:23Z
dc.date.available2022-08-11T12:16:23Z
dc.date.issued2013
dc.descriptionScholarly articleen_US
dc.description.abstractBackground: Prompt administration of antibiotics to children with pneumonia significantly reduces the probability of death. However this requires early identification of such children in the community. In a country such as Nigeria with one of the highest pneumonia related deaths, what do mothers know about pneumonia, and what should be the content of public campaign messages? Methods: A structured questionnaire was administered to mothers attending paediatric clinics of Lagos University Teaching Hospital seeking their knowledge about the definition, causes, risk factors and symptoms of childhood pneumonia. Results: One hundred and seven (107) consecutive mothers participated in the study. The majority (97; 90.6%) had at least secondary education, were married (96; 89.7%) and professed to be either Christians or Muslims (105; 98.1%). Prior to the study, 16 (15%) had not heard about pneumonia. About half of the participants correctly identified fast/difficult breathing as suggestive of pneumonia. Threequarters reported exposure to cold as the cause of childhood pneumonia. Minimizing exposure to cold and wearing warm clothes were the two commonest reported ways of preventing pneumonia (75.8% and 49.5% of the mothers respectively); in contrast hand washing, exclusive breastfeeding and limiting exposure to sick persons with cough and catarrh were the least mentioned. The proportion of mothers who correctly identified fast/difficult breathing as suggestive of pneumonia was similar irrespective of educational status or source of pneumonia information. Conclusion: Mothers’ knowledge of childhood pneumonia is low. Public campaigns on pneumonia should focus on raising awareness about germs as cause of pneumonia, immunization, hand washing and exclusive breastfeeding as potent preventive strategies and fast/difficult breathing as a feature of pneumonia.en_US
dc.identifier.citationEkure EN, Esezobor CI, Balogun MR, Mukhtar-Yola M, Ojo OO, Emodi IJ, Omoigberale AI, Oviawe O, Ezechukwu C, Olowu AO, Ogala WN, Esangbedo DO. Mothers and childhood pneumonia: what should the focus of public campaigns be? Nigerian Journal of Paediatrics 2013; 40(1): 24-29. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njp.v40i1.4en_US
dc.identifier.otherDOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njp.v40i1.4
dc.identifier.urihttps://ir.unilag.edu.ng/handle/123456789/11040
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherNigerian Journal of Paediatricsen_US
dc.subjectChildhood pneumoniaen_US
dc.subjectChildrenen_US
dc.subjectMothersen_US
dc.subjectAdministration of antibioticsen_US
dc.subjectResearch Subject Categories::MEDICINE::Social medicineen_US
dc.titleMothers and childhood pneumonia: what should the focus of public campaigns be?en_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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