Knowledge about risk factors of respiratory infections in mothers of children younger than five years old

Abstract

Introduction:

Acute respiratory diseases constitute an important health problem because of the morbidity and mortality that they cause, especially in developing countries.

Objective:

To identify the level knowledge about risk factors of acute respiratory infections in mothers of children younger than five years old.

Methods:

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out, in a group of mothers of children younger than 5 years old from ¨Manuel Malpica¨, Doctor´s Office, Carabobo state, Venezuela; from July 1^st to December 31^st, 2016. The universe was formed by 72 mothers. Mother´s knowledge about risk factors of acute respiratory infections, related to age, scholarship, occupation and marital status were evaluated. For the statistical analysis the Contingency table by X² Test was used, in cases in which significant differences were reached, the Duncan multiple comparison docima was used.

Results.

The 73.6 % of the total of mothers had insufficient knowledge. From them, the 40.3 % were between 20-29 years old and the 29.2 % were between 30-39 years old. The highest number of mothers had finished elementary and secondary level, the 26.4% and the 15.3 % had insufficient knowledge respectively. The 48.6% of the mothers were housewives, the 38.9 % were single and had insufficient knowledge about risk factors of acute respiratory infections.

Conclusions.

Mothers of children younger than five years old who do not have knowledge about risk factors of acute respiratory infections prevail.