Parental knowledge and care-seeking practices towards pediatric ear infections: a study from Iraq
Aqil Mohammad Daher, Abdulla Alnakshabandi, Khaled Hashim Sultan, Basim A.Al-Abdely, Allya Mohammad Ali
Abstract
An ear infection (EI) is one of the most common pediatric illnesses. This study aimed to assess parental knowledge, care-seeking practices, and factors associated with them. A cross-sectional study involved a sample of parents attending hospitals in three selected cities in Iraq. Data were collected with a questionnaire composed of three parts: i) Sociodemographic characteristics, ii) Questions related to knowledge of symptoms, risk factors, and complications of an EI, and iii) Questions related to care-seeking practices. The mean age of respondents was 34.99 (±9.85) years. Females made up 58.90% of the sample. More than half reported holding tertiary education. Most participants showed satisfactory knowledge of EI symptoms (88.10%) and proper practices of seeking medical attention from a doctor or other medic (95.80%). Respondents with tertiary education had higher odds of having satisfactory knowledge (OR 4.63, 95% CI 1.18-18.19) and proper care-seeking practices (OR 14.96, 95% CI 1.12-28.80) than those with primary education and below. Current smokers had higher odds of having unsatisfactory knowledge (OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.02-0.70) than non-smokers. In conclusion, respondents had sufficient knowledge and care-seeking practices. Educational level was associated with adequate knowledge and care-seeking practices, and former smoking status was associated with unsatisfactory knowledge.
DOI:
http://doi.org/10.11591/ijphs.v11i1.21045
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International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS) p-ISSN: 2252-8806, e-ISSN: 2620-4126
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