EFFECTIVENESS OF A HEALTH EDUCATION INTERVENTION ON KNOWLEDGEAND ATTITUDE AMONG MOTHERS OF UNDER 5 YEARS OLD CHILDREN WITH ACUTE RESPIRATORY INFECTION AT YEN BAI HOSPITAL OF OBSTETRICS AND CHILDREN IN 2020.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the improvement of knowledge and attitudes about the disease, preventive measures and care for patients infected by acute respiratory infections (ARIs) among the mothers, whose under-5-year old children were hospitalized to Yen Bai Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital for the treatment of ARIs. Method: In this intervention study, 168 mothers (84 mothers in the control group, 84 mothers in the intervention group) were selected for the study through the convenience sampling method. The intervention group attended educational session delivered by the researchers while the control group did not. The pre-test of knowledge and attitudes were performed before the intervention and the post-tests were conducted before the participants’ discharge. Results: Baseline assessment found both groups demonstrated low level of knowledge and attitudes towards the disease, care and prevention of ARIs. However, no statistically significant difference between two groups before the intervention was found (p > 0,05). After intervention, the mothers in the intervention group reported significant higher knowledge and attitudes scores than did the control group (p < 0,05). Notably, the control group did not show any changes between pre- and post-test scores of knowledge and attitudes (p > 0,05). In contrast, there are significant improvement of such scores among participants in the intervention group (p < 0,05). Conclusion: The study showed that the health education program helped to improve mothers’ knowledge and attitudes about ARIs. The program could be utilized by clinicians in their practices. Further studies to examine the long - term effectiveness of the program are strongly recommended.