A Descriptive Study to Assess the Knowledge regarding Bacterial Infections among Mothers of under five in Selected Community Areas of Kerala
1Fourth Year BSc Nursing Students, Bishop Benziger College of Nursing, Kollam.
2Nursing Tutor, Department of Community Health Nursing, Bishop Benziger College of Nursing, Kollam.
*Corresponding Author E-mail:
A descriptive study to assess the knowledge regarding bacterial infections among mothers of under-five in selected community areas of Kerala. The objectives of the study were: a) to assess the knowledge regarding bacterial infections among mothers of under-five in selected community areas in Kerala b) to find out the association between knowledge regarding bacterial infections among mothers of under-five with selected demographic variables such as age of mother, type of family, area of residence, educational status, occupation, immunization of the child and source of information. A quantitative approach was used in the study. Purposive sampling technique was used. Sample consisted of 100 mothers of under-five residing in selected community areas of Kerala. The researcher collected the data using self- structured questionnaire regarding knowledge of bacterial infection. The tool was found to be reliable. The study result shows that 04% of sample had poor knowledge, 25% had average knowledge, 16% had good knowledge, 32 % had very good knowledge and 23% had excellent knowledge regarding bacterial infection among mothers of under-five in selected community areas of Kerala and there was significant association between age in years, type of family, area of residence, educational status at 0.05 level of significance. Based on the findings the investigators have drawn implication which were of vital concerns in the field of nursing practice, nursing administration and nursing education for future development.
KEYWORDS: Assess, Knowledge, Bacterial infection, Mothers of under-five.
A bacterial infection is a proliferation of a harmful strain of bacteria on or inside the body1. Bacteria can infect any area of the body. Pneumonia, meningitis, and food poisoning are just a few illnesses that may be caused by harmful bacteria. Bacteria come in three basic shapes: rod-shaped (bacilli), spherical (cocci), or helical (spirilla)3. Bacteria may also be classified as gram- positive or gram-negative. Gram-positive bacteria have a thick cell wall while gram-negative bacteria do not.
Gram staining, bacterial culture with antibiotic sensitivity determination and other tests like genetic analysis are used to identify bacterial strains and help determine the appropriate course of treatment. The most common bacterial infections among children are skin infections (including impetigo), ear infections, and throat infections (strep throat). Other infections occur at all ages but have specific considerations in children. Several severe bacterial infections are preventable by routine immunization early in childhood2.
A descriptive study to assess the knowledge regarding bacterial infections among mothers of under five in selected community areas of Kerala.
The Objectives of the study were:
· To assess the knowledge regarding bacterial infections among mothers of under five in selected community areas of Kerala.
· To find out the association between knowledge regarding bacterial infections among mothers of under five with selected demographic variables such as age of mother, type of family, area of residence, educational status, occupation, immunization of the child and source of information.
· Mothers of under-five may possess knowledge regarding bacterial infection.
· There will be a significant association between the knowledge regarding bacterial infection among mothers of under-five and selected demographic variables.
In a Cross-sectional study regarding Tuberculosis Screening at 2 San Diego High Schools with High-Risk Populations done by Alice L. Pong, MD Bronwyn, J. Anders, MD et all to determine the prevalence of TB infection and disease in a high-risk population of high school students through school-based screening. Participants of the study were students attending 2 San Diego high schools with high percentages of non–US- born students. Results show that a total of 744 students at high school 1 and 860 students at high school 2 participated. 95 students of high school 1 and 207 students of high school 2, respectively, had positive tuberculin skin test results. One student had a chest radiograph that showed active tuberculosis. Smear for acid fast bacilli and culture had negative results. Finally conclude that non-US born students more likely to have positive tuberculin skin test than US born4.
A prospective descriptive study conducted in Chandigarh, India to find the prevalence of tuberculosis infection among children in household contact with adults having pulmonary tuberculosis, and identify the risk factors. Children who were in household contact with 200 adults with pulmonary TB underwent tuberculin skin testing. Transverse in duration of greater than 10mm was defined positive tuberculin test suggestive of tubercular infection. Infected children underwent chest radiography, analysis of gastric lavage fluid or induced sputum. Tuberculin test was positive in 95 of 281 contacts (33.8%), of which 65 were contacts of sputum positive patients, while 30 were contacts of sputum negative patients. 9 children were diagnosed of tuberculosis based on clinical features or recovery of
acid fast bacilli; 7 were in contact with sputum positive adults. Finally conclude that prevalence of TB infection and clinical disease among children in household contact with adult patients is higher than in the general population, and risk is increased by contact with sputum positive adults5.
A Study of Bacterial Meningitis in Children below 5 Years with Comparative Evaluation of Gram Staining, Culture and Bacterial Antigen Detection was conducted for duration of 3 years, in the Department of Microbiology of a tertiary care hospital which was attached to Bangalore Medical College, Bangalore, India. In this study a total of 100 clinically suspected cases of bacterial meningitis, children who were below 5 years of age, who were admitted to the Children’s Hospital, constituted the study group. In the present study, male to female ratio was 1.27:1, which showed a male preponderance. With the combination of Gram staining, culture, and LAT, 100% sensitivity and specificity can be achieved (p < 0.001). Gram staining and LAT can detect 85% of cases of Acute Bacterial Meningitis. Of the 100 cases, 24 were diagnosed as acute bacterial meningitis. 21 (87.5%) cases were culture positive, with 2 cases being positive for polymicrobial isolates. Gram staining was positive in 17 (70.53%) cases and was positive in 18 (33.33%) cases6.
A prospective cohort study regarding the Bacterial pneumonia and its associated factors in children from a selected community. This study took place in University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), a government-funded teaching hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This prospective cohort study involving 300 children aged 1- month to 5-years admitted from 1st October 2014 till 31st October 2016with very severe pneumonia, as per the WHO definition, over 2 years. From this sample, Induced sputum and blood obtained within 24 hrs of admission were examined via Polymerase Chain Reaction, immunofluorescence and culture to detect 17 bacteria. Children who had doctor diagnosed asthma or recurrent wheezing of childhood, refused blood taking, had symptoms less than 7 days, were unable to come for follow-up, had chronic disease or had no chest radiograph performed, were excluded. Data was acquired through face-to-face interviews and included socio- demographic data, birth and feeding history, personal and family history of asthma and atropy, environmental factors ,economic status including socioeconomic status measured by the number of appliances in the home, past medical history of respiratory illness, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), vaccination history (which includes prior exposure to pneumococcal and/or influenza vaccines), clinical findings at admission, duration of admission, treatment received and baseline
laboratory results. Among this selected samples, bacteria alone was detected in 25% (n = 75) with Haemophilus influenza (29.3%), Staphylococcus aureus (24%) and Streptococcus pneumonia (22.7%) being the commonest7.
A cross sectional study was conducted by Mohammed S, Tilahun M, Tamiru D in February 2012 on Morbidity and associated factors of diarrheal diseases among under five children .The objective was to determine the morbidity and associated factors of diarrheal diseases among under five children in Arba-Minch District. Result shows that prevalence of diarrhea among under- five index children was 30.5%, which was significantly associated with child’s being from mothers of not attended formal education, age of the mother and mothers of poor hand washing practice. The study concludes that the level of diarrheal morbidity is high in the study area. As significant number of the mothers do not have adequate knowledge on the occurrence and risk factor of diarrheal disease. Enhancing community based behavior change communications using multiple channels and community health workers is recommended to reduce the occurrence of childhood diarrhea and associated consequences among children in the study area8.
A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in the urban field practice area of the Department of Community Medicine of SGRD Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Amritsar to assess the knowledge regarding diarrhea and its management among mothers of under-five children in an urban area of Amritsar, Punjab. A total of 400 mothers of under- five children were interviewed during the period from June to August 2018. The mothers were selected by adopting simple random sampling method. The mothers who gave consent were included in the study. A pre- designed and pre tested questionnaire was used to collect the information. House to house survey was done to collect information about demographic profile, knowledge about diarrhea and its management. It was observed that 53% mothers knew that diarrhea is passage of three or more loose stool in a day. The causes of diarrhea given were lack of cleanliness (60.2%), wrong food taken (38.2%), teething in children (37.8%), worms in stomach (33.2%), change of weather (31.7%), and bad eye (20%). 15% of the respondents said that it spread by contaminated water and food, 9% said by contaminated fingers and 76% knew about both the methods of spread9.
Quantitative research approach was adopted for the study.
Descriptive research design.
Purposive sampling technique was used for this study.
The sample selected for this study consisted of 100 mothers of under-five residing in selected community areas of Kerala.
Tool 1: Structured Knowledge questionnaire Section A: Socio-demographic Performa
Section B: Structured knowledge questionnaire on bacterial infection.
Data collection was done through Google forms in community areas of Kerala by using self-structured questionnaires based on the knowledge of mothers of under-five regarding bacterial infections.
The data was collected after obtaining consent from the samples to participate in the study. The samples were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 100 samples were selected based on purposive sampling technique and the knowledge among mothers of under-five was assessed by providing self-structured questionnaire through Google forms.
The collected data were organized, tabulated and analyzed. The data analysis was done according to the objectives of the study. The researcher used descriptive and inferential statistics for data analysis.
In this study it shows that 04% of the under-five mothers had poor knowledge, 25 % had average knowledge and 16% had good knowledge, 32% had very good knowledge and 23% had excellent knowledge when tested by using a structured questionnaire.
Table 1: Frequency and Percentage distribution of knowledge regarding bacterial infections among mothers of under-five in selected community areas of Kerala.
|
Level of knowledge |
Frequency |
Percentage |
|
Excellent |
23 |
23% |
|
Very good |
32 |
32% |
|
Good |
16 |
16% |
|
Average |
25 |
25% |
|
Poor |
4 |
4% |
Table 2: Chi square shows association between knowledge regarding bacterial infections and selected demographic variables.
|
Sl. No |
Demographic variables |
Knowledge |
df |
Chi Square |
Level of Significance |
||||
|
Poor |
Average |
Good |
Very Good |
Excellent |
|||||
|
1. |
Age in years |
||||||||
|
18-24 |
0 |
10 |
14 |
15 |
11 |
8 |
17.904 |
S |
|
|
25-34 |
2 |
10 |
2 |
14 |
9 |
||||
|
35 and above |
2 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
||||
|
2. |
Type of family |
||||||||
|
Nuclear family |
0 |
6 |
10 |
16 |
4 |
8 |
17.86 |
S |
|
|
Joint family |
3 |
9 |
3 |
10 |
13 |
||||
|
Extended family |
1 |
10 |
3 |
6 |
16 |
||||
|
3. |
Area of residence |
||||||||
|
Rural |
4 |
5 |
4 |
9 |
5 |
4 |
11.812 |
S |
|
|
Urban |
0 |
20 |
12 |
23 |
18 |
||||
|
4. |
Educational status |
||||||||
|
Up-to SSLC |
3 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
12 |
45.012 |
S |
|
|
Higher secondary |
1 |
3 |
4 |
9 |
4 |
||||
|
Graduate |
0 |
15 |
9 |
6 |
4 |
||||
|
Post graduate |
0 |
5 |
2 |
12 |
15 |
||||
|
5. |
Occupation |
||||||||
|
Unemployed |
2 |
10 |
7 |
5 |
3 |
12 |
14.425 |
NS |
|
|
Self employed |
1 |
7 |
4 |
6 |
5 |
||||
|
Government employee |
0 |
4 |
2 |
11 |
8 |
||||
|
Private employee |
1 |
4 |
3 |
10 |
7 |
||||
|
6. |
Immunization of child |
||||||||
|
Fully immunized |
2 |
13 |
8 |
11 |
9 |
8 |
8.047 |
NS |
|
|
Partially immunized |
1 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
12 |
||||
|
Unimmunized |
1 |
6 |
4 |
5 |
2 |
||||
|
7. |
Source of information |
||||||||
|
Mass media |
0 |
11 |
5 |
15 |
11 |
8 |
7.587 |
NS |
|
|
Health worker |
2 |
8 |
9 |
9 |
7 |
||||
|
Health magazines |
2 |
6 |
2 |
8 |
5 |
||||
P<0.05 S- Significant NS- Non-significant
The data in the table shows that the degree of freedom for age in years is 8 and the chi square value is 17.904 which was greater than the table value15.50 at 0.05 level of significance so there was association between age and knowledge regarding bacterial infection among mothers of under-five. In case of type of family the degree of freedom was 8 and the chi square value was 17.86 which was greater than the table value 15.50 at 0.05 level of significance so there was association between type of family and knowledge regarding bacterial infection among mothers of under-five. In case of area of residence, the degree of freedom was 4 and the chi square value is 11.812 which was greater than the table value 9.49 at 0.05 level of significance so there was association between area of residence and knowledge regarding bacterial infection among mothers of under- five. In case of educational status, the degree of freedom was 12 and the chi square value was 45.012 which was greater than the table value 21.03 at 0.05 level of significance so there was association between educational status and knowledge regarding bacterial infection among mothers of under-five. In case of occupation the degree of freedom was 12 and the chi square value was 14.425 which was lesser than the table value 21.03 at 0.05 level of significance so there was no association between occupation and knowledge regarding bacterial infection among mothers of under- five. In case of immunization of child, the degree of
freedom was 8 and the chi square value was 8.047 which was lesser than the table value 15.50 at 0.05 level of significance so there was no association between immunization of child and knowledge regarding bacterial infection among mothers of under-five. In case of source of information, the degree of freedom was 8 and the chi square value was 7.587 which was lesser than the table value 15.50 at 0.05 level of significance so there was no association between source of information and knowledge regarding bacterial infection among mothers of under-five.
The present study aimed to assess the knowledge regarding bacterial infections among mothers of under five in selected community areas of Kerala. The following conclusion was made drawn from the study.
Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that
· A similar kind of study can be conducted for a large group.
· A quasi experimental study can be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the video assisted teaching programme on knowledge regarding bacterial infection among mothers of under-five.
· A study to assess the attitude and practice regarding
bacterial infections among mothers of under-five in selected community areas at Kerala.
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6. MulusewAlemayehu, TsegayeAlemu and AyalewAstatkie, Prevalence of diarrheal diseases and associated factors among under-five children in BennaTesmay District, Sidama zone, Southern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study. Available at: https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s1288 9-019-7579-2
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:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274989596
9. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, Volume 5
Received on 23.07.2021 Modified on 07.08.2021
Accepted on 21.08.2021 © AandV Publications all right reserved
Int. J. Nur. Edu. and Research. 2021; 9(4):412-416.
DOI: 10.52711/2454-2660.2021.00095