Home Management of Febrile Convulsion in Under-fives: an Assessment of Perceptions and Practices of Caregivers in Ojokoro Local Council Development Area, Lagos

Abstract

Febrile convulsions (FC) are seizures occurring in children age done month and five years, without any underlying cause. It is the most common seizure disorder in childhood with a peak incidence at 18 months of age. The incidence varies from 10-18% in Nigeria. Various emergency home therapies employed bring about poor outcomes. This study aimed to assess the perceptions and pre-facilitypractices of FC among caregivers of under-fives in Ojokoro local council development area of Lagos State, Nigeria. This descriptive cross-sectional study among 350 caregivers of under-fives living and working in Ojokoro LCDA were selected using multistaged sampling. Data were collected on the socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude and home management practices of febrile convulsions using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Data entry, collation and analysis was done using SPSS version 17. Respondents' mean age was 27.2+3.4years. Two-thirds (63.7%) had poor knowledge of causes of febrile convulsions, and 73.7% had poor knowledge on home management practices.The overall attitude towards febrile convulsion was found to be good with 95.4% having a positive attitude regarding causes.Of the 46 respondents that reported previous history of febrile convulsion, 39(84.8%)carried out inappropriate pre-facility management practices. There was a statistically significant association found between educational status of respondents and the perceptions of, and home management practices for febrile convulsions. There are still significant knowledge gaps regarding appropriate home management of febrile convulsions. The authors recommend strengthening health education of home and community-based care practices of febrile children to improve health outcomes.

Key words:febrile convulsions, home management, knowledge, perceptions, practices