Mothers’ Knowledge and Practices Towards Pneumonia to Children Under Five Years of Age in Makambako Town-Njombe

Abstract

Background: Pneumonia is an acute respiratory infection caused by several infectious agents, such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi. It affects the lungs. This study aimed to assess mothers’ knowledge and practices regarding pneumonia in children under five years of age in Makambako town. The study focused on exploring knowledge, awareness, practices, and the extent to which mothers understand the disease and measures taken to protect children to prevent and reduce the disease prevalence.

Methodology: A community-based descriptive cross-sectional study design was used, employing random and purposive sampling techniques to obtain 106 respondents in the study area who filled out the structured questionnaires. All questionnaires were checked for completeness and then entered into SPSS for analysis. The prevalence is high, as there were 2647 cases of pneumonia in 2017 compared to 1938 cases in 2016.

Results: Based on the study findings, the high prevalence of childhood pneumonia in Makambako town council is caused by low knowledge and poor practices of mothers concerning childhood pneumonia, as 70.8% of mothers do not know what pneumonia is about, 72.6% of mothers do not know health risk factors associated with childhood pneumonia, and 77.3% do not know how pneumonia is transmitted. Some mothers perform cultural and traditional beliefs, while others perform self-medication and take a child to the hospital when the conditions worsen. Most do not know if proper nutrition and immunization, as signified by 99% and 81%, respectively, are the most effective ways to protect a child against pneumonia.

Conclusion and recommendations: The study concludes that mothers' knowledge and practices associated with improper nutrition and immunization contribute much to children’s pneumonia. Therefore, the study suggests proper nutrition and immunization education should be done appropriately to protect children from pneumonia.