Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Mothers on Prevention and Control of Intestinal Parasitic Infestations in Sekota Town, Waghimra Zone, Ethiopia

Mesfin Wudu Kassaw; Ayele Mamo Abebe; Biruk Beletew Abate; Alemu Birara Zemariam; Ayelign Mengesha Kassie

doi:10.2147/PHMT.S229610

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Mothers on Prevention and Control of Intestinal Parasitic Infestations in Sekota Town, Waghimra Zone, Ethiopia

Pediatric Health Med Ther. 2020 Jun 8:11:161-169. doi: 10.2147/PHMT.S229610. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Mesfin Wudu Kassaw¹, Ayele Mamo Abebe², Biruk Beletew Abate¹, Alemu Birara Zemariam¹, Ayelign Mengesha Kassie¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nursing, College of Health Science, Woldia University, Woldia, Ethiopia.
² Department of Nursing, College of Health Science, Debre Berhan University, Debre Berhan, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Background: Intestinal parasites (IP) are a major public health problem in several developing countries. It accounts for 1.5 billion infections with one or more intestinal parasitic agents. The prevalence of helminthiases in Ethiopia is 29.8% with variable degree of prevalence among the different regions. Young children have a high infestation rate and suffer a substantial burden of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and Schistosomes. Intestinal parasitic infections have serious consequences for human health; such as hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, esophageal varices, and delay in physical development. Therefore, this study was intended to assess mothers' knowledge, attitude, and practice on prevention and control of intestinal parasitic infestations.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 378 mothers who had under six and over two year old children. Although 384 mothers were selected using sample size calculation, the data were collected from 378 mother-child pairs using a face to face interview-based questionnaire. The level of maternal knowledge, attitude, and practice are presented in the form of percentage, frequency, and tables. In order to ensure the quality of data, in all of the data collection, data analysis, and write up, a standard operational procedure was followed.

Results: The overall level of good maternal knowledge, positive attitude, and good practice in preventing and controlling intestinal parasitic infection concerning pre-school children in Sekota town was 45.2%, 55.3%, and 51.1% respectively. Seventy-seven (20.4%) respondents reported that they knew about A. lumbricoides, and 62 (16.4%) participants washed vegetables as a means of intestinal prevention.

Conclusion: The overall level of optimum knowledge, attitude, and practice of mothers on prevention and control of intestinal parasites is significantly low. Therefore, community awareness about intestinal parasitic infestation prevention and control should be created through campaigns or structured training.

Keywords: Ethiopia; Sekota; attitude; children; infestation; knowledge; mothers; parasites; practice.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by Woldia University, College of Health Science, Research and Community Service Office. The funder did not contribute to data collecting or analyzing and writing the paper, except for the financial support.